Visual regression testing has moved well past pixel-diffing screenshots. Today’s tools use AI to tell the difference between a meaningless rendering artifact and a genuine visual bug, and to adapt as a UI evolves instead of breaking on every minor change. Applitools, Percy (from BrowserStack), and Chromatic are the three most widely used platforms for this, each with a different approach to how it counts usage and bills for it. This is specifically about visual/UI regression testing — not functional or API testing tools — and every price below comes from each vendor’s own current pricing page.
At a Glance
| Applitools | AI-powered “Visual AI” validation, plus AI-driven functional/API testing on higher tiers; priced by checkpoints |
| Percy | BrowserStack’s visual testing product; priced by screenshots, with real mobile device coverage on higher tiers |
| Chromatic | Visual testing built around Storybook/component snapshots; priced by monthly snapshots |
| Entry paid price | Applitools Starter: $667/mo (annual) · Percy Desktop: $199/mo (annual) · Chromatic Starter: $179/mo |
| Free tier | Percy and Chromatic both offer one; Applitools’s entry tier is paid-only on its public page |
| Billed by | Applitools: checkpoints · Percy: screenshots · Chromatic: snapshots |
Short Verdict
Chromatic is the easiest and cheapest entry point, especially for teams already using Storybook, with a genuinely free tier (5,000 snapshots/month) and a clear path up to paid tiers. Percy is the strongest choice if you’re already in the BrowserStack ecosystem or need real mobile device coverage alongside visual testing, also with a usable free tier. Applitools is the most feature-rich and enterprise-oriented of the three — its Visual AI engine and optional AI-driven functional testing are well-regarded — but its only publicly priced tier starts at $667/month billed annually, with everything above that requiring a sales conversation.
What They Are
Applitools built its name on “Visual AI” — using perceptual/AI-based comparison instead of strict pixel diffing, so it can ignore rendering noise (like anti-aliasing or font-hinting differences) while still catching real layout, color, or content regressions. Its higher tiers extend well beyond visual testing into AI-driven functional testing, natural-language test authoring, and codeless API testing, positioning it as a broader AI testing platform rather than a pure visual-diff tool.
Percy is BrowserStack’s visual testing product, integrated with BrowserStack’s existing cross-browser and real-device infrastructure. It bills by “screenshots” — one rendering of a page or component in one browser at one responsive width — and groups related screenshots into “snapshots” for reporting, so a single page tested across multiple browsers and widths consumes several screenshots from your monthly allotment.
Chromatic, built by the Storybook maintainers, is most tightly associated with component-level visual testing: it snapshots your Storybook stories (or “TurboSnaps,” an optimization that only re-tests components affected by a given change) and flags visual diffs in pull requests. It bills by monthly snapshot volume and is often the first visual-testing tool teams adopt once they already have a Storybook set up.
Pricing Breakdown
| Product | Plan | Price | Key limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applitools | Starter | $667/month, billed annually | Unlimited users; 100,000 component checkpoints or 1,000 page checkpoints; Visual AI, Figma integration, Storybook testing, CI/CD integrations |
| Applitools | Professional | Custom (contact sales) | Starts at 150 active pages or 1,500 components; unlimited executions; adds AI-driven functional testing, NLP test authoring, codeless API testing |
| Applitools | Enterprise | Custom (contact sales) | Starts at 350 active pages or 1,500 components; dedicated/private cloud, SSO, 99.99% uptime SLA, weekly dedicated TAM |
| Percy | Free | $0/month | 5,000 screenshots/month; unlimited users; cross-browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari); 1-month build history |
| Percy | Desktop | $199/month, billed annually | 10,000–25,000 screenshots/month (or custom); 12-month build history; extra screenshots at $0.036 each |
| Percy | Desktop & Mobile | $599/month, billed annually | 25,000 screenshots/month (or custom); adds real mobile devices/browsers; extra screenshots at $0.048 each |
| Percy | Enterprise | Custom (contact sales) | SSO, dedicated CSM, 99% uptime SLA, 2x parallel execution allocation |
| Chromatic | Free | $0/month | 5,000 snapshots/month (25,000 TurboSnap-equivalent); Chrome only; unlimited projects, users, and collaborators |
| Chromatic | Starter | $179/month | 35,000 snapshots/month (175,000 TurboSnap-equivalent); adds Safari, Firefox, Edge; extra snapshots at $0.008 each |
| Chromatic | Pro | $399/month | 85,000 snapshots/month (425,000 TurboSnap-equivalent); adds custom domain |
| Chromatic | Enterprise | Custom (contact sales) | Unlimited accessibility usage, SSO, custom Git integrations, priority support/SLA, extended data retention |
One ambiguity worth flagging directly: BrowserStack’s own pricing page lists Percy’s Desktop plan as covering “10,000 or 25,000” screenshots per month without fully clarifying whether that’s a single tier or two sub-tiers at the same $199 price — worth confirming with BrowserStack sales before budgeting.
Pros and Cons
- Applitools — Pros: the most mature AI-based visual comparison engine in the category, plus an optional path into broader AI-driven functional and API testing on higher tiers. Cons: no self-serve free tier on its public pricing page, and only the entry Starter plan has a published price — everything else requires a sales call.
- Percy — Pros: a workable free tier (5,000 screenshots/month), tight integration with BrowserStack’s real-device cloud for teams that need true mobile coverage, and transparent overage pricing. Cons: billing by individual screenshots (not unified snapshots) means multi-browser, multi-viewport test suites can burn through the monthly allotment faster than expected.
- Chromatic — Pros: the most generous free tier of the three, clear published pricing all the way up to the Pro plan, and purpose-built TurboSnap optimization that reduces billed usage for incremental changes. Cons: its core strength is Storybook/component-level testing, so teams without an established Storybook setup may get less immediate value than with full-page visual testing tools.
Who It’s a Good Fit For / Who Should Look Elsewhere
Applitools fits larger organizations that want an AI testing platform that goes beyond visual diffing — into functional and API testing — and that are comfortable negotiating pricing directly with sales past the entry Starter tier. Percy fits teams already using or considering BrowserStack for cross-browser and real-device testing who want visual regression folded into the same bill and dashboard. Chromatic fits teams building component libraries with Storybook, especially smaller teams and open-source projects that can operate comfortably within its free tier before needing to pay. Teams with simple, low-volume visual testing needs and no Storybook usage may find Chromatic’s component-centric model less of a fit than Percy’s page-level screenshot approach; teams with tight budgets and no immediate need for AI-driven functional testing may find Applitools’s entry price harder to justify than the other two.
Bottom Line
Start with Chromatic if you’re Storybook-based and cost-sensitive, start with Percy if you’re already in or considering the BrowserStack ecosystem or need real mobile device coverage, and consider Applitools if you want the most advanced AI-driven testing capabilities and have the budget (or the willingness to negotiate) to go beyond its $667/month Starter tier.
FAQ
Does Applitools have a free plan?
Not on its public pricing page as of this writing — the lowest published tier is Starter at $667/month billed annually; a free trial is offered instead of a permanent free tier.
What’s the difference between a Percy “screenshot” and a “snapshot”?
A screenshot is one rendering of a page or component in one browser at one width; a snapshot groups the screenshots for the same page/component across browsers and widths for reporting — so testing one page in 2 browsers at 3 widths uses 6 screenshots, shown as 1 snapshot.
What is a Chromatic “TurboSnap”?
TurboSnap is Chromatic’s optimization that only re-snapshots the Storybook stories affected by a given code change, which is why its plans list a much higher “TurboSnap-equivalent” number than raw billed snapshots.
Which of these three has real mobile device testing?
Percy’s Desktop & Mobile plan ($599/month) adds real mobile devices and browsers; Applitools’s higher tiers also offer real iOS/Android device access as an add-on; Chromatic’s plans are focused on browser rendering rather than physical devices.
Can any of these integrate with Figma or Storybook directly?
Applitools lists Figma design integration and Storybook component testing on its Starter plan; Chromatic is built around Storybook natively; Percy’s integrations are primarily CI/CD and browser-based rather than design-tool-specific.
Sources
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