Google Optimize shut down in September 2023.
If you used it, you already know this. If you didn't, here's the short version: Google had a free A/B testing tool that was simple, had a visual editor, and didn't require a developer. Then they killed it and pointed everyone towards tools that cost $200 to $500 a month.
That's a lot of money if you're a freelancer, a small agency, or a local business trying to figure out if your homepage headline is any good.
Almost three years later, the gap still hasn't been filled cleanly. But there are options now that didn't exist back then, and some of the older tools have adjusted their pricing.
Here's what's actually out there, sorted by what it costs, with honest notes on each one. If you only want the side-by-side breakdown, head to our compare page.
What made Google Optimize good (and what we lost)
Before getting into the list, it's worth naming what people actually liked about Optimize, because that's the checklist for a replacement:
It was free. Obviously.
But beyond free, it was simple. You could paste a snippet on your site, use a visual editor to change a headline or a button, and the tool would split your traffic and tell you which version won.
You didn't need:
- A data warehouse
- A developer on call
- To sit through a demo
It had limits (five concurrent tests, no heatmaps, traffic caps), and the UI got clunky. But for a small business running one or two tests at a time, it was plenty.
So that's the bar: affordable, simple, visual editor, no dev required, and you can sign up and start without talking to a sales team.
Any replacement that makes you book a demo before you can see pricing is solving a different problem for a different customer.
The options, sorted by price
Free (with trade-offs)
GrowthBook: Free for up to 3 users. Open source, can be self-hosted. It's a real tool used by companies like Patreon and Deezer.
The catch: it's built for engineering teams. It connects to your data warehouse (BigQuery, Snowflake, etc.) and expects you to know what that means. If you're comfortable with that setup, it's powerful. If you're a bakery owner, this isn't for you.
PostHog: Free tier covers 1 million events per month, which is generous. A/B testing, analytics, session recordings, feature flags. It's an all-in-one product tool.
Same caveat as GrowthBook: it's built for product and engineering teams. Setup isn't hard, but it's not "paste a snippet and go."
Statsig: Massive free tier. Acquired by OpenAI in late 2025 for $1.1 billion, so it's not going anywhere. Good if you're technical and want something that scales. Not a Google Optimize replacement in terms of simplicity.
The free tools are genuine, but they all assume a certain technical comfort level. If you had a developer set up Google Optimize for you, you'll need a developer for these too.
Under $50/month
Zoho PageSense: Starts at about $39/month on the Optimize plan, which is the tier that actually includes A/B testing. (Lower plans cover heatmaps and analytics but not experiments.) It's part of the Zoho ecosystem, so if you already use Zoho for other things, it slots in.
The A/B testing works but it's one feature inside a bigger analytics product. The visual editor is functional. Zoho doesn't have the prettiest interface, but it does the job at a price that's hard to argue with.
SplitPea: Starts at $29/month for 5,000 visitors, with a free tier for up to 500 visitors if you just want to try it.
This one is ours, so take this with the appropriate grain of salt. We built SplitPea specifically because of the gap Google Optimize left.
The script is under 8KB. There's a visual editor for A/B testing (click what you want to change, type the new version). Results use Bayesian statistics, which means the tool tells you when there's a winner instead of making you figure out p-values. You can sign up and start a test without talking to anyone.
Where SplitPea isn't the right fit
If you need heatmaps, session recordings, or a full analytics suite, you'll want something else alongside it. SplitPea does A/B testing and does it well. That's the scope.
If you want the practical version before comparing every tool, the SplitPea pricing page shows the free plan, visitor limits, and paid tiers without a sales call.
$29–$299/month
Crazy Egg: Plans start at $29/month (annual billing only, no month-to-month option). Primarily a heatmap and session recording tool with A/B testing included.
The A/B testing is basic but functional for page-level tests. If you want both heatmaps and testing in one tool and don't mind annual billing, Crazy Egg is solid.
The testing isn't its strength, though. It's a behaviour analytics tool that happens to include testing.
Convert: Starts at $299/month (billed annually) for 100,000 tested users. This is a proper A/B testing tool favoured by CRO agencies and professionals.
Visual editor plus five code editors. Lets you choose between Bayesian and frequentist statistics. Privacy-first design with EU data residency. Very good customer support.
If you're an agency or a business with real traffic doing serious optimisation work, Convert earns its price. Overkill if you're running one test on your homepage.
$300+/month
VWO: Starts around $314/month (billed annually). In January 2026, VWO announced a merger with AB Tasty, backed by PE firm Everstone Capital. The combined company has over $100 million in revenue and is clearly moving upmarket.
VWO used to have a free Starter plan after Google Optimize shut down, but that was sunset in late 2025. Now there's only a 30-day free trial. Comprehensive feature set: A/B testing, heatmaps, session recordings, personalisation. Good visual editor.
The merged company will be a strong enterprise platform, but the trajectory is away from small teams. VWO is a good tool if the price works for your budget and you need the full suite.
Optimizely: Enterprise pricing. Contact sales.
If you're reading this article, it's probably not the right fit. Optimizely is built for large organisations with dedicated experimentation teams.
Mentioning it because people search for it, not because it belongs on a small business shortlist.
Comparison table
| Tool | Starting price | Free tier | Visual editor | A/B testing focus | Sign up without demo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthBook | Free | Yes (3 users) | Pro plan only | Secondary (feature flags first) | Yes |
| PostHog | Free | Yes (1M events) | No | Secondary (analytics first) | Yes |
| Zoho PageSense | ~$39/mo | No (15-day trial) | Yes | Secondary (analytics suite) | Yes |
| SplitPea | $29/mo | Yes (500 visitors) | Yes | Primary | Yes |
| Crazy Egg | $29/mo | No (30-day trial) | Yes | Secondary (heatmaps first) | Yes |
| Convert | $299/mo | No (15-day trial) | Yes | Primary | Yes |
| VWO | ~$314/mo | No (30-day trial) | Yes | Primary | Demo encouraged |
So which one should you pick?
Depends on what you need, but here's how we'd think about it:
If you want the closest thing to what Google Optimize was (simple, visual editor, just A/B testing, affordable), look at SplitPea or Zoho PageSense. SplitPea is more focused on testing. Zoho gives you more analytics tools but A/B testing is only available on their higher-tier Optimize plan.
If you're technical and want free, GrowthBook or PostHog. Both are genuinely good but you'll spend some time on setup.
If you want testing plus heatmaps in one tool, Crazy Egg or VWO. Crazy Egg is much cheaper. VWO is more powerful.
If you're an agency or CRO professional, Convert. It's built for that workflow and priced for people who do this full time.
If someone is asking you to book a demo before showing you pricing, the tool is probably not built for small businesses. That's a sales process designed for companies with procurement departments. If you're deciding between this and buying lunch, you should be able to see the price and sign up in five minutes.
One more thing
A/B testing tools are only useful if you actually run tests. The best tool is the one you'll use.
If you've been meaning to test your homepage headline for six months and haven't gotten around to it, pick the simplest option, run one test, and see what happens.
You can always switch tools later. You can't get back the months you spent not testing.