Is Cypress or Katalon better?

Neither clearly leads. Cypress starts at Free and Katalon at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Cypress or Katalon?

Cypress has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cypress and On request for Katalon.

Does Cypress or Katalon run on more platforms?

Cypress runs on macOS, Windows, Linux. Katalon runs on Web, Windows, macOS.

Can I use Cypress for free?

Yes. Cypress has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Katalon starts at On request.

What is Cypress best used for?

Cypress is most often used for end-to-end testing for modern javascript web applications, continuous integration pipelines with parallelised test execution, visual regression testing and accessibility verification, flaky test detection and elimination. Of those, end-to-end testing for modern javascript web applications and continuous integration pipelines with parallelised test execution are not what Katalon is typically brought in for.

What can Cypress do that Katalon cannot?

Katalon covers Low-code test recording, Built on Selenium and Appium, Object repository, AI-assisted test generation.

Testing · head to head

Cypress vs Katalon

Cypress

Testing

JavaScript end-to-end testing framework with browser-based runner and cloud service

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

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 review Website

The short version

Only Cypress has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Cypress limited to web applications; mobile and desktop app testing not supported; 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.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cypress and Katalon actually diverge.

Attributes where Cypress and Katalon differ
Attribute	Cypress	Katalon
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	freemium	Per seat per month, plus separate per-session cloud execution charges
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	macOS, Windows, Linux	Web, Windows, macOS

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 Cypress

Nothing recorded that Katalon does not also cover.

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.

Cypress

End-to-end testing for modern JavaScript web applicationsnot Katalon
Continuous integration pipelines with parallelised test executionnot Katalon
Visual regression testing and accessibility verificationnot Katalon
Flaky test detection and eliminationnot Katalon
Team collaboration on test maintenance and debuggingnot Katalon

Katalon

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

Where each one falls short

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

Cypress

Limited to web applications; mobile and desktop app testing not supported
Free tier capped at 500 test results/month; insufficient for most development teams
Paid features (flake detection, analytics) not included in free tier
JavaScript/TypeScript focused; less suitable for polyglot organisations

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

Cypress

Free

Starter (Free)Free
- 500 test results/month
- 100 prompt executions/month
- Parallelisation
Team$67/month
- 120k test results/year
- 9k prompt executions/year
- Flake detection
Business$267/month
- 120k test results/year
- 24k prompt executions/year
- Spec prioritisation
Enterprise$undefined/custom
- 1.8M test results/year
- 60k prompt executions/year
- Unlimited users

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 Cypress if

You want to start without paying.
You work on macOS, Windows, Linux.

Cypress 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 Cypress or Katalon better?: Neither clearly leads. Cypress starts at Free and Katalon at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cypress or Katalon?: Cypress has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cypress and On request for Katalon.
Does Cypress or Katalon run on more platforms?: Cypress runs on macOS, Windows, Linux. Katalon runs on Web, Windows, macOS.
Can I use Cypress for free?: Yes. Cypress has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Katalon starts at On request.
What is Cypress best used for?: Cypress is most often used for end-to-end testing for modern javascript web applications, continuous integration pipelines with parallelised test execution, visual regression testing and accessibility verification, flaky test detection and elimination. Of those, end-to-end testing for modern javascript web applications and continuous integration pipelines with parallelised test execution are not what Katalon is typically brought in for.
What can Cypress do that Katalon cannot?: Katalon covers Low-code test recording, Built on Selenium and Appium, Object repository, AI-assisted test generation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cypress: Is Cypress free?

Yes, Cypress offers a free Starter plan with 500 test results per month, 100 prompt executions monthly, 50 users, and 30-day data retention. No credit card is required.

Source

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.

Cypress: How much does Cypress Team cost?

Cypress Team costs $67 per month when billed monthly or $799 per year for annual billing (11% savings). It includes 120,000 annual test results, 9,000 yearly prompt executions, 50 users, 90-day data retention, flake detection, Jira integration, and email support.

Source

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.

Cypress: What is the difference between Cypress Team and Business?

Cypress Business costs $267 per month (or $3,199 annually) compared to Team's $67/month ($799/year). Business provides twice the prompt executions (24,000 vs. 9,000 yearly), spec prioritization, auto-cancellation, and enterprise GitHub/GitLab support.

Source

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.

Cypress: Can I purchase additional test results on Cypress?

Yes, Cypress allows purchasing bundled on-demand test results. Team costs $6 per 1,000 results, Business costs $5 per 1,000, and Enterprise pricing is custom. Open-source projects qualify for complimentary cloud services.

Source

Cypress vs Katalon

Cypress

Katalon

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Cypress

Only in Katalon

What people use each for

Cypress

Katalon

Where each one falls short

Cypress

Katalon

Pricing, plan by plan

Cypress

Katalon

Which should you pick?

Choose Cypress if

Choose Katalon if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Cypress

More on Katalon

Keep looking

Other head to heads