VWO is a web-based, visual website analytics and optimization platform for testing and improving the performance of your website.
It lets you create, customize, and manage A/B tests, multivariate tests, heatmaps, or surveys to increase conversions and revenue.
The biggest advantage of VWO is that it’s easy to use and has a user-friendly interface.
However, after using this tool for a while, you may feel like it lacks certain features and options that would make your life easier. Or you could be dissatisfied with the pricing. There are multiple reasons to look for an alternative.
That’s why we’ve decided to write this post and compare VWO with its main competitors so that you can find out what alternatives exist for VWO.
VWO Overview
VWO is a cloud-based platform that provides tools for creating and running A/B tests. You can create a full plan for experimentation, engage users in the process, and build a complete roadmap in one place.
VWO AB Tests Insights, Source: VWO
The VWO visual editor allows you to edit texts, images, shapes, and backgrounds by just clicking on them.
Visual Editor, Source: VWO
You can even edit their display order, inline style, HTML, resize, hide or remove. In addition, you can embed YouTube and Vimeo videos with a single click.
Key Features:
- Web Experimentation – It includes A/B tests, multivariate tests, split tests, multi-device, and multipage tests.
- Visual Editor – VWO’s point-and-click editor lets you change texts, images, shapes, and backgrounds by simply clicking on them.
- Behavioral Analytics – VWO Insights help analyze visitor journeys, see where users drop off, and then see what they’re doing on your website that prevents them from converting. Connecting these insights to heatmaps and session recordings will help you understand why the conversion did not happen.
- Built-in AI copy generator – It helps you to create multiple versions of your website copy, so you can test which performs best.
AI Copy Generator, VWO
- On-site surveys – You can create triggers for your surveys, including Time spent on the page, Click an element, Time spent in session, Scroll depth, Exit intent, Pages in session, and Custom triggers.
On-page Surveys, VWO
The questions in your survey can be single-line text boxes, checkboxes, ratings, multi-line text boxes, dropdowns, or radio buttons. You can also include a Net Promoter Score question.
VWO Pros:
- No assistance is required, as VWO provides a point-and-click visual editor.
- Ready-to-use widgets make the test creation process faster.
- The AI copy generator creates different variations of your website copies faster.
- AI-powered product recommendations help retain customers while growing conversions.
VWO Cons:
- No free forever version.
- It doesn’t let you store data forever.
Pricing:
Pricing is available only on request.
The Top VWO Competitors
Here is a list of our top VWO competitors based on their features, G2 score, and popularity.
1. FigPii
FigPii is a conversion optimization platform that lets you track user behavior and improve conversions through tools like AB Testing, Heatmaps, Session Recordings, and Polls.
Polls and surveys, when combined with heatmaps and recordings data, can help you fully understand why something is not working or working better than others.
The best part is that all FigPii plans include unlimited heatmaps, AB tests, recordings, polls, and users.
Key Features:
- AB Testing – FigPii offers AB testing tools for single-page and multipage experiments. You can create targeted tests for visitors coming from specific sources, such as new visitors, returning visitors, or traffic coming from a specific device.
- Heatmaps – It stores three types of heatmaps: clicks, movement, and scroll. The click map shows you which elements—including images, buttons, or headlines—are clicked on and which ones aren’t. The movement map shows you how visitors move across the page, so you can identify which areas they spend more time exploring and which ones they ignore. And finally, the scroll map shows you how far down users scroll on a page—you can use this to determine where certain elements should be placed for optimal visibility.
- Session Recordings – FigPii session recordings can be targeted to specific types of devices & visitors. It also lets you share these screen recordings outside FigPii.
- On-site Polls & Surveys – FigPii lets you create polls for the entire website, a specific page, or a specific group of pages. You can target device types, including mobile, desktop, or all types. Types of polls include short text, long text, select box, rating, radio, and check box.
- Revenue Tracking – Using FigPii, you can quickly view the ROI on your website. Access to such insights can help you make better decisions and determine where you should be focusing your efforts for maximum results. You can also see products and landing pages that are driving revenue to your business.
- Real-time – If you want to monitor and analyze what users are actually doing on your site, FigPii is your go-to platform. FigPii offers a real-time view that allows you to peek into the actions that users are taking on your site right now. This feature is critical both for quickly detecting any issues on the site as well as personalizing the customer experience.
Pros:
- All plans start with a free trial for the first 14 days.
- It is easy to use.
- It doesn’t overwhelm you with tons of data.
- The session recording player has multiple speeds so that you can watch more or more important parts in less time.
Cons:
- Polls targeting options are limited.
- Heatmaps and recordings are not available for all AB test versions.
- AB Testing parameters are limited.
Pricing:
FigPii pricing starts at $49.99/month for unlimited AB tests, heatmaps, recordings, polls, and even unlimited users.
VWO vs. FigPii
VWO offers more options for experiments, including server-side testing and multivariate testing. However, FigPii has a big positive side: it offers unlimited metrics on all of its plans.
2. Optimizely
Optimizely lets you see how visitors interact with your website, which lets you improve the flow of your pages, elements, and website copy.
Optimizely helps you run Web Experiments by offering A/B tests, multi-page tests, and multipage funnel testing. You can also use the uncovered data to convey messages and offer specifically tailored to your target audience.
Key Features:
- Visual Editor – You can add or change text, change the visibility of elements, order them, position them anywhere on the page, change their dimensions and styles, and preview your changes before publishing.
- Personalized Targeting – Optimizely allows you to customize your audiences based on demographic information, location data and behavior. In addition, adaptive audiences automatically generate an audience from your personas.
- Extensive Reporting – Optimizely offers two types of reports: account-level reports and team-level reports. Account-level reporting collectively targets all teams in your account, while team-level reporting targets experiments by individual teams. You can also perform real-time data analysis with Big Data analysis.
Pros:
- Easy to set up and use.
- Integrates with many tools and platforms to boost user experience.
- Gives you real-time reports.
- Offers both account-level and team-level reporting.
Cons:
- Pricing is high for startups and small businesses.
- URL targeting doesn’t have bulk uploading options.
Pricing:
- Available on request.
VWO vs. Optimizely
If you’re looking for advanced marketing automation tools, Optimizely might be the right solution for you. It has more targeting options than VWO, as well as individual Dashboards for each tool.
3. AB Tasty
AB Tasty helps you increase engagement, revenue, and conversion rates. It offers client-side and full-stack experimentation, as well as personalization options like Audience Builder and AI-based Segmentation.
Key Features:
- Experiments – It includes Multipage, AB, Split, and Multivariate tests for your websites, apps, or particular features.
- Drag-and-drop editor – You can use the drag-and-drop editor to add new blocks, define events, and add widgets to your experiments.
- Personalization – AI-driven personalization capabilities make it possible to tailor campaigns based on page load or exit intent and send personalized messages.
- Feature Flags – Flagship by AB Tasty offers a variety of flag types, including Boolean, Number, String, Array, and Object types. You can see which user segment is affected by which flag.
Pros:
- It offers unlimited tests.
- It also offers templates and a widgets library.
- You get access to advanced features, such as server and client-side testings, goal setting, and more.
Cons:
- It doesn’t come with a free trial or a freemium version.
- It doesn’t offer heatmaps and recordings.
Pricing:
- Available on request
VWO vs. AB Tasty
AB Tasty does not offer in-built heatmaps or session recordings, which many other tools do. However, AB Tasty does offer some advanced testing features. On the other hand, VWO offers user behavioral analysis and usability testing, which is a big plus for VWO here.
4. Google Optimize – Sunsetted
Google officially announced the discontinuation of Google Optimize, a widely used website optimization tool and experimentation platform. The service ended on September 30, 2023.
Google Optimize (formerly Google Website Optimizer) is a free, easy-to-use analytics and testing solution that helps you understand your visitors and optimize your website. It lets you test various website designs and customize user experiences.
Key Features:
- Experiments – You can perform 6 types of experiments with Google Optimize: A/B testing, multivariate testing, split URL testing, server-side experiments, and additional simultaneous experiments that can be performed only with Optimize 360.
- Reporting – Google Optimize Reports give you insights into the experiment’s objective, status, session, and recommendations. It also provides an overview of experiment sessions, conversion rates, etc.
- Testing – It includes AB Tests, Multivariate Tests, and Redirect Tests. You can also schedule your tests by setting a custom start and end dates. You can create 3 types of objectives for tests – System objectives, Google Analytics goals, and Custom objectives.
- WYSIWYG visual editor – Google Optimize’s WYSIWYG editor lets you edit test variants with the click of a button without having to write any code. You can change aspects of your variants, including links, images, text, HTML, and more.
Pros:
- It’s free to use.
- The interface is quite simple & easy to use.
- It integrates with Google Analytics to give you more in-depth reports.
Cons:
- No segmentation capability.
- No customer support.
- Allows only 3 goals per experiment.
Pricing:
- It’s a free tool by Google.
VWO vs. Google Optimize
While it may not have advanced tools like VWO, Google Optimize is an excellent choice for small businesses and marketers due to its free nature and integration with many of Google’s products.
5. Crazy Egg
Crazy Egg helps eCommerce platforms, lead generation businesses, education channels, and Shopify customers understand how their users interact with their websites through heat maps and scroll maps.
You also get access to features like screen recordings, A/B testing, error tracking, traffic analysis, and surveys for more detailed behavior analysis.
Key Features:
- A/B Testing – Crazy Egg’s A/B tests are easy to set up, don’t require any coding knowledge, and provide real-time results.
- Behavioral Analysis – Crazy Egg offers a suite of heatmaps and a session recording tool to track clicks, scrolls, eye tracking, frustration tracking, and mouse movement. It also provides five reports to help track these activities: Heatmap report, Scrollmap report, Confetti report, Overlay report, and List report.
- Surveys – Crazy Egg offers unlimited surveys with no feedback storage limits and a customizable design. It comes with three survey templates: Multiple choice, Text (Short and Long), and Ratings (Numeric, starts, and emojis).
Creating Multiple Choice Survey
- Errors Tracking – By watching session replays, you can see errors as they occur. You’ll know details such as the visitor’s device and browser, as well as the type of error.
Pros:
- Easy to use and fast.
- Offers a 30-day free trial with all plans.
- Offers unlimited A/B tests, surveys, and websites on all plans.
Cons:
- Heatmaps and recordings storage is limited, you cannot store them as long as you want.
- The number of recordings allowed per month is limited.
- Limited integration options.
Pricing:
Starts at $29/month for unlimited surveys, A/B tests, websites, and 3 months of storage for recordings.
VWO vs. CrazyEgg
CrazyEgg is cheaper than some other tools, which makes it a good choice for small to mid-level businesses. It has many features, but it lacks VWO’s testing capabilities. However, if you don’t need advanced testing, this can be the best option – and it also has a 30-day free trial, enough time to measure the impact on your website.
6. Convertize
Convertize.io is a platform that provides advanced testing capabilities and combines the best parts of two types of A/B testing: Frequentist and Bayesian. They use this Hybrid Approach to make testing more reliable and easier.
It also includes features such as quick installation, a smart editor, autopilot, a library with 150 testing suggestions, dynamic text, lightning mode, hybrid statistics, a flight tracker, geolocation, smart notifications, a launch checklist, and chat support.
Key Features:
- Personalization with Dynamic Content – Its SmartPlugin feature offers dynamic headings for landing pages and adds dynamically adds visitors’ geolocation on your page to provide an improved personalization experience.
- Smart Notification – This plugin lets you send real-time notifications to visitors to create a sense of urgency and increase upsell.
Pros:
- Offers advanced A/B testing features.
- 14-day free trial available for a monthly plan and a 2-month free trial on a yearly plan.
- Offers dynamic text support for tests.
Cons:
- Doesn’t offer an in-built heatmap, screen recording, and survey tools.
Pricing:
- Starts at $49/month with 3 project limit and for up to 20,000 visitors per month.
VWO vs. Convertize
Businesses looking to just perform A/B tests can definitely go for Convertize. However, if you are looking to find a one-stop solution for testing and behavioral analysis, tools like VWO and FigPii are more suitable.
7. ABtesting.ai
ABtesting.ai is an artificial intelligence-powered software that recommends the right combinations of design, copy, and call-to-action for your landing pages. You just need to do some initial setup, and the software will take care of the rest.
Key Features:
- Automation – With AI power, ABTesting chooses what to test to gain the best conversion rates.
- No risk of underperforming – ABTesting automatically chooses the highest-performing landing page version and displays it more often than the other versions.
- Segmentation – It learns which variations work best for each group of visitors and shows only those versions to each visitor.
Pros:
- You can edit tests while they are running.
- It offers a forever-free version with limited features.
- All of its plans include Google Analytics integration.
- Easy to install and use.
- Gives you test ideas.
- Tests require no-to-minimal supervision.
Cons:
- No in-built tool for heatmaps, session recordings, or feedback.
- Doesn’t offer a free trial.
Pricing:
Starts at $19/month with unlimited experiments.
VWO vs. ABtesting.ai
In terms of automation, ABtesting.ai is a better option for businesses looking to streamline their A/B testing process. However, if you are looking for a more comprehensive solution that covers both testing and behavioral analysis, VWO might be a better choice.
8. Instapage
Instapage is primarily a landing page creation tool that is easy to use, has seamless integrations, and allows you to run A/B tests on your pages.
It includes server-side experiments, A/B tests, and multivariate tests. With heatmap reports, you can also get to the bottom of behavioral analysis.
Key Features:
- Landing pages – Instapage helps you create landing pages with its 33 million stock photos and 5K+ typefaces. It offers 200+ templates, depending on the industry you choose. You can also run A/B testing across all of your pages and create mobile-friendly pages.
- On-page collaboration – You can work with your team using Instapage’s visual on-page collaboration feature.
- Integrations – Integrates with Email Marketing tools such as Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor, Convertkit, Mailgun, Drip, and more. You can also scale your marketing automation with integrations like Hubspot, Marketo, Autopilot, and more.
Pros:
- Easy to set up and use.
- High-speed performance.
- Can convert landing pages to templates.
- Provides many options for email marketing and automation integrations.
Cons:
- You can’t transfer these pages to other systems.
- Page width and customization options are limited.
Pricing:
Starts at $149/month for unlimited domains and conversions.
VWO vs. Instapage
Instapage offers everything that a good user experience platform offers, plus it has landing page creation functionality, too. However, if you only need it for its A/B testing feature, then it’s going to appear more costly than VWO and other tools on the list.
Go A/B testing!
While VWO is a great A/B testing and behavior analysis tool, you have plenty of other options as well.
If you’re looking for an all-in-one user testing and behavior analysis tool, you have options like FigPii, CrazyEgg, etc. If A/B testing is your sole purpose, then tools like ABtesting.ai and Convertize would be more suitable.
In the end, the software you pick will depend on your budget and requirements.
