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Testing · head to head

Applitools vs Katalon

Applitools logo

Applitools

Testing

AI-based visual regression testing, priced on component and page checkpoint volume

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Katalon logo

Katalon

Testing

Commercial low-code test automation platform built on Appium and Selenium, priced per seat plus separate cloud session add-ons

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Applitools the entry tier alone costs 667 US dollars a month on annual billing, a genuinely high floor compared to Percy's tiers or a plain screenshot-diffing open source approach.; Katalon real cost stacks three separate charges, per-seat authoring licence, the True Platform add-on for test management, and per-session cloud execution, so the advertised seat price significantly understates total spend for a team running cloud tests regularly.
  • They diverge on capability: Applitools covers Visual AI comparison, Katalon covers Low-code test recording.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Applitools and Katalon actually diverge.

Attributes where Applitools and Katalon differ
AttributeApplitoolsKatalon
Pricing modelPer month by checkpoint volumePer seat per month, plus separate per-session cloud execution charges
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Windows, macOS

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Testing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Applitools

  • Visual AI comparison
  • Storybook component testing
  • Figma design comparison
  • Cross-browser and device visual testing
  • Accessibility testing
  • NLP-based test authoring

Only in Katalon

  • Low-code test recording
  • Built on Selenium and Appium
  • Object repository
  • AI-assisted test generation
  • TestCloud execution
  • TestOps management

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Applitools

  • A team that abandoned pixel-diffing visual regression testing because of false-positive fatigue and wants a lower-noise alternativenot Katalon
  • A design system team wanting component-level visual testing against Storybook rather than only full-page checksnot Katalon
  • An organisation wanting automated verification that shipped UI matches its Figma source designnot Katalon
  • A team wanting NLP-based visual test authoring to reduce the coding overhead of writing visual test scripts, available at Professional tiernot Katalon

Katalon

  • A QA team wanting a lower-code authoring layer over Selenium and Appium for testers without deep coding backgroundsnot Applitools
  • An organisation wanting test management and AI-assisted test maintenance bundled with automation authoring in one commercial productnot Applitools
  • A team needing occasional cross-browser or device cloud sessions without maintaining its own device lab or Selenium Gridnot Applitools
  • An enterprise wanting a single vendor and support contract for test authoring, management and cloud execution togethernot Applitools

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Applitools

  • The entry tier alone costs 667 US dollars a month on annual billing, a genuinely high floor compared to Percy's tiers or a plain screenshot-diffing open source approach.
  • Professional and Enterprise tiers, which hold the more advanced authoring and unlimited execution features, are quote-only, removing pricing transparency exactly where a large buyer most needs it.
  • Visual AI still occasionally flags false positives on genuinely novel layouts or animation-heavy interfaces, so a baseline review process is still needed, not eliminated.
  • Checkpoint-based pricing means cost is directly tied to test suite size and coverage breadth, so expanding visual test coverage has a direct, compounding cost impact unlike time-based or seat-based pricing models.
  • Teams migrating from a simpler pixel-diffing tool face real setup and baseline migration work to establish Applitools baselines correctly across a large existing UI.

Katalon

  • Real cost stacks three separate charges, per-seat authoring licence, the True Platform add-on for test management, and per-session cloud execution, so the advertised seat price significantly understates total spend for a team running cloud tests regularly.
  • Since it is built on Selenium and Appium underneath, a team with strong automation engineers can replicate most of the core capability for free, paying only for optional cloud execution elsewhere, making Katalon's value proposition mainly about authoring speed rather than unique capability.
  • The steep first-three-seats discount versus the fourth-seat-and-beyond price means cost per seat rises sharply as a team scales past three testers on Katalon Studio alone.
  • Low-code recorded tests can become brittle and hard to maintain at scale in the same way any record-and-playback approach does, requiring the team to still write real code for complex scenarios.
  • Enterprise pricing is quote-only, so the largest deployments lose the pricing transparency the published seat tiers otherwise offer.

Pricing, plan by plan

Applitools

On request
  • Starter$667/month
    • Billed annually
    • 100,000 component checkpoints or 1,000 page checkpoints
    • Visual AI, Storybook and Figma integration, accessibility testing
  • Professional$undefined/month
    • Custom quote, starting around 150 active pages or 1,500 components
    • Unlimited executions, NLP-based test authoring
    • Priority support with a dedicated Slack channel
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom quote, starting around 350 active pages or 1,500 components
    • SSO and dedicated or private cloud
    • Custom SLAs and a weekly account manager

Katalon

On request
  • Katalon Studio$84/month
    • Annual billing, first three seats at 84 US dollars a seat a month
    • Fourth seat and beyond at 150 US dollars a seat a month
    • Low-code recording, object repository, Selenium and Appium engine underneath
  • True Automation$167/month
    • Annual billing, per seat
    • Includes Studio features plus test management and AI agents
    • True Platform TestOps and TestCloud sold as a further add-on at 700 US dollars a seat a year
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom quote for private SaaS and hybrid licensing
    • Dedicated support
    • Negotiated cloud session volume

Which should you pick?

Choose Applitools if

  • You need visual ai comparison.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want storybook component testing.
Applitools review

Choose Katalon if

  • You need low-code test recording.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want built on selenium and appium.
Katalon review

Questions people ask

Is Applitools or Katalon better?
Neither clearly leads. Applitools starts at On request and Katalon at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Applitools or Katalon?
Applitools starts at On request and Katalon at On request.
Does Applitools or Katalon run on more platforms?
Applitools runs on Web, iOS, Android. Katalon runs on Web, Windows, macOS.
What is Applitools best used for?
Applitools is most often used for a team that abandoned pixel-diffing visual regression testing because of false-positive fatigue and wants a lower-noise alternative, a design system team wanting component-level visual testing against storybook rather than only full-page checks, an organisation wanting automated verification that shipped ui matches its figma source design, a team wanting nlp-based visual test authoring to reduce the coding overhead of writing visual test scripts, available at professional tier. Of those, a team that abandoned pixel-diffing visual regression testing because of false-positive fatigue and wants a lower-noise alternative and a design system team wanting component-level visual testing against storybook rather than only full-page checks are not what Katalon is typically brought in for.
What can Applitools do that Katalon cannot?
Applitools covers Visual AI comparison, Storybook component testing, Figma design comparison, Cross-browser and device visual testing. Katalon covers Low-code test recording, Built on Selenium and Appium, Object repository, AI-assisted test generation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Applitools: How is Applitools priced?

By checkpoint volume, component or page-level screenshot comparisons, with the entry Starter tier at 667 US dollars a month for 100,000 component or 1,000 page checkpoints.

Katalon: Is Katalon free?

No, though a 30-day free trial with no credit card is offered; the product is commercial with per-seat licensing.

Applitools: How is it different from Percy?

Applitools uses an AI-based perceptual comparison model designed to reduce false positives from rendering noise; Percy is generally pixel-diffing based and lower cost per screenshot.

Katalon: Does Katalon replace Selenium and Appium?

No, it is built on top of them; Katalon adds a low-code authoring layer, test management and cloud execution rather than a different automation engine.

Applitools: Does it test individual components or only full pages?

Both; Storybook integration allows component-level visual testing in addition to full-page checks.

Katalon: Is cloud execution included in the seat price?

No, TestCloud cross-browser and mobile sessions are billed separately, at 197 US dollars a session monthly or 1,899 annually per session.

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