Argos vs Percy

Argos is a visual testing platform that stores screenshots uploaded by a team's test suite, compares them across builds, and supports review of visual changes. Argos does not connect to applications to capture screenshots. It can also diff Markdown, JSON, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, XML, YAML, and plain text. Integrations include Playwright, Cypress, Storybook, WebdriverIO, its CLI, or any framework, alongside GitHub Actions and deployment providers such as Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare. Teams can connect GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Discord, and Microsoft Teams. For agent workflows, Argos offers a remote MCP server, CLI workflows, and a REST API for inspecting diffs, reviewing builds, collaborating, and deploying previews. The Hobby Plan is free, billed forever, and includes up to 5,000 screenshots with 30-day retention. Pro costs $100 a month, billed monthly based on usage, and includes 35,000 screenshots and one-year retention. Argos says its SDKs and platform are open source and MIT-licensed, and that it is SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant.

Percy is a visual testing tool that captures DOM snapshots and assets, renders them, and checks them against earlier snapshots to identify visual changes. It can render pages across browsers and platforms, including desktop and mobile, and compare responsive layouts at configurable widths. Percy groups visual changes while filtering noise and freezes animations and other dynamic elements to reduce false positives. Snapshots from tests running on different processes or machines can be grouped into a single build. Its review workflow includes status updates, notifications, comments, baseline management, branch logic, and approval carryforwards. Percy supports web applications, component libraries, end-to-end testing frameworks, static sites, custom SDK integrations, and native mobile applications. The CLI can capture and upload snapshots without an automation script. A free plan includes 5,000 screenshots per month; paid plans have fixed screenshot allocations, with extra screenshots charged at an overage rate. Desktop costs $199 a month billed annually, and Desktop & Mobile costs $599 a month billed annually.