A/B Testing
Accelerate Experimentation Adoption with Protocols and Property Analysis
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So, you want to start running A/B tests, but you’re unsure about which exact tool can help you experiment in ways that go beyond just changing website layouts or CTA button placements.
Skip the unnecessary hassle of scoping around for A/B testing tools on your own.
I've put this guide together to help you find the ideal partner for your specific A/B testing needs, so we’ll take a look at the 7 best A/B testing tools in 2024.
Why listen to me?
Well - I've actually used all of these tools (and a lot more that didn't make the list). I was an experimentation consultant for over 5 years and worked with dozens of different A/B testing tools between all of my clients.
So let's jump in!
We’ll go over:
In simple terms, A/B testing tools are solutions that allow users to run experiments on things like websites and apps. Advanced tools even allow you to run A/B tests on things like customer support flows, algorithm/LLM outputs, logistics, and much more.
You create different versions of any element you want to test out — called “variants” — and the tool tracks which ones perform better according to your chosen metrics. (To make sure the comparison is fair, it randomizes between the variants for each unique user — or other "experimental unit").
Over time, all those little tweaks and tests can translate into improvements in key metrics, from conversion rates and engagement to retention and revenue — which have a tangible business impact.
Here are two specific real-life examples of how some big-name businesses used A/B testing successfully:
Booking.com, a popular online travel booking platform, famously used A/B testing to enhance its customer experience.
They identified a potential pain point — the number of steps required to complete a hotel reservation. Through A/B testing, they compared the original multi-step checkout process with a simplified version with fewer clicks.
The results were clear: The streamlined checkout process led to a significant increase in completed bookings, demonstrating the power of A/B testing in optimizing customer journeys.
According to insider information from Rhys Kilian (now Data Analytics Lead at L'Oreal), Microsoft aimed to improve the mobile experience for users editing documents within the Word app.
They suspected that users might be discouraged by the editing process on their phones. To address this, they focused on increasing mobile editing and user retention over two weeks.
The team implemented A/B testing to evaluate the effectiveness of contextual commands. These are the suggested actions displayed at the bottom of the screen that can guide users through common editing tasks.
The A/B testing yielded valuable insights: While there wasn't a significant increase in user retention after two weeks, there was a substantial rise in mobile editing. This indicated that contextual commands were successful in encouraging users to edit documents directly on their phones.
Choosing an A/B testing tool can greatly impact your bottom line. Here's what to consider to ensure you find the perfect fit:
For a more in-depth look at what to look for in an experimentation platform read our full article on the topic.
It’s time to get into our in-depth breakdown of the top 7 A/B testing tools in 2024.
Eppo is the most complete experimentation and feature management platform on this list. It offers advanced experimentation analysis tools within a singular platform, going beyond website-only experimentation and allowing you to run A/B tests (and more advanced types of experiments) on any aspect of your business.
Most importantly, Eppo enables self-serve experimentation for any team. Most of the other tools on this list focus on a single target audience - like marketing tools that don't offer advanced developer features, or tools for engineers that are inaccessible to marketing teams. Eppo is unique in its ability to balance advanced features "under the hood" with accessible UI and approachable workflows.
This positions Eppo as a leader in experimentation, with rigorous A/B testing capabilities allowing businesses to test against the deep metrics that ultimately matter - like revenue and customer retention.
Eppo stands out in this list with a laser-focus on rigorous experimentation, unlike competitors who may spread their efforts across various analytics tools.
This is easily seen through Eppo's deep suite of features, such as feature flagging and an advanced statistics engine, designed to support the entire experimentation cycle from start to finish.
A key differentiator for Eppo is its warehouse-native integration, offering seamless connections with popular data warehouses like Snowflake and BigQuery. Rather than demand a tricky integration process, Eppo just connects to your existing warehouse and runs queries directly on top without any special integration or setup.
Eppo caters to a wide audience, from data scientists to product managers, by making it easy for anyone on the team to conduct a variety of experiments that directly influence crucial business metrics including revenue, retention, and profit margins.
Most interestingly, Eppo helps you build an experimentation culture within your company. It provides extra tools like team scorecards and an extensive library of educational resources to promote experimentation as a cornerstone of business strategy.
On request.
AB Tasty is a leading Customer Experience Optimization platform that also offers pre-fab AI solutions alongside A/B testing, personalization, and audience activation.
AB Tasty combines optimization tools like A/B testing and personalization on a single platform, featuring an easy-to-use editor for creating tests. It also uses AI for insights, offers detailed targeting options, and integrates with multiple marketing and analytics tools. These features might be especially helpful for companies that do not have dedicated data teams to work on these capabilities.
However, users should verify the platform's data analysis accuracy, as some have noted discrepancies in experiment outcomes.
On request.
VWO is a comprehensive experimentation platform designed to empower businesses of all sizes to optimize their websites, mobile apps, and other digital experiences.
It allows users to conduct A/B tests, personalize user journeys, and analyze data-driven insights for continuous improvement.
They stand out as one of the oldest vendors in the A/B testing software space, the first to build a Bayesian statistics engine, and the only company fully based in India.
VWO offers a suite of marketing analytics tools beyond their main A/B testing capabilities, like heatmaps, surveys, funnel analysis, and experiment planning tools. They have even built additional add-on products like a Customer Data Platform for companies without an existing solution.
However, its pricing can become very expensive with all these add-ons. Additionally, one specific detail of their “SmartStats” engine (their use of “uninformed priors” for Bayesian inference) is often subject to skepticism in the statistics space.
VWO’s pricing structure can be quite confusing to understand and predict, as it is based on Monthly Tracked Users (MTU), and though it offers a free version for companies with under 10k unique visitors, most of its most powerful capabilities are only available at higher tiers.
Check here for more information.
Crazy Egg is a user behavior analytics platform that helps businesses gain insights into how visitors interact with their websites. It offers tools designed to visualize user behavior, including heatmaps, session recordings, and A/B testing capabilities.
Although it is not a “true” A/B testing tool, they do offer basic A/B testing capabilities as one of the many features in their larger platform.
Crazy Egg offers multiple deployment options, catering to different technical skill sets and website platforms:
Crazy Egg stands out for its focus on visual insights into user behavior, with features like heatmaps and session recordings that make it accessible for both technical and non-technical users.
Its user-friendly A/B testing interface simplifies the testing process, although it doesn't offer the advanced features some competitors do.
Additionally, Crazy Egg's suite of conversion optimization tools provides a well-rounded approach to improving conversion rates.
The platform is designed to be affordable, with a tiered pricing structure and a free trial. However, its lack of sophistication in A/B testing might not satisfy users looking for more robust experimentation capabilities.
GrowthBook is an open-source platform designed for feature flagging and A/B testing. It empowers businesses to manage the rollout of new features, experiment with website and app changes, and measure the impact of those changes on key metrics.
GrowthBook offers a distinctive open-source approach to A/B testing and feature flag management, delivering its core functionalities for free while promoting transparency and community collaboration.
Users can contribute to its development, benefiting from the collective wisdom of the GrowthBook community. It also provides robust feature flag management for safer, data-informed rollouts of new features.
With its self-hosting option, businesses maintain complete data control, a significant advantage for those with strict privacy standards. Additionally, its open-source nature affords significant customization and easy integration with existing systems.
However, the reliance on self-hosting and community contributions may present challenges for less tech-savvy users or those lacking the resources to customize and maintain the platform effectively.
Amplitude Experiment is a feature flagging and A/B testing solution built within the Amplitude analytics suite.
This means it uses the power of Amplitude’s data collection and user behavior insights to deliver targeted experiments and inform future product updates with live customer data. It is also specially designed for businesses leveraging a modern data stack.
Amplitude distinguishes itself by offering experimentation in the same place as existing product analytics, offering analysis, visualization, and reporting on a unified platform to boost team efficiency. In this way, it is similar to the data-warehouse native approach used by tools like Eppo, but exclusive to Amplitude customers.
However, its complexity and lock-in with the rest of the Amplitude ecosystem may present a lack of flexibility, and potentially requires a significant investment in time and resources to fully capitalize on its capabilities.
It is also important to note that Amplitude Experiment is not a standalone tool and it requires the full Amplitude analytics suite — which can be a huge turnoff for users who don’t want to incur high upfront investments.
On request.
Adobe Target is a Customer Experience Optimization platform built within — and accessible only through — the Adobe Experience Cloud suite. It empowers businesses to personalize website and app experiences, run A/B tests, and optimize content delivery based on user behavior and various data points.
Adobe Target stands out as an integrated solution for existing Adobe customers, tailored for teams already making extensive use of Adobe Analytics, offering extensive A/B and multivariate testing capabilities from there.
The software supports a wide range of testing environments, including client-side, server-side, and mobile app testing, facilitating comprehensive modifications across digital properties.
A big negative is that users must depend on Adobe Analytics for in-depth reporting due to the absence of a native reporting dashboard in Target itself.
Despite these powerful features, Adobe Target's server-side SDKs lack support for third-party integrations, which could limit flexibility in some use cases.
It’s crucial to reiterate that Adobe Target only works with the Adobe Experience Cloud suite. This means users would have to purchase an Adobe Experience Cloud plan — which can be a significant investment for businesses just looking to dip their toes in A/B testing.
On request.
Although it isn't a "full" A/B testing tool, CrazyEgg offers plans starting at approximately $49/month. VWO is the next closest solution for a tool truly focused on A/B testing, with a free plan servicing small businesses.
VWO is the next closest solution for a tool truly focused on A/B testing, with a free plan servicing small businesses. The true “free” option in the space, Google Optimize, was shuttered by Google in 2023 and is no longer available.
Eppo, Amplitude, and AB Tasty are known for their intuitive interfaces, ideal for beginners.
Eppo stands out as the best A/B testing tool due to its unique warehouse-native integration, comprehensive lifecycle management from planning to reporting, and a focus on real business metrics.