Comparison of Cross-browser Testing Tools

If you’re a software tester then you must have used different operating systems and browsers to ensure your web application is working everywhere. Often, you are using your own infrastructure (a bunch of devices and virtual machines) to test your work but it probably costs a lot. And many times, this is definitely out of budget for the project.

In such a case, cross-browser testing tools can be a great help. Such tools help you test your web and mobile applications in the cloud without having your own devices or virtual machines. All you need to do is just buy a subscription to such cross-browser testing tools. Then you just put your website URL in the tool and select on what OS and browser you will be testing, and the tool will show you how your website looks on this OS and browser combination. Some of the cross-browser testing tools are even free for quick testing.

If you’re also looking for such testing tools, then this article is for you. Here we are sharing the comparison of the best cross-browser testing tools. We are going to look at the most popular cross-browser testing tools so that you can compare them and pick the right one for your needs.

Cross-browser testing tools comparison – top 5 tools

Let’s start and talk about the 5 best browser testing tools and their alternatives. We will also list the features of these tools so that you can see what their differences are. Some of these are free cross-browser testing tools while others are paid but provide either free trials or free limited plans.

#1 Browserling

Browserling is undoubtedly the most popular cross-browser testing tool currently in the market. It’s extremely cost-efficient and fulfills all testing needs. It focuses on live interactive cross-browser testing that gets you a browser in less than 5 seconds.

Browserling offers all major operating systems and browsers to test. You can select the version of the browser and see how your site is displayed. You can also try the tool before you buy it and use up to 3 minutes at a time for free.

In the free version, not all OS and browsers are available but there are enough choices to get a good test and feel the experience. The best thing is, you don’t need to sign up to use it, just enter the website address and click the “Test now!” button and you are ready to test.

Features:

• Offers interactive online browser sessions and opportunity to take screenshots of the browsers.
• Runs real browsers running on real systems and not virtual browsers or emulators.
• Allows you to use secure SSH tunnels for local testing and Live API to embed browsers in your own applications.
• Offers secure browsing as connections are HTTPS encrypted.
• Testing is anonymous.
• As browsers run on remote servers, your browsing and testing is safe.
• You can install Browserling browser extension for quick testing any website.

Pricing:

Browserling offers a free plan where you can test the tool for 3 minutes with a certain number of browsers. The paid plan starts at $19 per month per user and $29 per month for 2 users. They also offer a 30-days money-back guarantee.

#2 Browsershots

Browsershots is a well-known open-source cross-browser testing tool for everyone and it’s very popular as well. It’s extensively being used for testing as it is entirely free and monetized via ads. It takes screenshots of your web design in different OS and browsers. You can customize your testing needs as necessary by selecting browsers in the selection box. Next time you return, the selection is preserved, so you can quickly resume testing at any time. This provides developers and testers a convenient way to test their website’s compatibility in a single place. When you submit the URL to test, it will be added to a job queue and a number of computers will open your website in their browsers. Finally, Browsershots will upload all those screenshots to their central dedicated server and display them to you when the testing is complete for visual review.

Features:

• Four browser platforms and hundreds of browser versions.
• You can customize your testing requests and they get saved for next use.
• It’s entirely free as the company is making money via advertising.
• You can enable and disable various browser features before each test (such as JavaScript, Flash, Java, and browser size.)

Pricing:

It’s an open-source project and so free to use.

#3 CrossBrowserTesting

The next leading tool for cross-browser testing is CrossBrowserTesting. It is a tool to test your web application on any web browser or mobile device. You can easily run manual, visual, and Selenium testing in the cloud on 2k+ real desktops and browsers. Another feature is record and reply that lets you record your browser sessions and reply to them at any time later.

CrossBrowserTesting focuses on four products for a different purposes and depending on your requirement, you can sign up for these:

1. Live testing – for interactive and manual testing.
2. Visual testing – for automated screenshots and comparisons.
3. Automated testing – for Selenium and Appium test automation.
4. Record and replay – for automated testing.

Features:

• Offers local testing, integrations, and testing on real devices and browsers.
• You can use REST API to access almost the entire app from your command line.
• You will have full access to developer tools and extensions like FireBug and Chrome dev.
• Offers biggest Selenium grid in the cloud.
• When making screenshots, you can create them on multiple browsers all at once.

Pricing:

CrossBrowserTesting offers a free trial and paid plan as per the products. Live testing product pricing starts at $29 per month.

#4 Sauce Labs

Sauce Labs is a San Francisco technology company offering multiple products for cross-browser testing. You can test your apps and websites across thousands of desktop and mobile browsers on different operating systems in the cloud. It offers powerful text analytics, performance testing, and headless testing. You can be even assigned a customer success manager to ensure your experience is good.

Features:

• Along with the live sites, you can also test local apps securely.
• You can integrate Sauce Labs in your existing CI/CD pipeline.
• Supports Appium, Espresso, and XCUITest.
• Using Sauce-connect, you can test staging environment.

Pricing:

The pricing of Sauce Labs varies depending on the platform. The live testing plan starts at $29 per month, virtual cloud at $199 per month, and real-device cloud at $499 per month. If you’re going with a yearly plan, the price decreases by about 30%.

#5 Browserstack

Browserstack is one of the most complete and expensive platforms for cross-browser testing. Browserstack offers products to test websites and mobile apps but each product is billed separately. It also allows you to integrate web app and mobile app testing into your existing setup via Jenkins, Travis CI, CircleCI, and other services.

The products that Browserstack have are: 

1. Live – for interactive cross-browser testing.
2. Automate – for selenium testing at scale.
3. Percy – for visual browser testing.
4. App live – for interactive mobile app testing.
5. App automate – for automated mobile app testing.

Features:

• Browserstack also offers real devices for testing along with the emulators and simulators.
• Access to thousands of browsers and operating systems.
• SOC2 complaint in terms of security.
• Quickly make screenshots on all browsers.
• Offers popular display resolutions for responsive testing.

Pricing:

Browserstack price depends on the product you’re trying to use. Live is available at $29 per month, Automate at $129 per month, Percy is available to for free but for professional use it’s $99 per month, App Lives at $29 per month, and App Automate at $199 per month.

Wrapping it up

This was all about the cross-browser testing tools comparison. If you’re looking for an all-in-one cross-browser testing tool that focuses on the fastest results then Browserling seems to be the perfect choice in terms of features and pricing. If you’re looking for a free tool then Browsershots can be an ideal choice. The most complete solution (and most expensive) is Browserstack with 5 different products.