Response time benchmarking in Postman - Build an Automation Script

Benchmark API response time for GET /users endpoint

Preconditions (2)

Step 1: Open Postman and create a new GET request to https://api.example.com/users

Step 2: Send the request

Step 3: Record the response time shown in Postman

Step 4: Verify the response status code is 200

Step 5: Verify the response time is less than 500 milliseconds

✅ Expected Result: The GET /users request returns status code 200 and the response time is under 500 milliseconds

Automation Requirements - Postman test scripts

Assertions Needed:

Response status code is 200

Response time is less than 500 milliseconds

Best Practices:

Use pm.response.to.have.status for status code assertion

Use pm.response.responseTime for response time measurement

Write clear and concise test scripts inside the Tests tab

Avoid hardcoding URLs; use environment variables if possible

Automated Solution

Postman

pm.test('Status code is 200', function () {
    pm.response.to.have.status(200);
});

pm.test('Response time is less than 500ms', function () {
    pm.expect(pm.response.responseTime).to.be.below(500);
});

The first test checks that the API returns a status code of 200, which means the request was successful.

The second test checks that the response time is less than 500 milliseconds, ensuring the API is fast enough.

Both tests use Postman's built-in pm object for assertions, which is the recommended way to write tests in Postman.

Common Mistakes - 3 Pitfalls

Checking response time using deprecated or incorrect properties

Not asserting the status code before checking response time

Hardcoding the API URL inside the test script

Bonus Challenge

Now add data-driven testing with 3 different API endpoints to benchmark their response times

Show Hint