BackstopJS vs Frontend Regression Validator
BackstopJS
github.comFrontend Regression Validator
github.comSide by side
| Figure | BackstopJS | Frontend Regression Validator |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Visual Regression Testing Software | 8.0 (#11) | 8.1 (#7) |
| Integrations | The README describes CI reporting in JUnit format and integration with build systems such as Jenkins, Travis, and gulp. | The README describes API calls and Docker deployment but does not name third-party integrations. |
| License | GitHub identifies the project as MIT licensed. | The repository includes an Apache License 2.0, which grants no-charge, royalty-free rights subject to its terms. |
| Purpose | BackstopJS automates visual regression testing of web apps by comparing screenshots over time. | FRED is an open-source visual regression tool for automatically comparing baseline and updated website instances. |
| Workflow | Its documented workflow uses `backstop init`, `backstop test`, and `backstop approve` to configure tests, compare screenshots, and update reference images. | A comparison starts with two URLs, which FRED crawls to find pages to render and compare. |
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.
Frontend Regression Validator
Frontend Regression Validator has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.