GUI Test StudioGUI Test Studio

Stop Coding Your Tests: How GUI Test Studio Compares to Legacy E2E Tools

GUI Test Studio side by side with Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Katalon, mabl, Applitools Eyes and Percy: a comparison study, the problems with coded tests and their limitations, coded tests compared with GUI Test Studio topic by topic, and four positioning matrices of where each tool stands.

12 min readBy the GUI Test Studio team

Last updated on October 29, 2026.

Choosing an end-to-end testing tool decides who on your team can write a test, how long a test keeps working, and whether a failure reaches the right person in words they understand.It matters to everyone who ships the software: the developers who write the code, the test and QA engineers who automate the tests, and the testers and product owners who know what should be checked.

This comparison study puts GUI Test Studio side by side with seven tools teams use today: the coded test tools Selenium, Playwright and Cypress, the test automation platforms Katalon and mabl, and the visual testing services Applitools Eyes and Percy.It then goes through the problems with coded tests and their limitations, compares coded tests with GUI Test Studio topic by topic, and ends with where each tool stands.

Comparison study

  • Included
  • Partly / at extra cost
  • Not included
  • Not what this tool is for
GUI Test Studio
Interactions + verifications, in one tool
Coded test tools
Selenium · Playwright · Cypress
Test automation platforms
Katalon · mabl
Visual testing services
Applitools Eyes · Percy

  • Where your tests and screens go

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: They stay on your own computers, in every plan

    • SeleniumIncluded: On your own machines
    • PlaywrightIncluded: On your own machines
    • CypressPartly / at extra cost: On your own machines; runs recorded to Cypress Cloud are stored there
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Projects on your machines; results in its cloud; private cloud or on-premises with Enterprise
    • mablNot included: Its cloud, on Google Cloud; local runs possible
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: Its cloud by default; on-premises at a higher price
    • PercyNot included: Uploaded to BrowserStack's cloud

  • Where the checks run

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: On your own computers, in every plan

    • SeleniumIncluded: On your own machines
    • PlaywrightIncluded: On your own machines
    • CypressIncluded: On your own machines
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Tests on your machines, under a license that needs internet access (offline licenses through sales); visual comparisons in the Katalon platform, which also comes as an on-premises package
    • mablPartly / at extra cost: In its cloud; local runs serve for diagnosis, without screenshots or DOM snapshots
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: In its cloud by default; a dedicated cloud with Enterprise, on-premises as an add-on
    • PercyNot included: In BrowserStack's cloud

  • Where AI analysis runs

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: On your own computer with a local AI model we provide or you bring, or with the cloud AI provider you choose

    • SeleniumNot what this tool is for: No AI analysis
    • PlaywrightPartly / at extra cost: Its test agents run in the AI tool you choose
    • CypressNot included: In Cypress Cloud; no self-hosted version
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: OpenAI's models in its cloud, or your own key for OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Gemini or AWS Bedrock
    • mablNot included: In its cloud, through Google Vertex AI
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: In its cloud by default; a dedicated cloud with Enterprise, on-premises as an add-on
    • PercyNot included: Its Visual Review Agent, in Percy's online review page, on paid plans

  • Canvas, charts, maps, remote desktops

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Found and checked by sight

    • SeleniumNot included: Clicks at coordinates: what is drawn has no element, role or text1
    • PlaywrightNot included: Clicks at coordinates: what is drawn has no element, role or text1
    • CypressNot included: Clicks at coordinates: what is drawn has no element, role or text1
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Image-based locators on web and mobile; on desktop, only through an external image library2
    • mablPartly / at extra cost: Visual find: an area drawn while recording, located by an AI model at run time3
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: Compared as pictures; reaching them needs a coded test
    • PercyPartly / at extra cost: Compared as pictures; reaching them needs a coded test

  • How a test finds an element

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Asks the app first (its accessibility information, or a web page's own elements), and finds it by sight when the app says nothing

    • SeleniumNot included: In the page's code: id, name, class, CSS or XPath path, link text
    • PlaywrightNot included: In the page's code: role, label, text, test id, CSS or XPath
    • CypressNot included: In the page's code: a selector, or its text
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: XPath, attributes or CSS in the page, Windows' accessibility information on desktop; image locators on web and mobile
    • mablPartly / at extra cost: The attributes it recorded for the page's element; visual find for an area with none
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: Its checkpoints compare pictures; your coded tests find each element in the page's code
    • PercyPartly / at extra cost: Its snapshots compare pictures; your coded tests find each element in the page's code

  • Skills needed to create and maintain a test

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Visual: record it or describe it in a prompt, then edit it on a timeline or by prompt

    • SeleniumNot included: Programming
    • PlaywrightNot included: Programming (its recorder writes code you then maintain)
    • CypressNot included: Programming: JavaScript or TypeScript; Studio records commands (beta)
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: A recorder and keywords for simple flows; Groovy or Java scripts for complex logic
    • mablIncluded: Low code: a recorder or natural language
    • Applitools EyesNot included: Programming: added to your coded tests
    • PercyPartly / at extra cost: Programming, except pages pictured from their address

  • Who keeps the tests up to date

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Anyone on the team, including QA testers with no programming or technical background

    • SeleniumNot included: A developer
    • PlaywrightNot included: A developer
    • CypressNot included: A developer
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Testers in its keyword view; a developer for scripts
    • mablIncluded: Testers, in its low-code editor; auto-healing, with approval for larger changes
    • Applitools EyesNot included: A developer (the coded tests)
    • PercyNot included: A developer (the coded tests)

  • Updating a test after a change

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Edit the step on its timeline, or ask the AI; accept the new picture from the report

    • SeleniumNot included: A developer edits the code
    • PlaywrightPartly / at extra cost: A developer edits the code; new reference pictures with one command
    • CypressNot included: A developer edits the code
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: In its keyword view or scripts; self-healing proposes new locators to approve
    • mablPartly / at extra cost: In its low-code editor; auto-healing updates the locators, and can heal to the wrong element: mabl advises reviewing it
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: Differences accepted in its dashboard; the coded tests edited by a developer
    • PercyPartly / at extra cost: Changes approved in its review page; the coded tests edited by a developer

  • When the app's code changes, not its screen

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: The element is still found by sight: no locator to repair

    • SeleniumNot included: A renamed id or class, or a moved element, breaks its locator
    • PlaywrightPartly / at extra cost: Role, text and test id locators are more stable; CSS and XPath ones "can break when the DOM structure changes"
    • CypressPartly / at extra cost: Selectors break, unless the app carries data-* attributes for the tests, as its guide recommends
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Self-healing tries the element's other locators, on web and mobile, in Professional and Enterprise
    • mablPartly / at extra cost: Auto-healing finds the best match among the attributes it recorded, and can heal to a different element; a custom CSS or XPath step does not heal
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: Its picture checks do not depend on the code; your coded tests' locators do
    • PercyPartly / at extra cost: Its picture checks do not depend on the code; your coded tests' locators do

  • When the app is slower than usual

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Every step waits for its element, up to its timeout

    • SeleniumNot included: The waits are yours to write
    • PlaywrightIncluded: Waits for each element to be ready before acting on it
    • CypressIncluded: Queries and assertions are retried until they pass or time out
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Smart Wait lets a web page finish its work; web tests only
    • mablIncluded: Intelligent Wait learns the app's timing and waits for the element to be actionable
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: As your coded tests wait
    • PercyPartly / at extra cost: As your coded tests wait

  • Checks what the user sees

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Yes: visual, text and layout checks

    • SeleniumNot included: Not included
    • PlaywrightPartly / at extra cost: A pixel comparison: one reference picture per browser and system, tolerances to tune4
    • CypressNot included: Not included: screenshots, but no comparison built in
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Screenshots taken by its tests, compared in the Katalon platform (web and mobile)5
    • mablPartly / at extra cost: AI visual assertions on screenshots; its visual tests have a fixed viewport, and no steps or waits of their own6
    • Applitools EyesIncluded: Yes: at the checkpoints your test code calls
    • PercyIncluded: Yes: of the snapshots your test code takes

  • Rendering differences between machines

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Ignored: only a clear change in one area counts, and AI explains it

    • SeleniumNot what this tool is for: Compares no pictures
    • PlaywrightNot included: Beyond the tolerances you set, the comparison fails4
    • CypressNot what this tool is for: Compares no pictures
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Pixel, layout or content comparison; a sensitivity setting relaxes the pixel one
    • mablPartly / at extra cost: Visual tests match a pixel only in the exact same colour; its AI visual assertions judge a screenshot against a description6
    • Applitools EyesIncluded: Its default match level ignores pixel differences that come from rendering software and hardware
    • PercyIncluded: Pages rendered in its own environment, which avoids font rendering and anti-aliasing differences

  • Video games

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: By sight, with keyboard, mouse and gamepad

    • SeleniumNot included: No
    • PlaywrightNot included: No
    • CypressNot included: No
    • KatalonNot included: Not in its documentation
    • mablNot included: Not in its documentation
    • Applitools EyesNot what this tool is for:
    • PercyNot what this tool is for:

  • Cost

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: €39 a month, or €29 per user for a team; unlimited tests and runs

    • SeleniumPartly / at extra cost: No licence fee, but developer time: writing, debugging and maintaining the test code
    • PlaywrightPartly / at extra cost: No licence fee, but developer time: writing, debugging and maintaining the test code
    • CypressPartly / at extra cost: App free; Cypress Cloud from $67 a month, billed annually, plus developer time7
    • KatalonNot included: $2,199 per seat a year, billed annually (Professional); CI/CD runs need Runtime Engine licenses, one session each7
    • mablPartly / at extra cost: Custom quote, no public price; cloud runs consume credits; 14-day free trial
    • Applitools EyesNot included: $667 a month, billed yearly, for 1,000 page checkpoints (Starter)7
    • PercyPartly / at extra cost: Limited to 5,000 screenshots a month; 10,000 cost $199 a month, billed yearly7

  • Windows desktop apps

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Any app on the screen

    • SeleniumNot included: No
    • PlaywrightPartly / at extra cost: Electron apps only (experimental)
    • CypressNot included: No
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: UWP, WinForms, WPF and Win32 apps, as far as their controls describe themselves to Windows (WinUI not listed); Professional and Enterprise only8
    • mablNot included: Not in its documentation
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: Through a coded desktop test
    • PercyNot what this tool is for: Web and mobile apps

  • Phones

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Android: a real phone

    • SeleniumNot included: Needs Appium
    • PlaywrightPartly / at extra cost: Browser emulation; Android Chrome experimental
    • CypressPartly / at extra cost: Mobile web at a phone's viewport size; never native apps
    • KatalonIncluded: iOS and Android
    • mablIncluded: iOS and Android
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: Through Appium tests
    • PercyIncluded: Mobile apps (App Percy)

  • How a failure is explained

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: A complete Confidence Report: the pictures, every step, the reason in plain words9

    • SeleniumNot included: A stack trace
    • PlaywrightPartly / at extra cost: A trace viewer, for developers
    • CypressPartly / at extra cost: Command Log; in Cypress Cloud, Test Replay and AI error summaries
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Reports (HTML, PDF, JUnit); AI failure analysis on its paid plans only7
    • mablIncluded: Dashboards, step details and AI failure analysis
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: Picture differences and the page code behind them; the run's steps are in your test tool10
    • PercyPartly / at extra cost: Picture differences, with an AI summary on paid plans; the run's steps are in your test tool10

  • Every browser and device from one test

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Generated and really run on each: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, 80+ devices, languages, network speeds

    • SeleniumPartly / at extra cost: Each browser set up in code
    • PlaywrightPartly / at extra cost: Configured per project, one reference picture each
    • CypressPartly / at extra cost: Chrome family, Edge and Firefox; WebKit experimental; phones as viewport sizes
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Browsers and real iOS and Android devices, with the TestCloud add-on
    • mablIncluded: Chrome, Firefox, Safari (WebKit) and Edge in its cloud
    • Applitools EyesPartly / at extra cost: Renders the page in other browsers and devices; the clicks and typing ran in one browser only
    • PercyPartly / at extra cost: Renders the page in other browsers and devices; the clicks and typing ran in one browser only

  • Jira integration

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: A failed run becomes a Jira issue with its pictures: from the report, or by itself in your pipeline

    • SeleniumNot included: Not included
    • PlaywrightNot included: Not included
    • CypressPartly / at extra cost: Through Cypress Cloud, on its Team plan11
    • KatalonIncluded: Yes
    • mablIncluded: Yes
    • Applitools EyesIncluded: Yes: an issue from a difference you mark in its dashboard
    • PercyIncluded: Yes: an issue from its review page (Jira Cloud only)

  • Figma integration

    GUI Test Studio logoGUI Test Studio

    Included: Our Figma plugin turns a design into a test, and a sync follows the design

    • SeleniumNot included: Not included
    • PlaywrightNot included: Not included
    • CypressNot included: Not in its documentation
    • KatalonPartly / at extra cost: Through its AI assistant: test cases from a Figma flow12
    • mablNot included: Not listed
    • Applitools EyesIncluded: Yes: designs compared with the checkpoints of your coded tests
    • PercyIncluded: Yes: designs compared with the snapshots of your builds
Notes12
  1. 1.Selenium finds an element by its id, name, CSS or XPath path, or a link's text; Playwright also by its role and label; Cypress by a selector or its text.What a page draws inside a canvas, such as a chart's bars, a map's pins or a game, is pixels with no element, role or text of its own, so no locator finds it: the test clicks at coordinates, and a check needs the app's own code or a screenshot.Cypress's documentation says that its assertions cannot verify shapes drawn to a canvas, and points to visual testing plugins.A remote desktop is one picture of another computer's screen.
  2. 2.Katalon can find a web or mobile element by a picture of it: on the web, the picture is compared pixel by pixel with the element on the page, and clicking on an image is not supported in a headless browser.On Windows desktop, image matching needs the SikuliX library, downloaded and imported separately.
  3. 3.mabl's visual find, for browser and mobile tests, keeps an AI description of an area drawn while recording in its Trainer.At run time, the description and a screenshot are sent to an AI model, which answers where the area is; its documentation names canvas elements, PDFs and maps as the cases it is for.
  4. 4.Playwright compares screenshots pixel by pixel, within a colour threshold and a number of different pixels you set: a rendering difference larger than those tolerances fails the test.Its documentation says screenshots differ between browsers and platforms (rendering, fonts, hardware, headless mode), so it keeps one reference picture per browser and platform, and advises running the tests where the references were made.A failure is shown as an image of the different pixels beside the expected and the actual one, not described in words.
  5. 5.Katalon Studio saves screenshots of a web or mobile app with its checkpoint keywords; they are compared in the Katalon platform (formerly TestOps), pixel by pixel, by layout or by content, within the number of test results your platform tier allows.
  6. 6.mabl's visual tests are a test type of their own: up to 50 page addresses, a fixed viewport of 1366 x 3072, each page compared pixel by pixel with its baseline; no test step or wait step can be added to them.Its visual assertions check a screenshot of an element against a description in plain words, with an AI model; its pricing page lists them for all customers.
  7. 7.Cypress Cloud: Starter free with 500 test results a month; Team from $67 a month, billed annually at $799.Katalon Professional: $2,199 per seat a year, billed annually; running tests from the command line or a CI/CD pipeline needs the Katalon Runtime Engine add-on, whose floating license runs one session at a time, and cloud execution needs TestCloud add-ons.Its Free plan has no parallel execution, self-healing, AI failure analysis or desktop testing, and up to 40 test suites.Applitools Starter: $667 a month billed yearly, unlimited users, 1,000 page checkpoints or 100,000 component checkpoints; Professional and Enterprise on request.Percy: 5,000 screenshots a month on its entry plan; Desktop $199 a month billed yearly with 10,000 screenshots, then $0.036 each; Desktop & Mobile $599 a month billed yearly with 25,000, then $0.048 each.
  8. 8.Katalon Studio tests Windows desktop apps through its own driver, built on the FlaUI library, since version 10.4.0, with no separate installation.Its documentation lists UWP, WinForms, WPF and classic Win32 apps, on Windows 10 (WinUI is not listed), and its pricing page includes desktop testing in Professional and Enterprise, not in Free.FlaUI finds controls through Windows' accessibility information (UI Automation): a custom control that does not describe itself there cannot be found.
  9. 9.The Confidence Report shows the expected and the actual picture with the change outlined, every event, text and check of the run, the reason in plain words (AI Smart Verification) and the history of every run.One click turns a failure into a PDF or Excel bug report, or a Jira issue.
  10. 10.These services receive the pictures (or page snapshots) your test code sends: their dashboards show those pictures and what differs between them, while the clicks and typing that led to each one are in your test tool's own report.
  11. 11.Cypress Cloud creates a Jira issue from a specific test; its documentation asks for a Team plan.
  12. 12.Katalon's AI assistant (True Platform) can generate test cases from a Figma flow and check an implementation against a Figma design.

Prices as published by each vendor on October 28, 2026.

AI Smart Verification is optional: run it on a local AI model we provide or you bring, or with any cloud AI provider instead.

Facts checked on each vendor's official documentation, product and pricing pages on October 29, 2026.All product names are trademarks of their respective owners; this guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

The problems with coded tests, and their limitations

Ten problems teams meet with coded tests, and with the visual testing services added to them, the most important first.Each one says what happens, shows it, and what GUI Test Studio does instead.

1. Blind to what the user sees

Selenium logoPlaywright logoWinAppDriver

What happens

A coded check asks the page's code whether an element is there.Your user only sees the screen. These bugs pass a check of the code:

  • Covered

    • The code: the button is there.
    • Your user: cannot see it, cannot press it.

  • Invisible

    • The code: the text is there.
    • Your user: sees nothing.

  • Cut off

    • The code: the full text "Confirm your order".
    • Your user: half a sentence.

  • Overlapping

    • The code: both cards are there.
    • Your user: a mess.

  • Unstyled

    • The code: every element still there (the style sheet failed to load).
    • Your user: a broken site.

  • Wrong colour, broken picture

    • The code: the button and the image are there.
    • Your user: a different product.

A screenshot comparison can catch these too, at the price of a reference picture per browser and system, and false alarms when rendering differs between machines.

With GUI Test Studio

Every check compares the screen itself, so a covered, invisible, cut-off or discoloured element fails the test.

2. Every redesign breaks them

Selenium logoPlaywright logoWinAppDriver

What happens

A coded test points at the page's code.Rename a class, move a button into a new container, and the test fails although the screen looks the same.Playwright's own documentation warns that such locators "can break when the DOM structure changes".

With GUI Test Studio

No locator to write.The GTS Engine + AI asks the application where the element is, and finds it by sight when the application does not say.

3. Architectural limitations

Selenium logoPlaywright logoWinAppDriver

What happens

Coded tools find what to act on by its role, its label, its text or the app's code.Many apps draw their own pixels: a chart's bars, a map's pins, a game, a whole remote desktop.What is drawn has no element, role, label or text, so no locator can find it: the test clicks at coordinates, and a check needs the app's own code or a screenshot.

On the web

  • Charts drawn on a canvas (Chart.js)the chart is one picture to the page
  • Design tools (Figma)the whole canvas is drawn with WebGL
  • Documents drawn on a canvas (Google Docs)since 2021
  • Flutter web appsno elements until accessibility is turned on, which it is not by default
  • Maps, games and drawing pads in a canvas

On Windows

  • 4D applicationsWindows sees the window, nothing inside
  • Java Swing applicationsnothing inside unless the Java Access Bridge is on; it is off by default
  • PowerBuilder applicationsaccessibility support is off by default
  • Delphi FireMonkey applicationsonly with an add-on package, through the older MSAA
  • Remote desktops and Citrixyour computer receives a picture of the screen
  • Virtual machines, and a phone shown on your screen

Most standard Windows apps (WinForms, WPF, WinUI, Qt, Electron) do describe themselves to Windows.GUI Test Studio uses that first, and finds the rest by sight.

With GUI Test Studio

It finds and checks them by sight, the way a person does.

4. Coding skills required, and maintenance becomes a nightmare

Selenium logoPlaywright logoWinAppDriverApplitools EyesPercy logoArgos

What happens

Every test is code, and every change to the app is a change to that code: the more tests a team has, the more code it has to keep working.The people who know what should be tested, testers and product owners, cannot write or fix it.

With GUI Test Studio

Record the workflow, or describe it in a prompt to Claude, ChatGPT or a local AI model, one we provide or one you bring.Edit the steps on a visual timeline, or ask the AI for the change.

5. False positives

Playwright logo

What happens

A raw screenshot comparison can fail when fonts or rendering differ between machines: Playwright's own documentation names the operating system, its settings, the hardware and headless mode.

With GUI Test Studio

Only a clear change in one area counts: rendering noise is ignored, real regressions are caught, and AI explains in plain words what changed.

Prefer an exact comparison?Pixel-perfect matching can be turned on per check in GUI Test Studio.

6. Video games

Selenium logoPlaywright logoWinAppDriver

What happens

A game draws its menus, inventory and HUD itself on the graphics card.Unity (6.3 and later), Unreal and Godot (4.5, experimental) can describe menus to screen readers only when the studio builds that in, screen by screen; the game world itself is never described.Coded tools also cannot play with a gamepad.

With GUI Test Studio

It sees the game the way the player does, and records and replays keyboard, mouse and gamepad input (an Xbox-style controller).Smoke-test every build without playing the same ten minutes every morning.

7. Your screens leave your company

Applitools EyesPercy logoArgos

What happens

Test screens show customer names, prices and internal tools.Visual testing services upload every screenshot to their cloud: Percy and Argos always, Applitools by default (its on-premises option is sold at a higher price).

With GUI Test Studio

Your tests, screens and results stay on your own computers, in every plan, at no extra cost.AI Smart Verification can run with a local AI model, one we provide or one you bring, so even the AI stays in your company.

8. Paid per screenshot

Applitools EyesPercy logoArgos

What happens

Every screenshot counts against a monthly allowance. Percy and Argos are limited to 5,000 screenshots a month on their entry plans; Percy's Desktop plan is $199 a month (billed yearly) for 10,000, then $0.036 per screenshot; Argos Pro is $100 a month for 35,000, then $0.004 per screenshot; Applitools starts at $667 a month (billed yearly).More browsers, devices and runs mean a bigger bill.

Prices as published by each vendor on October 28, 2026.

With GUI Test Studio

One price per user: €39 a month, or €29 per user for a team.Unlimited tests, recordings and runs, on as many browsers and devices as you need.15-day free trial, no payment details.

9. One tool per platform

Selenium logoPlaywright logoWinAppDriver

What happens

Selenium and Playwright test web pages, WinAppDriver Windows apps, Appium phones: three tools, three skill sets, three kinds of test to maintain.

With GUI Test Studio

One tool and one kind of test for web apps, desktop apps, Android phones and games.

10. Failures only a developer can read

Selenium logoPlaywright logoWinAppDriver

What happens

A coded test fails with a stack trace, a page of code only a developer can read.

See the Confidence Report

With GUI Test Studio

Anyone on the team reads the result: the expected picture next to what the screen showed, the change outlined, and one plain sentence.

Coded tests vs GUI Test Studio

Topic by topic: what a coded test asks of your team, and what GUI Test Studio asks instead.

  • Creating a test

    GUI Test Studio

    Anyone records the workflow, or describes it in a prompt to Claude, ChatGPT or a local AI model: one we provide, or one you bring.

    Coded tests

    Selenium logoPlaywright logoCypress

    A developer writes code in Java, Python, C# or JavaScript.

  • Keeping it up to date

    GUI Test Studio

    Clear steps on a visual timeline you edit like a video montage, or change by asking the AI.

    Coded tests

    Selenium logoPlaywright logoCypress

    A second codebase, with reviews, refactoring and upgrades.

  • What is checked

    GUI Test Studio

    The screen your user sees.

    Coded tests

    Selenium logoCypress

    The page's code.

  • A redesign

    GUI Test Studio

    No locator (the code that points at a button) to write: the app is asked first, and the screen itself is the fallback.

    Coded tests

    Selenium logoPlaywright logoCypress

    A renamed id or class breaks the test, though nothing changed for the user.

  • Platforms

    GUI Test Studio

    One tool for web, Windows desktop, Android and games.

    Coded tests

    Selenium logoPlaywright logoCypress

    One tool per platform (Selenium or Playwright for the web, WinAppDriver for Windows, Appium for phones).

  • Reading a failure

    GUI Test Studio

    Pictures and one plain sentence anyone understands.

    Coded tests

    Selenium logoPlaywright logoCypress

    A stack trace.

  • False positives

    GUI Test Studio

    Only a clear change in one area counts, and AI explains what it is.

    Pixel comparison

    Playwright logo

    A font or rendering difference between machines can fail the test.

  • Browsers and devices

    GUI Test Studio

    Record once; the test is generated for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, more than 80 devices and screen sizes, languages, time zones, network speeds and zoom levels, and run side by side.

    Coded tests

    Selenium logoPlaywright logo

    More setup, and a reference picture per browser and system.

GUI Test Studio: if you can see it, you can test it

GUI Test Studio tests an application the way a person does: it looks at the screen, clicks, types and checks what it sees.Here is what that means for your team.

  • It tests the way a person does

    It finds and checks every element by sight, whatever the application is built with: web pages, Windows desktop apps, Android phones, games, charts drawn in a canvas, remote desktops.It does not depend on any architecture: if you can see it, you can test it.

  • Create a test in minutes

    Record the workflow once, the way you would test it by hand, or describe it in a prompt and let AI record it for you.

  • Edit it like a video

    Change a test visually on a timeline, like a video montage, or ask the AI for the change.

  • No technical skills needed

    It is easy to use and intuitive: anyone on the team creates, edits and runs tests without writing code.

  • Easy to maintain

    There is no test code and no locator to keep working: when the application changes, a test is updated in a few clicks on the timeline, or in one prompt.

  • Affordable

    €39 a month for one user, or €29 per user a month for a team, with every feature and unlimited tests and runs.

  • A report in human language

    The Confidence Report says what passed, what failed and why, in plain words, with the expected and the found pictures side by side.

  • Ignores noise, catches regressions

    Rendering noise never fails a test on its own, while a real change of colour, size or wording, or a missing element, is caught where it happened.

  • Jira and Figma built in

    A failed run becomes a Jira issue with its pictures, and a Figma design becomes a test before the feature is even built.

  • Works with your AI assistant

    Its MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT or a local AI model, one we provide or one you bring, create, change and run tests for you.

Where each tool stands

The comparison study, summed up in four pictures.Every place is worked out from the table's cells: point at a dot to see the rows behind it.

  • Completeness and ease: how much a tool can test and check, against how easy it makes creating, maintaining and reading tests.
  • Web, desktop, mobile, games and virtual machines: whether a tool tests any app, whatever it is built with, against how many platforms it reaches.
  • Test maintenance: who can keep the tests up to date, against how much work a change in the app costs.
  • Local verification and data security: how much a tool verifies, against whether the checks, your screens and the AI analysis stay on your own computers.

Point at a tool to follow it in the four matrices

Coded test tools
Test automation platforms
Visual testing services

Completeness and ease

How much can it test, and how technical is it to use?

What it can test and check →
Easy and completeComplete, but technicalEasy, but limitedTechnical and limited

Easy to create, maintain and read tests, without code →

→
Skills needed to create and maintain a test · Who keeps the tests up to date · How a failure is explained · Cost
↑
Where your tests and screens go · Canvas, charts, maps, remote desktops · Checks what the user sees · Video games · Windows desktop apps · Phones · Every browser and device from one test · Jira integration · Figma integration
Completeness and ease
ToolEasy to create, maintain and read tests, without codeWhat it can test and check
GUI Test Studio100 %100 %
Selenium13 %17 %
Playwright25 %33 %
Cypress25 %22 %
WinAppDriver13 %17 %
Katalon38 %56 %
mabl88 %44 %
Applitools Eyes13 %61 %
Percy38 %56 %

Web, desktop, mobile, games and virtual machines

Universal end-to-end testing across all frameworks (WPF, Electron, Game Engines) without access to source code or accessibility tree.

Platforms and devices it reaches →
Any app, any platformWide reach, tied to the app's codeAny app, fewer platformsTied to the app's code, few platforms

Independent of how the app is built →

→
How a test finds an element · Canvas, charts, maps, remote desktops
↑
Windows desktop apps · Phones · Video games · Every browser and device from one test
Web, desktop, mobile, games and virtual machines
ToolIndependent of how the app is builtPlatforms and devices it reaches
GUI Test Studio100 %100 %
Selenium0 %13 %
Playwright0 %38 %
Cypress0 %25 %
WinAppDriver0 %13 %
Katalon50 %50 %
mabl50 %50 %
Applitools Eyes50 %38 %
Percy50 %38 %

Test maintenance

Who keeps the tests up to date, and how much work is it?

Little work after the app changes →
Light upkeep, for anyoneLight upkeep, for developersFor anyone, heavier upkeepHeavy upkeep, for developers

Anyone on the team can maintain the tests →

→
Skills needed to create and maintain a test · Who keeps the tests up to date
↑
Updating a test after a change · When the app's code changes, not its screen · Rendering differences between machines · How a failure is explained · Every browser and device from one test
Test maintenance
ToolAnyone on the team can maintain the testsLittle work after the app changes
GUI Test Studio100 %100 %
Selenium0 %10 %
Playwright0 %40 %
Cypress0 %30 %
WinAppDriver0 %0 %
Katalon50 %50 %
mabl100 %70 %
Applitools Eyes0 %60 %
Percy25 %60 %

Local verification and data security

Where are the checks made, and where do your screens and data go?Sensitive data is safest when it never leaves your computers.

Runs and stays on your own computers →
Strong checks, on your computersPrivate, but basic checksStrong checks, in the cloudBasic checks, in the cloud

Checks what the user sees, and explains a failure →

→
Checks what the user sees · How a failure is explained
↑
Where the checks run · Where your tests and screens go · Where AI analysis runs
Local verification and data security
ToolChecks what the user sees, and explains a failureRuns and stays on your own computers
GUI Test Studio100 %100 %
Selenium0 %100 %
Playwright50 %83 %
Cypress25 %50 %
WinAppDriver0 %100 %
Katalon50 %50 %
mabl75 %17 %
Applitools Eyes75 %50 %
Percy75 %0 %
Each tool's place is worked out from the comparison study: two points for every "Included", one for every "Partly / at extra cost", none otherwise, averaged over the rows under each matrix (in the security matrix, a row that is not what a tool is for, such as AI for a tool that has none, is left out).Point at a dot to see the rows behind its place.WinAppDriver is not a column of the study; its place comes from the same rows, checked against its own documentation.

Ready to record your first test?

Every feature, for 15 days.

Rather see it on the kind of app you test?Book a free 30-minute call with our team.

Book a demo