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Testing · head to head

Applitools vs Cucumber

Applitools logo

Applitools

Testing

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cucumber logo

Cucumber

Testing

Behaviour-driven development testing framework that returned to community ownership after nine years under SmartBear

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cucumber has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Cucumber gherkin's plain-language layer adds a real maintenance burden, keeping feature files, step definitions and implementation code synchronised across a large suite is a known source of drift and duplicated effort.
  • They diverge on capability: Applitools covers Visual AI comparison, Cucumber covers Gherkin syntax.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Applitools and Cucumber actually diverge.

Attributes where Applitools and Cucumber differ
AttributeApplitoolsCucumber
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer month by checkpoint volumeOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidLinux, macOS, Windows

Identical on both: 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 Cucumber

  • Gherkin syntax
  • Step definition binding
  • Multi-language support
  • Living documentation
  • Tagging and scenario outlines
  • Reporting plugins

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

Cucumber

  • A team practising behaviour-driven development that wants shared, readable specifications between product owners and engineersnot Applitools
  • An organisation wanting living documentation that stays synchronised with actual test coverage rather than a separate specification documentnot Applitools
  • A QA team migrating acceptance tests from a proprietary BDD tool to an open source, community-governed alternativenot Applitools
  • A Java, JavaScript or Ruby project needing a mature BDD framework rather than building Gherkin-style parsing from scratchnot 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.

Cucumber

  • Gherkin's plain-language layer adds a real maintenance burden, keeping feature files, step definitions and implementation code synchronised across a large suite is a known source of drift and duplicated effort.
  • Ownership has moved twice in under a decade, from independent to SmartBear-owned to independent community ownership again, which should temper confidence in any specific long-range roadmap claim.
  • Non-technical stakeholders who are meant to read and write Gherkin scenarios often do not engage with them in practice, leaving the readability benefit unrealised while the maintenance cost remains.
  • Step definition reuse across a large feature file set can become tangled, with ambiguous step matching causing hard-to-debug failures as a suite grows.
  • As a community-owned project without a corporate backer's support infrastructure, enterprise buyers wanting a formal support contract have no vendor to buy one from, unlike some competing BDD tools still sold commercially.

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

Cucumber

Free
  • CucumberFree
    • Full functionality across Cucumber-JVM, Cucumber-JS, Cucumber-Ruby and other implementations
    • Community support via GitHub
    • Returned to independent community ownership in December 2024 after nine years connected to SmartBear

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 Cucumber if

  • You need gherkin syntax.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want step definition binding.
Cucumber review

Questions people ask

Is Applitools or Cucumber better?
Neither clearly leads. Applitools starts at On request and Cucumber at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Applitools or Cucumber?
Cucumber has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Applitools and Free for Cucumber.
Does Applitools or Cucumber run on more platforms?
Applitools runs on Web, iOS, Android. Cucumber runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Cucumber for free?
Yes. Cucumber has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Applitools starts at On request.
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 Cucumber is typically brought in for.
What can Applitools do that Cucumber cannot?
Applitools covers Visual AI comparison, Storybook component testing, Figma design comparison, Cross-browser and device visual testing. Cucumber covers Gherkin syntax, Step definition binding, Multi-language support, Living documentation.

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.

Cucumber: Is Cucumber owned by SmartBear?

No, not currently. SmartBear acquired Cucumber Ltd in 2019 but the open source project returned to independent community ownership in December 2024.

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.

Cucumber: Is Cucumber free?

Yes, entirely open source with no licence fee across all its language implementations.

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

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

Cucumber: Does Cucumber replace Selenium or Appium?

No, Cucumber provides the Gherkin specification layer and step definition binding; the actual browser or mobile automation still needs a driver such as Selenium or Appium underneath.

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