Anyone do a comparison of Optimizely and Visual Website Optimzer?
What VWO has that Optimizely doesn't
- VWO has (JavaScript based) A/B and multivariate testing and split URL (based on traffic redirect) on while Optimizely is strictly (JavaScript based) A/B testing. You cannot do multivariate testing with it.
- VWO has heatmap and clickmap reports while Optimizely doesn't
- VWO has various advanced features such as visitor segmentation, cross-domain tracking, testing behind login wall pages, test results notifications, variation screen shot generation, etc.
- VWO has team collaboration such as multiple-permission based logins and subaccounts. Optimizely doesn't have that.
- In VWO, for all plans, CEO equally shares the support work ;)
What Optimizely has that VWO doesn't
- Changing layout of the page. Optimizely has a drag and drop feature in its test designer which is useful if you want to test different layouts (say sidebar to the right). To achieve the same in VWO, you need to enter some CSS (say float:right v/s float:left) as there is no drag-drop support (yet)
- Since Optimizely exclusively focuses on A/B testing (and not MVT), in its test designer you can change several elements of the page (say headline, image and text) at once to create a variation. In VWO (currently), you need to change one element at once for A/B test and multiple elements for multivariate test.
- In optimizely, results update on the page in real time. In VWO, results are also realtime but you have to refresh the report to see latest results (no auto-refreshing)
I hope this was a fair comparision. I wish Optimizely team great luck for their product. I hope A/B testing market is big enough for multiple players to survive!
One benefit you forgot to mention is that your cheapest plan ($49) comes out to $0.0049 per visitor. Optimizely's cheapest plan ($19) comes out to $0.0095 per visitor.
One thing I think we do well is allow you to try Optimizely and create your experiment without needing to create an account or give us your email address. The only time you need to create an account is when you want to save.
We also offer cross-browser testing and uptime monitoring and reporting.
One small correction: we do support testing behind login wall pages. You just need to put the embed code on your page and the tool will load your site even if it's behind a login wall or on your own local intranet behind a firewall.
Our biggest competitor is non-consumption. I'm glad there are other startups out there helping to educate the market about the benefits of A/B testing. A rising tide floats all boats!