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Testing · head to head

Applitools vs Sauce Labs

Applitools logo

Applitools

Testing

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sauce Labs logo

Sauce Labs

Testing

Cloud device and browser testing platform, priced per plan tier with unlimited testing minutes rather than metered by the minute

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.; Sauce Labs every published tier includes only a single parallel test session by default, so any team wanting to run multiple tests simultaneously needs to negotiate additional parallel sessions, which is not transparently priced on the public page.
  • They diverge on capability: Applitools covers Visual AI comparison, Sauce Labs covers Real device cloud.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Applitools and Sauce Labs actually diverge.

Attributes where Applitools and Sauce Labs differ
AttributeApplitoolsSauce Labs
Pricing modelPer month by checkpoint volumePer month by parallel session count and device category

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Sauce Labs

  • Real device cloud
  • Virtual device cloud
  • Live manual testing
  • Video and log capture
  • Sauce AI agents
  • Unlimited testing minutes and users

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 Sauce Labs
  • A design system team wanting component-level visual testing against Storybook rather than only full-page checksnot Sauce Labs
  • An organisation wanting automated verification that shipped UI matches its Figma source designnot Sauce Labs
  • A team wanting NLP-based visual test authoring to reduce the coding overhead of writing visual test scripts, available at Professional tiernot Sauce Labs

Sauce Labs

  • A QA team running Selenium or Appium test suites that needs cloud device and browser coverage without maintaining a physical labnot Applitools
  • A team wanting manual live testing sessions on real devices for exploratory or accessibility testingnot Applitools
  • An organisation needing video, screenshot and log capture on every automated test run for debugging flaky failuresnot Applitools
  • An enterprise wanting AI-assisted test authoring and insights alongside device cloud executionnot 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.

Sauce Labs

  • Every published tier includes only a single parallel test session by default, so any team wanting to run multiple tests simultaneously needs to negotiate additional parallel sessions, which is not transparently priced on the public page.
  • Enterprise pricing, where AI agents and SSO live, is quote-only, so the most capability-rich tier loses the pricing transparency of the lower tiers.
  • It competes directly with BrowserStack on almost identical device cloud fundamentals, and the two vendors leapfrog each other on device inventory and pricing often enough that a comparison made today can be outdated within a year.
  • Real device availability for less common device and OS combinations can queue during peak usage, which affects CI pipelines that expect on-demand execution.
  • The unlimited-minutes model rewards teams that run tests constantly and penalises smaller teams paying the same base price for occasional, low-volume use.

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

Sauce Labs

On request
  • Live Testing$39/month
    • Annual billing, 49 US dollars a month billed monthly
    • 1 parallel test, unlimited users and testing minutes
    • Manual cross-browser and mobile app testing
  • Virtual Device Cloud$149/month
    • Annual billing, 199 US dollars a month billed monthly
    • 1 parallel test, unlimited users and testing minutes
    • Automated and manual testing on emulators and simulators
  • Real Device Cloud$199/month
    • Annual billing, 249 US dollars a month billed monthly
    • 1 parallel test, unlimited users and testing minutes
    • Access to real mobile devices
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom parallel session count and pricing
    • Sauce AI Test Authoring and Insights agents
    • SSO, private device cloud, professional services

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 Sauce Labs if

  • You need real device cloud.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want virtual device cloud.
Sauce Labs review

Questions people ask

Is Applitools or Sauce Labs better?
Neither clearly leads. Applitools starts at On request and Sauce Labs at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Applitools or Sauce Labs?
Applitools starts at On request and Sauce Labs at On request.
Does Applitools or Sauce Labs run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Sauce Labs is typically brought in for.
What can Applitools do that Sauce Labs cannot?
Applitools covers Visual AI comparison, Storybook component testing, Figma design comparison, Cross-browser and device visual testing. Sauce Labs covers Real device cloud, Virtual device cloud, Live manual testing, Video and log capture.

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.

Sauce Labs: Is Sauce Labs priced by testing minutes?

No, every published plan includes unlimited testing minutes and unlimited users; the pricing lever is the number of parallel test sessions and device category.

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.

Sauce Labs: How does it differ from BrowserStack?

Both offer equivalent real and virtual device cloud testing for Selenium and Appium; differences are mainly in device inventory specifics, parallel session pricing and AI feature rollout, which change often enough to need a current comparison.

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

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

Sauce Labs: Do I need Appium or Selenium separately?

Yes, Sauce Labs provides the device and browser infrastructure; test scripts are still written against the open source Selenium or Appium frameworks.

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