Glossary

Smoke vs Sanity Testing — The Clear Difference

Both are quick checks that run before deeper testing. Smoke tests verify the build is stable enough to test. Sanity tests verify a specific change works as expected.

Last updated: June 2026

Avinash K

Founder & QA Engineer at SoftwareTestPilot

10+ yrs

Published:

Smoke vs Sanity

Aspect	Smoke	Sanity
Goal	Build stability	Verify a specific change/bugfix
Scope	Broad, shallow	Narrow, focused
When	After every new build	After hotfix / minor change
Documented?	Usually scripted	Often unscripted
Owner	QA + DevOps	QA

Example

Smoke: 'Can a user log in, see the dashboard, and check out a sample item?' Sanity: 'The hotfix changed the tax calculation for EU orders — does it apply correctly and not break US orders?'

Frequently asked questions

1.Which runs first in CI?

Smoke. If smoke fails, the build is rejected and sanity / regression don't run.

2.Are they automated?

Smoke typically is. Sanity is often manual or semi-automated because it's tied to a specific change.

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