Abstract In this manuscript we introduce algorithms based on the pattern search method that are used to estimate equilibrium surface tension and surfactant transport parameters from pendant drops. The pattern search method is an efficient minimization technique for estimating multiple unknown parameters. To introduce and validate the method for measuring surface tension and transport parameters we use axisymmetric drop shape analysis (ADSA) for pendant drops of aqueous sodium oleate (SO) and aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in mineral oil, along with several other classical data sets from the literature. The data show good agreement with other studies suggesting that the pattern search method may be a robust alternative to gradient based search methods.