Explore the best VWO alternatives for experimentation and feature management. Find the best platform to improve your digital experiences and fuel growth.
Ryan Lucht
Before joining Eppo, Ryan spent 6 years in the experimentation space consulting for companies like Clorox, Braintree, Yami, and DoorDash.
While VWO boasts a robust suite of experimentation and personalization tools, it may not be the ideal solution for every organization.
Due to its enterprise-level pricing, bloated feature offering, and often convoluted setup, businesses of various sizes are actively seeking alternative options within the expanding feature management platform landscape.
This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the leading alternatives to VWO, offering an in-depth comparison to assist you in identifying the solution that best caters to your specific business requirements.
VWO, originally known as Visual Website Optimizer, is a platform for experimentation and marketing that is fully based in India. It’s also one of the first to build a Bayesian statistics engine.
Established in 2009 as a tool for marketers to run A/B tests and compare different versions of their websites, it has since expanded into a comprehensive platform for optimizing conversion rates and conducting other forms of marketing analytics.
Currently, VWO caters to businesses of all sizes, enabling them to gain insights into visitor behavior, test their hypotheses, and make informed decisions based on data to enhance the performance of their websites and applications.
These are some of VWO’s core functionalities:
A/B and multivariate testing: VWO's core strength lies in its robust testing features, enabling businesses to experiment with both simple variations (e.g., button colors) and complex, multi-variable scenarios.
Personalization: Businesses can tailor content, offers, and even complete page layouts for specific visitor segments using simple, predefined rules based on user data, demographics, behavior, or other relevant factors.
Server-side testing: VWO caters to technical users by offering basic server-side testing features, which allow for experimentation without the added page load caused by client-side JavaScript snippets.
Three reasons to look for a VWO alternative
Here are three reasons why you might choose VWO competitors:
Pricing complexity: VWO's pricing model, tied to monthly tracked users, can be challenging to forecast and may become costly for high-traffic websites. This issue extends to the second reason why VWO isn’t the ideal experimentation platform.
More add-ons = more money: The base plans may appear appealing, but essential features like heatmaps and session recordings often require add-ons, leading to unexpected costs.
Limited advanced features: While VWO offers a broad suite of tools, certain functionalities might lack the depth and flexibility found in specialized alternatives. Even if advanced features are available, they’re often behind much higher tiers.
Eppo is a leading experimentation and feature management platform that distinguishes itself as thetop alternative to VWO. Its primary advantage lies in its warehouse-native architecture, enabling it to query your database directly without the need to rebuild metrics or resolve discrepancies.
Unlike JavaScript snippet-based solutions that access only top-level website metrics, Eppo leverages your actual revenue, profit margins, and customer retention data from your internal source of truth. This allows for risk-free experimentation based on concrete company data.
Eppo supports a wide range of experiments, from simple A/B tests to sophisticated multi-armed bandit algorithms, across various parts of your tech stack. Importantly, it emphasizes experimentation at scale as an ongoing process.
Continuous testing and refinement of new features empower businesses to consistently improve key metrics, uncover unexpected innovations, and maintain steady growth.
This philosophy is complemented by a robust feature flagging system offering extensive control, from basic on/off toggles to complex traffic distribution.
Features
Intuitive interface: Eppo boasts an easy-to-use interface for effortless setup of feature flags and accurate metric monitoring.
Rapid experimentation: The platform's unique CUPED++ acceleration technology speeds up experimentation, reduces analysis cycles through in-depth diagnostics, and expedites the entire testing process.
Native data warehouse integration: Eppo directly integrates with existing data warehouses like BigQuery and Snowflake, eliminating complex setups and allowing queries to run directly on user databases.
Reliable results: Eppo's industry-leading statistical engine and comprehensive diagnostics suite ensure rigorous experiments and accurate, trustworthy results. It also offers a wider range of analysis methodologies compared to VWO.
Feature flags: Eppo's feature flags seamlessly integrate with its experimentation platform, enabling precise control over tests and feature rollouts.
End-to-end support: Eppo provides purpose-built tools, tailored workflows, and a comprehensive knowledge base to support the entire experimentation lifecycle, from ideation to analysis and knowledge sharing.
How does it compare to VWO?
Eppo stands out from VWO by sitting directly on top of your data warehouse. Instead of using a JavaScript snippet to capture data from a site Eppo does it natively, using queries just like your data team would.
This key distinction means Eppo has access to every aspect of your business for experimentation, boasts a simple setup process, and lets you centralize your company’s entire experiment toolkit in one place.
Eppo's focus on experimentation and feature management makes it superior to VWO. Since VWO was originally just an A/B testing platform, its feature management capabilities often seem tacked on. Eppo makes both of these elements part of its core offering.
AB Tasty is a customer experience optimization platform that enables teams to develop data-informed business strategies through experimentation, personalization, and innovative AI capabilities.
It leverages AI to serve as a strategic advisor for businesses, helping them glean customer insights and proposing impactful A/B test variations or audience segments.
Features
AI-driven insights: AB Tasty's AI engine analyzes data to identify patterns and optimization opportunities, informing decision-making processes.
Easier experimentation: AB Tasty lets teams with low-code and no-code tools simplify the creation of A/B and multivariate tests on websites without extensive coding expertise.
Precise personalization: Craft highly customized experiences using AB Tasty's robust audience builder, segmenting users based on various criteria to deliver the most pertinent content.
How does it compare to VWO?
AB Tasty differentiates itself from VWO through its compatibility with a broader array of platforms, refined audience targeting capabilities, and exploratory AI features.
Additionally, as a European company, it may offer enhanced compliance with GDPR regulations.
Convert.com is an A/B testing platform aimed at enhancing digital experiences across websites and applications. It presents itself as a viable alternative to enterprise-grade solutions like VWO, offering simpler core functionalities at a more affordable price.
However, it's worth noting that Convert.com might not be equipped to handle the scale required by large enterprises and may not provide the level of customer and sales support expected by such clients.
Features
Robust A/B testing: Convert.com enables users to conduct rigorous A/B tests to assess the impact of modifications to their websites or applications. It's particularly valuable for companies needing to test with over 250,000 users per month.
Performance trend tracking: A standout feature is the ability to monitor A/B test performance trends over time, offering insights into optimal test durations.
Advanced previewing: Convert.com allows users to easily preview A/B test variations before launch, including mobile previews with QR codes and a "Live Log" for real-time data on variation display.
How does it compare to VWO?
Convert.com offers features similar to VWO but at much lower prices (especially for higher user volumes).
One could argue that VWO has more variety in its feature set, but then again Convert.com already offers the basic experimentation tools companies need without paying extra add-ons. If your experimentation needs go beyond Convert.com’s offering, VWO and its add-ons would be a better choice.
Optimizely is a Digital Experience Platform (DXP) that equips marketing teams with the ability to conduct their own website experiments. Acting as a central hub, it offers a full set of marketing tools, including a CMS and marketing orchestration capabilities.
Features
Feature management: Optimizely enables users to roll out new features or variations gradually, utilizing feature flags to control who sees what and when. This facilitates progressive deployment and experimentation within live environments.
A/B and multivariate testing: The platform provides tools for configuring A/B, multivariate, and multi-page experiments across web and mobile applications, allowing users to test different variations to identify the most effective ones.
Personalization: Optimizely's personalization products empower users to deliver targeted content and experiences based on various factors such as user behavior, demographics, location, and other relevant data points.
How does it compare to VWO?
Both Optimizely and VWO are comprehensive platforms designed to improve user experiences, but they differ in their areas of emphasis.
VWO provides more tools for analyzing user behavior, such as session recordings and surveys, while Optimizely focuses more on content creation and project management functionalities.
Crazy Egg is a website visualization tool that sheds light on how visitors engage with your site. It utilizes heatmaps to track clicks, scrolling behavior, and other interaction metrics.
Combined with comprehensive data analysis, this provides valuable insights for enhancing your website's design and content through A/B testing experiments.
Features
Visualize user behavior: Crazy Egg's Snapshots (their version of heatmaps) illustrate where users click, how far they scroll, and more, making it easy to pinpoint areas needing improvement.
Test changes with A/B testing: Crazy Egg incorporates basic A/B testing capabilities, allowing for comparison of different design variations and their impact on key metrics.
Segment audience behavior: Filter Crazy Egg data by factors like traffic source, device, or user actions to reveal how different segments interact with your site.
How does it compare to VWO?
Crazy Egg provides a more focused website optimization solution compared to VWOs wider range of features. It excels at uncovering the reasons behind user behavior with its data visualization tools.
Additionally, Crazy Egg's affordable pricing makes it accessible to businesses of all sizes, unlike VWO's expensive and add-on-dependent enterprise-centric model.
Pricing
Standard plan: $49/month
Plus plan: $99/month
Pro plan: $249/month
Note: All plans come with a free 30-day trial and are billed annually.
Amplitude Experiment is a solution for A/B testing and feature flagging that integrates with the broader Amplitude analytics suite.
By harnessing Amplitude's data collection capabilities, it simplifies targeted experiments and informs future product improvements with real-time customer data.
Features
Unified experimentation and analytics: Amplitude Experiment enables users to analyze and act on A/B test outcomes directly within their existing Amplitude analytics environment. For those considering a migration to Amplitude, this translates to more detailed, actionable insights.
Cohort analysis: Users can define user groups based on shared characteristics or actions (e.g., new signups, frequent buyers). Targeting specific variations in experiments to these cohorts allows for deeper, more nuanced testing.
Funnel analysis: Amplitude Experiment provides visualizations of customer journeys through websites or apps, helping identify drop-off points. This information can then be used to design experiments aimed at improving conversion rates at specific stages of the funnel.
How does it compare to VWO?
Amplitude's primary focus on analytics means it doesn't offer additional tools for understanding user behavior, such as heat maps and surveys, or experimentation features like personalization, which are available in VWO's more comprehensive suite.
Pricing
On request.
Which VWO alternative is right for you?
Determining the most suitable VWO alternatives can be a daunting task. Here's a simplified guide to help you narrow down your choices based on your specific requirements:
Prioritize affordability without compromising functionality? Convert.com offers a budget-friendly option for essential A/B testing needs, though it may not be suitable for large enterprises requiring extensive support.
Seeking advanced A/B testing and comprehensive analytics? Eppo delivers robust experimentation tools. AB Tasty could also be a good match, particularly for businesses in the financial sector willing to make certain security trade-offs.
Manage a smaller website and need a targeted solution? Crazy Egg offers introductory tools catering to common scenarios, requiring minimal technical knowledge, and is affordable for even small businesses.
Value speed, accuracy, and scalability in experimentation? Eppo is the ideal choice for companies prioritizing data-driven decision-making. Its warehouse-native architecture ensures unparalleled speed, advanced statistical rigor (including CUPED++), and built-in error detection mechanisms, guaranteeing reliable results for your strategic roadmap.
Next steps
Having explored the various VWO alternatives, you're now better equipped to choose the solution that best aligns with your business needs.
If revenue growth and customer retention through experimentation are your priorities, Eppo emerges as a strong contender.
Eppo's unique approach to experimentation distinguishes it from the rest. It's designed to directly impact your bottom line by providing a comprehensive toolkit that includes:
Streamlined experiment design: Eppo simplifies the creation of complex tests by combining powerful feature flags with intuitive tools for intricate scenarios like multi-environment releases and layered experiments.
Confident launches: Eppo's diagnostics and real-time monitoring enable you to confidently launch experiments, ensuring smooth operation from the outset.
Data-driven insights: Eppo's advanced statistical engine delivers reliable, actionable insights, allowing you to effortlessly explore results and uncover deeper trends within your data.
Explore the best VWO alternatives for experimentation and feature management. Find the best platform to improve your digital experiences and fuel growth.