Cross Browser Testing Tools
Cross browser testing is a staple for any software project with a web interface, spanning browser types, versions, and the many devices that use them. As a result, the number of cross browser testing tools available in 2022 is robust, and most are quite useful.
However, it’s important to make sure that you’re using the right tools for your particular needs when approaching any software development project, and cross browser testing tools are no exception to this concept. Here are 10 of the best cross browser testing tools for your team to consider in 2022.
BrowserStack
A cloud-based platform that grants customers access to more than 3,000 devices and browsers, BrowserStack is a prominent testing platform for both developers and QA testers alike.
In addition to providing access to actual physical devices via the Real Device Cloud service, BrowserStack also allows for test automation with Selenium and Cypress for websites, as well as Appium for mobile apps. Visual tests for websites can also be automated with Percy.
To further facilitate your SDLC, BrowserStack also integrates with prominent CI/CD tools, as well as test automation frameworks, and a range of other tools.
BrowserStack is also well-established, with a customer base of more than 50,000 customers and 15 different device centers worldwide.
In terms of pricing, BrowserStack offers a free trial with pricing plans at $29/month, $39/month, $125/month, and enterprise pricing.
TestGrid
Boasting low-code or no-code authoring and management of test cases, TestGrid is another prominent testing platform with a cloud-based platform that can access real devices.
Since it offers low-code and no-code authoring of test cases, TestGrid can be used to promote collaboration across both technical and non-technical team members alike for both manual and automated testing.
When it comes to automated testing, TestGrid allows for both cloud and on-premise versions of Selenium Grid, with the ability to test locally and privately hosted websites.
When it comes to integrations, TestGrid has integrations with Jira, Slack, Asana, and other common tools.
TestGrid offers a free plan, a paid plan at $49 per month billed annually or $59 billed monthly, and enterprise pricing.
testRigor
One of the most powerful AI-driven platforms for software testing, testRigor features support for test writing in plain English and cutting-edge technology that learns from how users interact with your web or mobile application.
Thanks to its support for tests written in plain English, testRigor is able to provide some special advantages for software teams, such as tests staying valid and persisting despite changes to underlying frameworks or UI designs. Supporting tests written in plain English also makes it even easier to leverage non-technical team members to help author and maintain automated tests.
testRigor takes optimization and efficiency even further and to new levels, as tests can be quickly adapted based on insights from artificial intelligence-based analysis of real user behavior on your software application. Thanks to these advantages, testRigor is one of the best options around when it comes to end-to-end testing and scaling.
In terms of pricing, testRigor provides a free public open source option, a $900/month private plan, and custom enterprise pricing.
Selenium Box
Geared towards large organizations where security sensitivities must be considered and managed, Selenium Box is an Enterprise Selenium Grid designed to run behind a corporate firewall and used in the banking, finance, medical, and other similar fields.
Fully managed, maintenance free, and highly scalable, Selenium Box can be run on-premise or in corporate cloud, and supports both web and mobile application testing.
As you would expect with a solution designed for secure corporate environments, Selenium Box can run without tunnels or outside access required, and provides enterprise integrations supporting LDAP, CROWD, and similar common services.
As a product geared towards the enterprise market, Selenium Box provides custom pricing only after understanding the specific needs of the customer.
Sauce Labs
A cloud-based automated testing service, Sauce Labs is geared towards teams using continuous integration workflows, along with professional services and training to help teams ensure they’re getting set up and running with the product properly.
Featuring a simple, intuitive UI, Sauce Labs allows for automating application testing on cloud-based devices across multiple browsers, emulators, and simulators. Sauce Labs also has the ability to provide access to testing on real devices.
Sauce Labs pricing plans include a live testing plan at $39/month billed annually, a virtual cloud plan at $149/month billed annually, a real device cloud at $199/month billed annually, and enterprising pricing. Pricing plans also can be billed monthly, but the price is significantly higher when billed monthly.
Mabl
Well-suited for automating testing without scripts, Mabl is a user-friendly cross-browser test automation tool with support for performance regression testing and visualized test outputs. With the ability to fetch data based on performed actions and self-healing machine learning functionality, Mabl is able to reduce the time and effort involved by facilitating code writing without the need for scripts.
Also featuring a browser plug-in, Mabl is lightweight and provides the added benefit of monitoring platform performance and network spikes.
Mabl also features integrations with common services like Jenkins, Slack, Azure DevOps, and more.
In terms of pricing, Mabl offers a free trial and plans named startup, growth and enterprise, but requires reaching out to sales to get a quote for actual price.
BitBar
Published by SmartBear, BitBar features testing on real devices and browsers for both web and mobile application testing.
BitBar facilitates running both manual and automated tests via a cloud platform, with both Selenium and Appium tests.
For pricing, BitBar offers a free 14-day trial as well as free open source testing, and paid plans that are priced 25% lower when paid annually. Billed annually, the paid plans are Live Testing at $39 per parallel per month, Desktop Browser at $129 per parallel per month, BitBar Unlimited at $169 per parallel per month, and enterprise with custom pricing.
Telerik Test Studio
Particularly strong for responsive applications with flexible form factor coverage, Test Studio by Telerik facilitates the automation of web and desktop application testing with a robust suite of features that include the recording and execution of visual tests, cross-browser testing, and automated test runs across browsers that include Chrome, FireFox, Chrome Headless, and Chromium-based Edge.
Recording and executing tests is made easy with Test Studio, with point-and-click ease of use for both creation of new automated tests and automation of existing manual tests. Test Studio also makes simulation of different devices and form factors easy, without the need for repetitive manual tasks or switching of devices, with easy-to-use configurations for various screen sizes.
Test Studio is also suitable for teams using CD/CI, integrating will all of the prominent CD/CI tools like Jenkins, Azure DevOps, Jira, TeamCity, Bamboo, CircleCI, and so forth.
A Windows-based test automation platform, Test Studio offers two plans that feature a perpetual license with the Test Studio Web & Desktop plan at $2,499, and the Test Studio Ultimate plan at $3,499. For remote test execution, customers can purchase the runtime add-on for $349, which is also a perpetual license. Test Studio also offers virtual user packs for load testing, which are also perpetually licensed and priced at $899 for 100 virtual users, $2,999 for 1,000 virtual users, and $4,999 for 10,000 virtual users.
Headspin
Focused on AI-based testing and facilitating devops collaboration, Headspin allows for remote testing across browsers using thousands of real devices via virtual cloud access along with real performance data like load testing on real environments.
HeadSpin offers integrations with Appium and Appium Inspector and Selenium, and is compatible with Xcode, Android Studio, Flutter, Charles Proxy, Cucumber, Espresso Android, TestNG, Puppeteer, Playwright, Jira, Slack, Jenkins, and more.
When it comes to pricing, Headspin offers a free trial, but doesn’t currently publish any pricing plans.
BrowserShots
While not a highly robust or complex testing tool, BrowserShots is still a testing tool that can be useful to some teams in certain situations, particularly when needing to do a quick, simple check of rendering in a wide range of commonly used browsers on-demand.
A free tool that provides screenshots from 200 browser versions across common operating systems, BrowserShots also allows for selection of screen size and toggles for JavaScript and Flash being enabled or disabled.
You won’t find many frills from this free tool, and screenshots returned may show timeouts in some cases, but it can still be a useful, quick way to take a glance at how a URL visually renders across common browser types and versions.
In conclusion
There are a lot of cross-browser testing tools available to software teams in 2022. When making the right choice, be sure to consider your needs like budget, features, and sustainability. As you’ve seen, the range of pricing plans, types, and features available is so broad that it’s worth spending a little time comparing your options. Now that you’ve got this set of handy information available to you, hopefully you’ll be well-positioned to make the right choice for your team.
