Applitools is the premium option in visual testing. Their Visual AI engine uses machine learning trained on millions of images. But plans start at $699/month.
Lastest offers free, open-source, self-hosted visual testing with AI-generated tests and three distinct diff engines.
Pricing
| Lastest | Applitools | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $0 | $699/mo |
| Enterprise | Free (self-hosted) | Custom ($5,000+/mo) |
| Screenshots | Unlimited | Metered |
| AI costs | First generation only | Every run |
AI Capabilities
Applitools: Visual AI (proprietary ML for comparison), autonomous NLP testing (limited). No recording.
Lastest: Full autonomous test generation (Play Agent - 11-step pipeline), no-code recording, spec-driven generation, AI diff analysis, AI failure triage. 5 AI providers including local Ollama.
Diff Engines
Applitools: Single engine - Visual AI (proprietary neural network). Very good but a black box.
Lastest: Three transparent engines - Pixelmatch, SSIM, Butteraugli + text-region OCR diffing.
Platform Coverage
Applitools wins here. Web, iOS, Android, desktop, PDF. Lastest is web-only.
Self-Hosting
Applitools: cloud default, enterprise on-premise at additional cost. Lastest: self-hosted default, Docker deploy in 5 minutes.
When Applitools Is Better
- Native mobile testing (iOS/Android), desktop, PDF
- Visual AI trained on millions of comparisons
- Ultrafast Grid for cross-browser rendering
When Lastest Is Better
- $0 cost with unlimited everything
- AI test generation (not just AI comparison)
- Self-hosted for privacy/compliance
- Three transparent diff engines
- Testing templates for SaaS, canvas, e-commerce
- Zero-token replays