AyeSpy vs BackstopJS
AyeSpy
github.comBackstopJS
github.comSide by side
| Figure | AyeSpy | BackstopJS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Visual Regression Testing Software | 7.9 (#13) | 8.0 (#11) |
| License | The repository displays a BSD 3-Clause license. | GitHub identifies the project as MIT licensed. |
| Limit | The README says switching contexts to iFrames is not supported. | The README notes that Chrome Headless in Docker needs substantial memory and may otherwise produce timeout errors. |
| Purpose | AyeSpy is a high performance visual regression tool for catching UI regressions. | BackstopJS automates visual regression testing of web apps by comparing screenshots over time. |
Plans
In their own words
BackstopJS
BackstopJS is a free, MIT-licensed tool for visual regression testing of web applications. It captures screenshots and compares them with reference images over time. An in-browser report shows reference, test and visual-difference views, with additional CLI and JUnit reports. BackstopJS supports Puppeteer and Playwright; Playwright can use Chromium, Firefox or WebKit. Scenarios can script clicks, scrolling, hovering, key presses and cookie state. Captures can cover a full document, viewport or selected DOM elements at configured viewport sizes. The documented workflow uses `backstop init`, `backstop test` and `backstop approve` to configure tests, compare captures and update references. Installation works globally or locally through npm, as a standalone CLI or from a Node.js app. CI reporting and integrations include Jenkins, Travis and gulp. Docker can reduce rendering differences, though Chrome Headless in Docker needs substantial memory.