Reviewed by the NexaToolkit team · Last reviewed June 2026. Updated for the VWO + AB Tasty merger and the shift away from traffic-based pricing. NexaToolkit may earn a commission from links on this page — it never changes what we recommend.
With Google Optimize gone, the A/B testing market split into enterprise platforms and accessible alternatives — and a big 2026 shift is the backlash against traffic-based pricing, where your testing bill grows as your site succeeds. Here’s which CRO tool to pick by team size and budget, with real pricing.
Best all-round platform: VWO
VWO (free tier up to 50k users; paid from $299/month) evolved from a simple A/B editor into a full experience-optimization platform with integrated heatmaps and behavioral tools — powerful without Optimizely’s enterprise complexity. Note: the VWO + AB Tasty merger in early 2026 reshaped the market; VWO remains the transparent-pricing pick.
Best for enterprise: Optimizely
Optimizely (custom pricing, typically five figures/year, annual contract) is the enterprise standard — built to run hundreds of experiments across teams with the depth large orgs need. No free tier; overkill for small sites.
Best for mid-market with privacy needs: Convert
Convert Experiences is the pick for mid-market teams wanting full-stack experimentation, strong privacy/GDPR compliance, and transparent (often flat-rate) pricing — increasingly attractive as teams flee traffic-based bills.
Free / built-in options
Since Google Optimize sunset, the free route is your platform’s built-in testing — Leadpages, Unbounce, and most email tools include basic A/B testing, enough for headline and CTA tests without a dedicated CRO platform.
A/B testing tools compared
| Tool | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in (Leadpages/Unbounce) | Included | Headline/CTA tests |
| VWO | Free–$299+/mo | All-round CRO platform |
| Convert | Transparent/flat-rate | Mid-market + privacy |
| Optimizely | 5-figure/yr custom | Enterprise, 100s of tests |
A real scenario
A growing SaaS running its first structured experiments: start with VWO’s free tier (up to 50k users) for A/B tests plus heatmaps to see why visitors drop off — $0 until you scale. Watch the pricing model as you grow: traffic-based tiers (which VWO and others charge) mean your bill rises with success, so teams at scale increasingly move to flat-rate tools like Convert. Don’t buy Optimizely’s five-figure contract unless you’re running experiments across multiple teams.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the best A/B testing tool now that Google Optimize is gone?
VWO (free to $299+) for an all-round CRO platform, Convert for mid-market with privacy needs, Optimizely for enterprise. For simple tests, your landing-page or email tool’s built-in A/B testing suffices.
Is there a free A/B testing tool?
VWO has a free tier up to 50k users, and most landing-page builders (Leadpages, Unbounce) include basic A/B testing. Google Optimize was sunset, so those are the free routes now.
Why are companies moving away from traffic-based pricing?
Because testing costs scale with your success — more traffic means a bigger bill. Flat-rate tools like Convert are gaining share as a result.
More: see our high-converting landing pages and marketing analytics tools.
