Top 17 Visual Testing Tools in 2024

What are Visual Testing Tools?

Visual testing tools are software that verify a website or app’s appearance and ensuring it looks consistent. This is done by capturing screenshots of the UI and compare them to a reference image and automatically identify any visual differences.

Visual Testing tools help catch even the smallest if GUI visual issues that might be missed during manual testing and ensure a consistent user experience across different devices and browsers. They simplify the testing process and save time by automating repetitive visual checks via visual regression testing.

Top 17 Visual Testing Tools in 2024

Here are the some of the best Visual Testing tools available:

1. Percy
2. App Percy
3. Storybook
4. Cypress
5. Selenium
6. Capybara
7. Puppeteer
8. Playwright
9. Jest
10. Appium
11. TestCafe
12. CSSCritic
13. NightwatchJS
14. Wraith
15. PhantomCSS
16. WebdriverIO
17. GreenOnion

1. Percy

Percy is a popular visual testing tool known for its ability to capture and compare screenshots of web applications to detect visual changes. It integrates seamlessly into the CI/CD pipeline, allowing teams to catch visual regressions early in the development cycle.

It supports cross-browser and responsive testing with minimal configuration. It can handle tests across different screen sizes, browsers, and devices, making it ideal for delivering a consistent experience across platforms.

Percy also offers a user-friendly dashboard where teams can review and approve visual changes, enabling collaboration between developers, designers, and QA engineers.

Percy integrates well with different test automation frameworks like Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Puppeteer and Storybook to enhance their visual testing capabilities.

Features:

• Automated Screenshots: Captures screenshots of your application during testing.
• Visual Diffing: Highlights visual differences between baseline and new screenshots.
• Integration: Works with various CI/CD tools and testing frameworks.

Platform:

Web-based, integrates with platforms like GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and CI/CD tools like Jenkins and CircleCI.

Benefits:

• Early Detection: Identifies visual regressions early in the development process.
• Streamlined Workflow: Seamlessly integrates with existing development workflows.
• Detailed Reports: Provides detailed visual diff reports for easy issue identification.

2. App Percy

App Percy is the mobile-specific version of Percy, designed to test visual changes in mobile applications. It extends Percy’s capabilities to mobile platforms, ensuring that visual consistency is maintained across various devices.

With its integration into mobile CI/CD workflows, App Percy ensures that visual changes are caught early in the development process, preventing unintended UI regressions before they reach production.

It allows developers, designers, and QA teams to easily track, review, and approve visual changes, making collaboration seamless. The tool also integrates smoothly with popular CI/CD pipelines, providing automated visual testing as part of the deployment process.

App Percy offers robust version control, allowing teams to manage baselines and review visual changes over time, helping maintain UI consistency across different app versions.

Features:

• Mobile Screenshots: Captures screenshots of mobile applications across different devices.
• Cross-Platform Testing: Ensures visual consistency across multiple mobile platforms.
• Integration: Compatible with popular mobile testing frameworks.

Platform:

Supports mobile platforms such as iOS and Android; integrates with CI/CD tools and mobile testing frameworks.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Testing: Addresses visual consistency across multiple mobile devices.
• Early Bug Detection: Finds visual issues specific to mobile environments.
• Seamless Integration: Works with mobile development and testing pipelines.

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3. Storybook

Storybook is an open-source tool that helps developers build and test UI components in isolation. While primarily a component development environment, it also offers visual testing capabilities to ensure components look and behave as expected.

For visual regression testing, Storybook integrates seamlessly with tools like Percy, which capture screenshots of components and compare them to baseline images. This helps ensure that UI components maintain consistent design and appearance as they evolve, making Storybook particularly valuable for design systems and component libraries.

One of the key advantages of using Storybook for visual testing is its ability to isolate individual components, allowing for more granular visual tests. By focusing on one component at a time, teams can catch visual regressions at an early stage and reduce the risk of UI issues making it to production.

Features:

• Component Isolation: Allows developers to build and test UI components in isolation.
• Visual Testing Add-ons: Supports visual regression testing through add-ons and plugins.
• Interactive UI: Provides an interactive interface for testing component states.

Platform:

Web-based, integrates with various testing tools and frameworks, and supports multiple front-end technologies.

Benefits:

• Component Focused: Ensures individual UI components are visually consistent.
• Interactive Testing: Provides an interactive environment for thorough testing.
• Community Support: Backed by a strong community and extensive documentation.

4. Cypress

Cypress is a powerful end-to-end testing framework known for its speed and reliability. It provides an intuitive interface for writing tests and includes visual testing capabilities through plugins.

Although Cypress is primarily focused on functional testing, it can be extended to support visual testing by capturing screenshots of your web pages during tests.

Using built-in commands like cy.screenshot(), you can take snapshots of your app at specific points in the test execution. These screenshots can then be compared against previously stored baseline images using image comparison tools such as Percy.

Features:

• Real-Time Testing: Executes tests in real-time with immediate feedback.
• Visual Testing Plugins: Supports visual testing with plugins like “cypress-image-snapshot”.
• Debugging Tools: Provides advanced debugging and error-tracking features.

Platform:

Web-based, supports modern web applications, and integrates with CI/CD tools.

Benefits:

• Fast Execution: Provides quick feedback with real-time browser interaction.
• Comprehensive Testing: Combines functional and visual testing in one framework.
• Enhanced Debugging: Offers detailed insights and debugging capabilities.

5. Selenium

Selenium is a widely-used open-source tool for automating web browsers. While primarily used for functional testing, it can also be extended for visual testing with additional tools and libraries.

To perform visual testing with Selenium, you can capture screenshots during your test execution and compare them with baseline images to check for any unintended visual changes. Selenium allows you to interact with web pages, fill forms, click buttons, and navigate between pages while capturing the state of the UI at each step.

Selenium can be combined with specialized visual regression tools like Percy to automate the process of taking screenshots, comparing them against baseline images, and reporting any visual differences.

Features:

• Browser Automation: Supports automation across multiple browsers.
• Extensible: Can be extended for visual testing using tools like Applitools Eyes.
• Cross-Platform: Works on various operating systems and browsers.

Platform:

Supports multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Benefits:

• Versatility: Supports a wide range of browsers and programming languages.
• Integration: Easily integrates with various development and testing tools.
• Community Support: Backed by a large community and extensive documentation.

6. Capybara

Capybara is a test automation framework for web applications, written in Ruby. It is commonly used with Rails applications and supports visual testing through additional tools.

Capybara enables visual regression checks, comparing current snapshots with baseline images to identify UI inconsistencies.

Features:

• DSL for Tests: Provides a domain-specific language for writing tests.
• Integration: Works seamlessly with Ruby on Rails and RSpec.
• Visual Testing: Can be extended with tools like Applitools for visual testing.

Platform:

Ruby-based, primarily used for testing web applications.

Benefits:

• Readable Tests: Allows writing readable and maintainable test scripts.
• Rails Compatibility: Designed to work well with Rails applications.
• Extensibility: Can be extended for visual regression testing.

7. Puppeteer

Puppeteer is a Node.js library that provides a high-level API to control Chrome or Chromium. It can be used for web scraping, automated testing, and visual testing.

Puppeteer can capture screenshots of web pages or specific elements, which can then be compared to baseline images to identify visual discrepancies. This process typically involves navigating to a page, taking a screenshot, and using a tool like Percy to compare it to a previously saved reference image to spot any unintended changes in layout, color, or design.

Puppeteer can be configured to run tests on multiple screen resolutions or browsers, ensuring that your web application provides a consistent user experience across various environments.

Features:

• Headless Browser: Operates in headless mode for fast execution.
• Screenshot Capture: Captures screenshots for visual testing.
• PDF Generation: Can generate PDFs from web pages.

Platform:

Node.js, supports headless Chrome/Chromium.

Benefits:

• Fast and Reliable: Provides fast and reliable browser automation.
• Comprehensive API: Offers a comprehensive API for various browser operations.
• Integration: Easily integrates with other Node.js tools and libraries.

8. Playwright

Playwright is a powerful framework for automating web browsers, and it can be used for visual testing to ensure that the UI of a web application looks as expected across different browsers and devices.

Playwright allows developers to capture screenshots of web pages, compare them with baseline images, and detect visual differences effectively.

While it doesn’t come with built-in visual comparison features, its integration with tools like BrowserStack Percy makes it a powerful choice for visual regression testing. Playwright’s flexibility, cross-browser support, and device emulation capabilities also make it a good choice for ensuring that web applications appear correctly across various environments.

Features:

• Cross-Browser Testing: Supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit.
• Visual Comparisons: Includes tools for capturing and comparing screenshots.
• Headless Mode: Supports headless browser testing.

Platform:

Node.js, supports multiple browsers and operating systems.

Benefits:

• Multi-Browser Support: Allows testing across different browsers with a single API.
• Reliable and Fast: Designed for reliability and speed.
• Integrated Visual Testing: Includes built-in support for visual comparisons.

9. Jest

Jest is a JavaScript testing framework developed by Facebook, known for its simplicity and powerful features. It is commonly used for testing React applications and includes capabilities for visual snapshot testing.

Although Jest doesn’t have built-in visual testing features, it can integrate with libraries like jest-image-snapshot to compare screenshots of web pages or components against baseline images.

Features:

• Snapshot Testing: Captures and compares snapshots to detect UI changes.
• Zero Configuration: Works out of the box with minimal setup.
• Mocking: Provides powerful mocking capabilities.

Platform:

JavaScript, primarily used with React and other JavaScript frameworks.

Benefits:

• Simple Setup: Easy to set up and use.
• Snapshot Testing: Automatically detects changes in UI components.
• Rich Ecosystem: Part of a rich ecosystem with plugins and extensions.

10. Appium

Appium is an open-source tool for automating mobile applications. It supports native, hybrid, and mobile web applications across iOS and Android.

While primarily known for functional testing, Appium can be extended to visual regression testing by capturing screenshots of the app at various test stages and comparing them with baseline images to identify visual differences.

It supports both Android and iOS, enabling cross-platform visual testing in one unified framework. Additionally, Appium integrates seamlessly with CI/CD pipelines, allowing for automated visual regression tests to run alongside functional tests as part of a continuous testing process.

Features:

• Cross-Platform: Supports multiple mobile platforms.
• Language Agnostic: Allows writing tests in various programming languages.
• Integration: Works with tools like Selenium for web testing.

Platform:

Supports iOS and Android, integrates with various testing frameworks.

Benefits:

• Versatility: Automates different types of mobile applications.
• Flexibility: Supports a wide range of programming languages.
• Community Support: Backed by a strong community and extensive documentation.

11. TestCafe

TestCafe is a Node.js tool for end-to-end testing of web applications. It is easy to set up and use, and includes features for visual testing through plugins.

It allows for visual regression testing by integrating with plugins like TestCafe Visual Regression and tools such as Percy.

TestCafe provides a simple API for interacting with web pages, simulating user actions, and capturing screenshots at specific points during test execution. Once screenshots are captured, they can be compared to baseline images to detect any visual discrepancies.

Features:

• No Dependencies: Works without the need for browser plugins or WebDriver.
• Built-In Assertions: Includes built-in assertions for test validations.
• Visual Testing Plugins: Supports visual testing with plugins.

Platform:

Node.js, supports multiple browsers and operating systems.

Benefits:

• Ease of Use: Simple setup with no browser plugins required.
• Built-In Assertions: Provides built-in assertion capabilities.
• Cross-Browser Support: Tests can be run across different browsers.

12. CSSCritic

CSSCritic is an open-source tool for regression testing of CSS. It compares screenshots to detect unintended visual changes in web applications.

CSSCritic is a visual regression testing tool that focuses specifically on detecting visual changes related to CSS styling. Unlike other visual testing tools that capture full-page screenshots, CSSCritic compares the visual appearance of a web page by focusing on the layout and CSS-driven differences.

It highlights the visual discrepancies caused by changes in CSS properties such as color, positioning, fonts, and margins. While CSSCritic is primarily concerned with visual changes driven by CSS, it may not be suitable for testing dynamic content, JavaScript-driven changes, or more complex UI interactions.

Features:

• Visual Regression Testing: Compares screenshots to detect CSS regressions.
• Integration: Integrates with various CI/CD tools.
• Simple Setup: Easy to set up and use.

Platform:

Web-based, supports integration with CI/CD pipelines.

Benefits:

• Focus on CSS: Specifically designed for CSS regression testing.
• Early Detection: Catches unintended visual changes early.
• CI/CD Integration: Works well with continuous integration and delivery pipelines.

13. NightwatchJS

NightwatchJS is an automated testing framework for web applications and websites, written in Node.js. It uses the W3C WebDriver API to perform browser automation.

Nightwatch allows you to perform browser automation, simulating user interactions, and can be configured to capture screenshots during test execution. When paired with visual regression plugins like Nightwatch-visual-regression or tools such as Percy, it can compare the captured screenshots to baseline images and highlight any visual discrepancies.

This combination enables teams to automatically detect UI changes, making it a useful tool for ensuring consistent design and layout across different environments.

Features:

• End-to-End Testing: Provides a framework for writing end-to-end tests.
• Browser Automation: Utilizes WebDriver for browser automation.
• Simple Syntax: Offers a straightforward syntax for writing tests.

Platform:

Node.js, supports various browsers through WebDriver.

Benefits:

• Simplicity: Easy to write and maintain tests with simple syntax.
• Comprehensive: Suitable for end-to-end testing of web applications.
• Community Support: Backed by a supportive community and documentation.

14. Wraith

Wraith is an open-source screenshot comparison tool by BBC News. It is used to identify visual differences between web pages.

Wraith allows you to test websites across different screen sizes and browsers, providing flexibility for responsive design testing. It can be run from the command line and offers configuration options for setting up the capture process, including custom viewports, which makes it easy to integrate into your automated testing workflows.

Its main drawback is that it requires a bit more manual configuration compared to some more modern visual testing tools.

Features:

• Screenshot Comparison: Captures and compares screenshots of web pages.
• Flexible Configuration: Allows configuration for different screen sizes and settings.
• Reporting: Generates visual reports highlighting differences.

Platform:

Ruby-based, supports various browsers.

Benefits:

• Visual Regression Testing: Identifies visual changes between web page versions.
• Customizable: Highly configurable for different testing needs.
• Open Source: Free to use and modify.

15. PhantomCSS

PhantomCSS is a CSS regression testing tool that captures screenshots of web pages and compares them to baseline images. It uses CasperJS and PhantomJS for automation.

Built on top of PhantomJS (a headless browser), it captures screenshots of the UI during test execution and compares them to baseline images using pixel-by-pixel comparison.

It supports the ability to define custom viewport sizes, enabling teams to test the responsiveness of their web applications across different screen sizes.

While PhantomCSS is relatively easy to integrate into existing test suites, its reliance on PhantomJS (which has been deprecated) means it may not be the best choice for teams requiring the most modern browser support.

It also lacks some of the more advanced features offered by newer tools, such as handling dynamic content or providing a comprehensive UI for reviewing visual regressions.

Features:

• Visual Regression Testing: Captures and compares screenshots to detect CSS changes.
• Automation: Uses PhantomJS and CasperJS for headless browser automation.
• Reporting: Provides visual reports of detected differences.

Platform:

JavaScript-based, uses PhantomJS for headless browser automation.

Benefits:

• Headless Testing: Performs tests in a headless browser environment.
• Detailed Reports: Generates visual reports highlighting CSS regressions.
• Open Source: Free and open for customization.

16. WebdriverIO

WebdriverIO is a next-gen WebDriver test framework for Node.js. It allows for cross-browser testing and includes features for visual regression testing through plugins.

Through plugins like webdriverio-image-comparison or integration with services like Percy, WebdriverIO enables teams to implement pixel-perfect visual regression tests in their CI/CD pipeline.

WebdriverIO works seamlessly with multiple browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, and supports mobile testing via Appium.

Features:

• Cross-Browser Testing: Supports various browsers through WebDriver.
• Visual Testing Plugins: Integrates with plugins like
  wdio-visual-regression-service.
• Modular Architecture: Highly modular and extensible with plugins.

Platform:

Node.js, supports multiple browsers and platforms.

Benefits:

• Versatile: Suitable for various types of web application testing.
• Modular: Easily extendable with a rich plugin ecosystem.
• Cross-Browser Support: Tests can be executed across different browsers.

17. GreenOnion

GreenOnion is an open-source visual regression testing tool that compares screenshots of web pages to detect visual changes.

It supports multiple browser environments, providing flexibility to test your web application in different settings. GreenOnion can be configured to automatically capture screenshots during test runs, compare them to previously stored baselines, and flag any visual regressions.

Features:

• Screenshot Comparison: Captures and compares screenshots to identify visual differences.
• Automated Testing: Integrates with CI/CD pipelines for automated visual testing.
• Reporting: Generates visual reports of detected changes.

Platform:

Web-based, integrates with various CI/CD tools.

Benefits:

• Early Detection: Catches visual regressions early in the development process.
• Automation: Integrates with CI/CD pipelines for continuous testing.
• Open Source: Free to use and modify.

Importance of Visual Testing Tools

Visual testing tools are important for making sure websites and apps look right on all devices and browsers. They help catch visual problems that might be missed in manual testing, like layout shifts, font issues, color mismatches, and broken images.

By automating visual checks, these tools save time, reduce mistakes, and ensure the app or website meets design standards and user expectations.

When selecting a visual testing tool, consider the following factors to ensure it meets your needs:

1. Device and Browser Support: Ensure the tool supports cross-browser and cross-device visual validation. This is crucial because your code might work functionally across different devices and browsers but still have visual issues.
2. Accessibility: There are two types of tools:
   • No-Coding Required: These tools allow anyone to test using a drag-and-drop interface or a record-playback plugin.
   • Coding Required: These are frameworks that let developers write code for testing. Choose the one that matches your team’s capabilities and requirements.
3. Integrations and Supported Frameworks: Verify that the tool integrates with the necessary tools and frameworks your organization uses. For example, BrowserStack’s Percy integrates with React, Ember, Angular, GitHub, Slack, CircleCI, Buildkite, and more.
4. Snapshot Stabilization: The tool should be able to filter out false positives and correctly identify issues like pixel offsets and anti-aliasing. It should also handle dynamic and moving content effectively.
5. Screenshots: The tool should support screenshot comparison testing. Percy, for instance, captures UI screenshots across different browsers and devices and performs pixel-by-pixel comparisons to detect changes.
6. Budget Constraints: Try different commercial and open-source tools to find one that fits your budget. Even if you’re considering commercial tools, make sure they are within your financial limits.

Quick Recap of the Best Visual Testing Tools: Which to Choose

Here’s a brief overview of some of the best visual testing tools, highlighting their key features and who should choose them:

1. Percy by BrowserStack

Highlight: Automated visual testing and review platform that integrates with CI/CD workflows.

Who Should Choose: Teams looking for seamless visual regression testing integrated with popular frameworks like Cypress, Selenium, and others.

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2. App Percy

Highlight: Visual testing platform specifically designed for mobile apps and responsive websites.

Who Should Choose: Teams focused on mobile or multi-platform visual testing with easy CI integration.

3. Storybook

Highlight: UI component explorer with visual testing capabilities for isolated component views.

Who should choose: Frontend developers building and testing components in isolation for visual consistency.

4. Cypress

Highlight: Fast, developer-friendly end-to-end testing tool that supports visual testing through plugins.

Who should choose: Teams needing both functional and visual testing with real-time browser control.

5. Selenium

Highlight: Powerful, widely-used automation tool for browser testing that supports visual regression via external libraries.

Who should choose: Teams looking for flexible and widely adopted browser automation for visual testing.

6. Capybara

Highlight: Web automation tool for Ruby that supports visual testing with external tools like Poltergeist.

Who should choose: Ruby developers needing integrated visual testing within their Capybara-driven test suites.

7. Puppeteer

Highlight: Headless Chrome automation tool that enables visual testing through image comparison.

Who should choose: JavaScript developers requiring a lightweight solution for visual regression testing in headless browsers.

8. Playwright

Highlight: Cross-browser automation tool from Microsoft that provides capabilities for visual regression testing.

Who should choose: Teams requiring cross-browser visual testing with modern features like headless mode and parallel execution.

9. Jest

Highlight: Testing framework for JavaScript that can be extended for visual regression through snapshots.

Who should choose: JavaScript developers looking for a lightweight, snapshot-based visual regression solution.

10. Appium

Highlight: Open-source automation tool for testing native and hybrid mobile applications, with visual testing capabilities.

Who should choose: Teams focused on testing mobile apps and requiring visual checks alongside functional automation.

11. TestCafe

Highlight: End-to-end testing framework with support for visual regression via plugins.

Who should choose: Teams looking for a simple, JavaScript-based testing framework with visual regression testing support.

12. CSSCritic

Highlight: A CSS-driven visual regression testing tool that compares screenshots based on styling changes.

Who should choose: Teams that want to focus on CSS-related visual regressions with easy integration into workflows.

13. NightwatchJS

Highlight: A browser automation framework with visual testing features when combined with external tools.

Who should choose: Teams needing a Node.js framework for both functional and visual testing with cross-browser support.

14. Wraith

Highlight: Visual regression tool that compares screenshots for pixel differences and supports multiple browsers.

Who should choose: Teams looking for a simple, command-line visual regression tool with browser support.

15. PhantomCSS

Highlight: A visual regression tool built on PhantomJS that compares screenshots for pixel differences.

Who should choose: Teams using PhantomJS who need lightweight visual regression testing capabilities.

16. WebdriverIO

Highlight: A customizable browser automation tool that supports visual regression testing through plugins.

Who should choose: Teams using WebDriver-based frameworks and requiring easy integration of visual regression tools.

17. GreenOnion

Highlight: Visual testing tool that compares screenshots of web pages to detect visual regressions.

Who should choose: Developers looking for a simple, easy-to-use tool to detect visual regressions with automatic baselining.

Why BrowserStack Percy is the Best Visual Testing Tool?

BrowserStack Percy is the top choice for visual testing because of its seamless integration with modern CI/CD pipelines, extensive support for various frameworks, and high scalability. Here are some reasons why Percy stands out:

• Ease of Integration: Percy integrates smoothly with tools like GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, CircleCI, and more, making it perfect for continuous integration and delivery workflows.
• Comprehensive Support: It supports a wide range of frameworks including React, Angular, Ember, and more, catering to diverse development needs.
• Detailed Reporting: Percy provides detailed visual reports with highlighted differences, making it easy to identify and fix visual discrepancies.
• Scalability: Capable of handling projects of any size, from small applications to large, complex systems, ensuring reliable performance at scale.
• User-Friendly Interface: Its intuitive interface simplifies the setup, usage, and analysis of visual tests without extensive training.

By choosing BrowserStack Percy, teams can ensure their applications not only function correctly but also look perfect across all devices and browsers, enhancing the overall user experience.

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