Percy vs Applitools: two Visual AI engines, two price points
Both tools now use AI to separate real UI changes from rendering noise, so the old "pixel diffs vs Visual AI" split no longer holds. What still differs is how you control the comparison, how you review it, and what you pay to start.
Choose by budget and how much control you need over the comparison:
- Noisy, dynamic UIs at scale → Applitools: per-check match levels and an enterprise QA platform, from $667/mo.
- Simpler pages, easy to start → Percy: Visual AI Engine plus review agent, 5,000 free screenshots a month.
Side by side
Percy vs Applitools, at a glance
| Dimension | Percy | Applitools Eyes |
|---|---|---|
| Diff engine | Visual AI Engine (OCR, shift detection, Intelli-ignore) | Visual AI with match levels (e.g. Strict, Layout) |
| AI review | Visual Review Agent: boxes and summarises changes | Auto-maintenance groups similar diffs |
| Best for | Teams that want a free start and public pricing | Enterprise QA with large browser matrices |
| Free tier | 5,000 screenshots/mo | ✗ free trial only |
| Paid pricing | Desktop: $199/mo billed annually ($249/mo billed monthly) for 10,000 screenshots; extra $0.036 each | Starter: $667/mo billed annually for 100,000 component or 1,000 page checkpoints; Professional on request |
| Public pricing | ✓ | Starter only |
Checked November 2026 (2026-11-02) on each vendor's official pricing page. List prices in USD, excluding tax. Pricing changes often; verify current terms.
Official pages: Percy pricing · Applitools pricing · Percy AI agents · Applitools match levels
Where Applitools wins. Applitools built the product around Visual AI, and each check can run at a different match level, so a layout-only check on a page full of live data sits next to a strict check on a logo. It is built for enterprise QA teams running large browser and viewport matrices. It costs more to start. There is no free plan (free trial only), Starter is $667/mo billed annually, and Professional is priced on request.
Where Percy wins. Percy is easier to adopt. Its Visual AI Engine handles text and layout shifts, Intelli-ignore drops dynamic regions, and the Visual Review Agent marks what changed in plain language. The free tier (5,000 screenshots/month) and public pricing let small teams start immediately and see the cost before they grow.
Common questions
Percy vs Applitools: common questions
What is the difference between Percy and Applitools?
Both now filter rendering noise with AI. Percy's Visual AI Engine adds OCR text checks, layout shift detection and Intelli-ignore for dynamic regions, and its Visual Review Agent (October 2025) boxes and summarises meaningful changes. Applitools Eyes built its product around Visual AI and lets you pick a match level per check, such as Strict or Layout. The practical split is price and scale: Percy has a free plan and public pricing, Applitools has a trial and targets enterprise QA.
Which one produces fewer false positives?
There is no independent benchmark, and both vendors claim strong noise filtering. Results depend on your UI: run your noisiest pages (dynamic data, animations, variable fonts) through the Percy free plan and an Applitools trial, and count how many diffs you would have dismissed by hand.
How much does Applitools cost compared to Percy?
Applitools has no free plan, only a free trial. Its Starter plan is $667/month billed annually for 100,000 component checkpoints or 1,000 page checkpoints (the pricing page does not state the period), and Professional is priced on request. Percy has a free plan with 5,000 screenshots/month, then Desktop at $199/month billed annually ($249 billed monthly) for 10,000 screenshots, with extra screenshots at $0.036 each. The units differ: a Percy screenshot is one page or component per browser and width, an Applitools checkpoint is one page or component check.