Top 10 Alternatives to Percy for SDKs and CLI Testing

Introduction and Context

Visual regression testing emerged as a practical answer to a perennial problem: user interfaces change frequently, and even small CSS tweaks can produce unintended, pixel-level breakage. Percy, now part of the BrowserStack ecosystem, became one of the most recognizable names in this space by making visual diffs accessible to front-end developers and QA engineers directly within their CI pipelines.

Percy’s rise was driven by several pragmatic design choices:

• It integrates with mainstream CI/CD systems and developer workflows.

• It offers SDKs and a CLI so teams can snap and compare visual baselines alongside functional tests.

• It provides an intuitive review workflow for approving or rejecting visual changes.

• It supports common web stacks, helping teams see UI regression risk early and often.

The result was broad adoption among web teams who needed reliable, easy-to-review visual feedback without building and maintaining homegrown image diff infrastructure. However, as product portfolios expanded beyond web, and as testing organizations matured, teams began asking for alternatives. Reasons typically include deeper AI-powered diffing, expanded platform support (mobile and desktop), tighter alignment to end-to-end, API, or performance testing goals, and different cost, deployment, or governance models.

This guide breaks down 10 alternatives to Percy that are oriented toward SDKs and CLI-driven workflows, explains how they differ, and helps you decide which one aligns with your needs.

Overview: Top Alternatives Covered

Here are the top 10 alternatives to consider when evaluating options beyond Percy:

• Applitools Eyes

• Applitools for Mobile

• Mabl

• TestCafe Studio

• Waldo

• Repeato

• Postman + Newman

• LoadRunner

• Pingdom

• xdotool

Why Look for Percy Alternatives?

Even though Percy remains a strong option for web visual regression, teams commonly explore alternatives for the following reasons:

• Dynamic UI volatility and false positives: Highly dynamic content (ads, animations, time-sensitive data) can trigger visual diffs that aren’t real bugs, increasing review overhead.

• Baseline maintenance: Managing baselines across branches, environments, and releases can be noisy without advanced automation or AI assistance.

• Platform scope: Percy focuses on web; teams needing first-class iOS, Android, or desktop coverage may prefer vendors with deeper mobile/desktop support.

• Broader testing goals: Some teams need a single vendor or stack that covers functional automation, API testing, or performance/load alongside visual checks.

• Cost and governance: Commercial licensing, data residency, on-prem constraints, and team size can influence total cost and operational fit.

• Debugging and reporting depth: Organizations may require more advanced analytics, flakiness insights, or test authoring tools than pure snapshot diffs provide.

Detailed Breakdown of Alternatives

1) Applitools Eyes

What it is

• A commercial visual testing platform built by Applitools for web, mobile, and desktop apps. It uses Visual AI to detect meaningful differences and offers the Ultrafast Grid for accelerated cross-browser rendering.

Standout capabilities

• Visual AI-based comparisons that reduce noise from dynamic content.

• Ultrafast Grid to render across many browsers/viewports in parallel.

• Broad SDK coverage (JavaScript, Java, Python, .NET, and more).

• Baseline and branch management features designed for large teams.

• Rich reviewer workflow with annotations and test insights.

• Integrations with popular test runners and CI/CD tools.

How it compares to Percy

• Both target visual regression, CI integration, and review workflows. Applitools differentiates with Visual AI and the Ultrafast Grid, which can cut down false positives and speed up cross-browser coverage. Percy, especially for web-only teams, is simpler to adopt; Applitools tends to excel in large, multi-platform environments looking for AI-driven stability and scale.

Best for

• Front-end and QA teams who need accurate, high-scale visual testing across web, mobile, and desktop with strong SDK and CI support.

License and platforms

• Commercial; supports Web/Mobile/Desktop with SDKs.

2) Applitools for Mobile

What it is

• A mobile-focused extension of Applitools Eyes designed specifically for iOS and Android app visual testing.

Standout capabilities

• Visual AI tailored for mobile UI differences.

• Works with common mobile test frameworks and device clouds.

• Cross-device, cross-OS version coverage through the Ultrafast Grid.

• Streamlined baseline branching for multi-version mobile releases.

• Integrations with CI to run visual checks in pipelines.

How it compares to Percy

• Percy is primarily web-focused. If your product line includes native mobile apps, Applitools for Mobile offers deeper, AI-enhanced support for device matrices, screen densities, and OS fragmentation.

Best for

• Teams that must validate mobile look-and-feel at scale across iOS and Android with CI-driven workflows.

License and platforms

• Commercial; iOS and Android support with SDK integrations.

3) Mabl

What it is

• A commercial, low-code and AI-enhanced end-to-end testing platform from mabl. It supports web and API testing with cloud execution and self-healing capabilities.

Standout capabilities

• Low-code authoring for E2E tests, including UI flows and APIs.

• Self-healing locators to reduce flakiness in evolving UIs.

• Built-in visual checks, performance metrics, and accessibility signals.

• Cloud-first orchestration with CI/CD integrations and environments.

• Centralized reporting, defect insights, and collaboration features.

How it compares to Percy

• Percy is laser-focused on visual diffs. Mabl is broader, combining functional UI tests, API checks, and visual assertions under one umbrella. For teams wanting a unified, low-code test platform that includes visual validation within a wider E2E regimen, Mabl can consolidate tooling. For pure visual regression at minimal overhead, Percy remains simpler.

Best for

• Teams aiming to automate full E2E web flows, add some visual validation, and maintain tests with low-code plus CI.

License and platforms

• Commercial; Web + API focus with cloud execution and CLI/API control.

4) TestCafe Studio

What it is

• A commercial, codeless IDE version of TestCafe by DevExpress. It supports web UI testing across browsers and can run tests in CI.

Standout capabilities

• Codeless authoring through a desktop IDE, with exportable tests.

• Cross-browser execution without browser plugins or WebDriver.

• Parallelization and CI-friendly CLI execution.

• Page object patterns and robust selector strategies.

• Built-in screenshots and visual comparisons via extensions/workflows.

How it compares to Percy

• TestCafe Studio is primarily a functional web test tool with codeless authoring; Percy focuses on visual snapshots. If you want test creation and execution in one tool with optional screenshot checks, TestCafe Studio helps. If your primary objective is pixel-level visual regression across multiple browsers with a dedicated diff workflow, Percy or Applitools may be more focused.

Best for

• Teams that want a codeless, browser-agnostic UI test solution that can incorporate screenshots and run reliably in CI.

License and platforms

• Commercial; Web-focused with desktop IDE and CLI for CI.

5) Waldo

What it is

• A commercial, no-code mobile testing platform for iOS and Android that records user flows and executes them in the cloud.

Standout capabilities

• No-code recorder optimized for mobile app flows.

• Cloud device execution to cover OS and device fragmentation.

• Visual assertions baked into recorded flows.

• CI/CD hooks to run tests automatically on build.

• Results dashboards and collaboration features for triage.

How it compares to Percy

• Percy focuses on web UI visual diffs. Waldo is for mobile app teams wanting a no-code approach with visual checks during recorded flows. If mobile is your core platform and your team prefers record-and-playback over code-based SDKs, Waldo offers a streamlined path in CI.

Best for

• Mobile product teams that need fast, no-code coverage of iOS and Android regression flows with visual validation.

License and platforms

• Commercial; supports Android and iOS with cloud execution and CI integration.

6) Repeato

What it is

• A commercial, computer-vision-driven mobile UI testing tool for iOS and Android that aims to be resilient to UI structure changes.

Standout capabilities

• Computer vision-based element detection, tolerant of UI shifts.

• No-code and low-code authoring options for mobile flows.

• CI/CD integration for repeatable, headless runs.

• Cross-device execution and screenshot comparisons.

• Debugging tools to stabilize flaky mobile tests.

How it compares to Percy

• Percy targets web visual regression. Repeato focuses on mobile apps and uses computer vision to increase test resilience. If you want visually aware tests on iOS/Android without handcrafting selectors, Repeato may be more appropriate. Percy still remains simpler for web-only pipelines.

Best for

• Teams automating mobile UI flows with a visual-first approach and looking to reduce flakiness during app evolution.

License and platforms

• Commercial; Android and iOS with CI/CD support.

7) Postman + Newman

What it is

• A popular API testing stack: Postman (for designing and running API tests) and Newman (a CLI runner) by Postman. It integrates well with CI.

Standout capabilities

• Strong API test authoring via collections and environments.

• CLI execution with Newman for pipelines and reporting.

• Contract testing, regression suites, and schema validation.

• Data-driven testing and scripting with JavaScript.

• Collaboration features for teams working across services.

How it compares to Percy

• Different layer entirely: Percy is about visual UI regressions; Postman + Newman focuses on API functionality and contracts. If your priority is backend correctness integrated into CI via CLI, Postman + Newman is a great fit. It will not test visual issues, so it is often complementary to Percy rather than a replacement.

Best for

• Backend developers and QA validating REST/HTTP APIs, ensuring stable contracts across releases.

License and platforms

• Open-source plus commercial options; API/HTTP focus with JavaScript/CLI.

8) LoadRunner

What it is

• A commercial, enterprise-grade performance and load testing solution originally by Micro Focus and now part of OpenText.

Standout capabilities

• High-scale load generation for web, APIs, and complex protocols.

• Deep performance metrics and integration with APM/monitoring tools.

• Scenario design, correlation, and analysis for realistic workloads.

• CI/CD integration to shift performance testing left.

• Enterprise reporting and governance for large organizations.

How it compares to Percy

• Different goal: Percy looks for visual diffs; LoadRunner measures performance and scalability. If you need protocol-level load, stress, and endurance testing with professional analytics, LoadRunner fits that purpose. It is complementary rather than a direct replacement for visual regression.

Best for

• Performance engineers and DevOps teams running load, stress, and capacity planning at scale.

License and platforms

• Commercial; supports Web/API/Protocols with a mix of scripting and controller/CLI tools.

9) Pingdom

What it is

• A commercial synthetic monitoring platform (by SolarWinds) focused on uptime checks, transaction monitoring, and user experience from global vantage points.

Standout capabilities

• Always-on uptime monitoring and alerting.

• Transaction checks that emulate common user paths.

• Performance metrics and page speed insights.

• Global test locations to detect regional issues.

• Integrations with incident management and chat tools.

How it compares to Percy

• Pingdom provides live system monitoring and synthetic checks in production; Percy focuses on pre-production visual diffs. If you need to continuously verify critical flows and uptime after release and trigger alerts, Pingdom complements pre-merge visual testing rather than replacing it.

Best for

• Ops and DevOps teams monitoring production readiness, uptime, and critical transaction health.

License and platforms

• Commercial; Web/API with point-and-click setup and API/CLI options.

10) xdotool

What it is

• An open-source command-line utility for Linux X11 environments that simulates keyboard and mouse input. It is often used for simple desktop automation or integration testing on Linux.

Standout capabilities

• Lightweight CLI for scripting UI interactions on Linux desktops.

• Useful for legacy or bespoke desktop applications tied to X11.

• Easily integrated into shell scripts and CI jobs.

• No vendor lock-in; open-source flexibility.

• Pairs with screenshot tools for rudimentary visual checks.

How it compares to Percy

• xdotool is not a visual diff platform. It automates desktop interactions and can be combined with screenshot comparison utilities for basic visual checks. If you have Linux desktop apps and need CLI-driven interaction, xdotool is powerful. For structured web visual regression with baselines and review workflows, Percy remains a purpose-built solution.

Best for

• QA teams dealing with legacy or enterprise Linux desktop apps who want simple, scriptable automation.

License and platforms

• Open source (GPL); Linux X11, Shell/CLI.

Things to Consider Before Choosing a Percy Alternative

• Project scope and platforms

• Test authoring style and language support

• Visual diff accuracy and baseline strategy

• Execution speed and parallelization

• CI/CD integration and automation

• Debugging, reporting, and insights

• Ecosystem and community

• Security, privacy, and compliance

• Scalability and reliability

• Cost and licensing model

Conclusion

Percy helped popularize visual regression testing for web by offering an SDK- and CLI-friendly approach that integrates naturally into CI. It remains a strong choice for teams who want straightforward, reviewable visual diffs without the overhead of building visual infrastructure from scratch.

That said, your team’s needs may extend beyond Percy’s sweet spot:

• If you want AI-powered visual stability and broader platform coverage (web, mobile, desktop) with high-scale parallelization, Applitools Eyes and Applitools for Mobile are compelling.

• If you prefer a unified, low-code platform that blends functional, API, and visual checks, Mabl or TestCafe Studio can streamline your stack.

• If mobile is your core product and you want no-code or CV-driven resilience, Waldo and Repeato focus on native app workflows.

• If your priorities are API correctness, performance at scale, or production monitoring, Postman + Newman, LoadRunner, and Pingdom are strong, complementary choices.

• If you test Linux desktop applications and value scriptable control, xdotool can be a pragmatic fit in CI.

Ultimately, the best alternative depends on where your testing pain is greatest: visual accuracy on dynamic UIs, platform breadth, end-to-end breadth, or operational concerns like speed, cost, and governance. Many organizations pair a visual tool with functional, API, performance, and synthetic monitoring to cover all stages—from pre-commit and CI to production. If you already rely on cloud device and browser grids, evaluate how each alternative integrates with your existing infrastructure to keep developer feedback fast and reliable.

Choose the solution that aligns with your application surface, your team’s authoring preferences, and your pipeline maturity. With the right tool—or combination of tools—you can catch regressions earlier, reduce review noise, and ship confidently across web, mobile, and desktop.