QA GUARDIAN
From $3,500/mo
Team-Based Flow Model
BUG0
From $2,500/mo
Single FDE · Passmark lock-in
QA Guardian vs. Bug0
Bug0's $2,500/mo sticker looks cheap until you inspect the fine print: Passmark is still vendor lock-in (open source source, package required to run), coverage is a single forward-deployed engineer, and the famous "500 flows" has no published definition. QA Guardian starts at $3,500/mo with a full senior QA team, zero-dependency Playwright you can leave with, a contractual flow spec, and rates published at every tier. This page is the Guardian-first breakdown — where Bug0 still wins on raw sticker, and where it doesn't.
Full Guardian pricing published on our site with a calculator to compare costs.
One-click pure Playwright export — you own every line, foreverTeam of senior engineers — not a single forward-deployed hireDefined flows + published rates — no “500 undefined units” cliffFree quote by email · No sales pitch · No commitment
Pricing Comparison
Guardian500 “flows” undefined
20 defined flows
Comparable Unitspro-rata beyond, rate unpublished
defined spec, rate published every tier
Fully Publishedmore added "if scope calls for it"
included from day one
Team Includedopen source · still vendor lock-in
zero added dependencies
Zero Dependenciesnot plain Playwright
no vendor runtime
True PortabilitySLA covers reduction, not 0%
contractual — fix free or credit
Contractual Guaranteeself-reported · no public SLA
or we extend onboarding free
Contractual Speed
QA Guardian500 “flows” undefined
20 defined flows
Comparable Unitspro-rata beyond, rate unpublished
defined spec, rate published every tier
Fully Publishedmore added "if scope calls for it"
included from day one
Team Includedopen source · still vendor lock-in
zero added dependencies
Zero Dependenciesnot plain Playwright
no vendor runtime
True PortabilitySLA covers reduction, not 0%
contractual — fix free or credit
Contractual Guaranteeself-reported · no public SLA
or we extend onboarding free
Contractual SpeedFree quote · No sales pitch · One-click pure Playwright export — you own the code
Prefer email? Get a quote without a call →
Pricing at Scale
Sticker price is not unit price. Bug0's flat fee and Guardian's published per-flow card only make sense after you ask what a "flow" is — and who is behind it.
Recommended · Published · Decreasing Rate$3,500/mo at 20 flows
Per-flow rate published at every tier, decreasing automatically as you scale. Full senior team included.
- Every flow is defined (≤25 interactions, ≤10 assertions, ≤3 min) — comparable units
- Rate card published from 20 flows through every tier — no sales negotiation cliff
- Team of senior QA engineers included — not a single assigned hire
- Zero-dependency Playwright you can export and run after you leave
Lower sticker · Hidden unit economics$2,500/mo flat
Claims up to 500 user flows with one forward-deployed engineer — flow size unpublished.
- Lower monthly number — only if you accept undefined “flow” units as equal to Guardian journeys
- Beyond 500 units, pro-rata rate and extra engineer capacity are unpublished
- One FDE by default — bus-factor and bandwidth risk baked into the model
- Passmark package lock-in: open source source, vendor-tied runtime to leave with your suite
Why Guardian wins the pricing argument: a cheaper sticker only matters if the units are comparable. Bug0 does not publish what one of its 500 flows is. Guardian does. Add a full senior team, contractual flake coverage, and code that is not tied to a vendor package — and the $1,000 entry gap is the cost of coverage you can actually audit and keep.
*Bug0's "500 flows" is an unverifiable number. Bug0.com discloses no interaction limit, assertion cap, or execution-time ceiling for what qualifies as one of its 500 flows, and no fair-use policy for an oversized one. Without a published spec, there's no way to confirm a Bug0 "flow" is a full user journey rather than a single atomic test step relabeled as one — and vendors that bill in granular tests routinely need 5–12 of them to cover what one comprehensive flow does. Guardian publishes its flow definition in full — capped at 25 interactions, 10 assertions, and 3 minutes of execution time, with anything larger automatically split into multiple flows. Until Bug0 publishes an equivalent spec, there is no basis to treat 500 Bug0 units as 500 Guardian journeys.
How Guardian's AI + Engineer Team Delivers Coverage
AI drafts the boilerplate. A team of senior engineers hardens every flow. Because it's a team — not a single assigned engineer — coverage doesn't stall when one person is out, ramping, or reassigned.
Rapid Flow Architecture
We rapidly architect flows using advanced tooling, then senior engineers refine every edge case and business rule.
Senior Engineer Review
A team of senior QA engineers reviews and hardens each flow — edge cases, business logic, real-world reliability.
No Single Point of Failure
Coverage isn't bound to one engineer's bandwidth, vacation schedule, or turnover — the team backs every flow.
One Engineer vs. a Team: Why Delivery Model Matters
Both vendors talk about "flows." Only Guardian backs every flow with a senior team from day one — not a single hire whose calendar is your SLA.
Bug0 — Single Forward-Deployed Engineer
Scoped to one person by default- One dedicated engineer is assigned to your account by default
- Additional engineers are added only "if your scope calls for it" (Bug0's own FAQ wording)
- AI agents assist, but human review capacity is bounded by that one engineer's bandwidth
- Coverage speed and depth may vary with that engineer's availability
Guardian — Senior QA Engineer Team
Team included from day one- A team of senior QA engineers reviews and hardens every flow
- No single point of failure — coverage doesn't depend on one person's calendar
- AI drafts flows first; engineers verify edge cases and business logic
- Team capacity scales with your flow count automatically — no renegotiation
Single point of failure is the product: Bug0 doesn't publish when a second engineer is added — "if your scope calls for it" is not a number. Guardian never makes team depth a sales variable; it is included. If your release cadence cannot wait on one person's vacation or turnover, that is already a reason to choose Guardian.
See exactly what your flow count would cost with Guardian's published rate card.
Open the CalculatorFeature-by-Feature Comparison
| Capability | QA Guardian | Bug0 Managed |
|---|---|---|
| Entry sticker price | $3,500/mo for 20 defined flows | $2,500/mo flat — cheaper sticker, but “500 flows” has no published definition |
| Test framework | Standard Playwright TS — zero extra deps | Playwright + Passmark package (open source source, vendor-tied runtime) |
| Code ownership / exit | One-click pure Playwright export — client owns every line, zero vendor packages | Tests may live in your repo — still require passmark to execute (runtime lock-in) |
| Passmark / vendor runtime | None — only @playwright/test | FSL → Apache after 2 years — transparency yes, portability no |
| Browser coverage | Chrome, Safari, Firefox (Playwright) | Chromium, Firefox, WebKit (via Playwright + Passmark) |
| Pricing model | Per-flow, published at every tier, decreases with scale | Flat fee up to 500 flows, then pro-rata (rate unpublished) |
| Engineering team | Team of senior QA engineers included | Single forward-deployed engineer (more added case-by-case) |
| HIPAA BAA | Available | Available |
| SOC 2 | Type II aligned | Certified (type not specified on pricing page) |
| Flake guarantee | Contractual — free fix or account credit | Self-healing tests; SLA covers reduction, not a guaranteed rate |
| Time to first coverage | Critical flows in <30 days — contractual commitment | ~7 days critical / ~4 weeks full (self-reported marketing claim) |
| CI/CD integration | GitHub, GitLab, CircleCI, Jenkins | GitHub Actions (others not specified) |
Still comparing line by line? Talk to an engineer about your specific flows.
Talk To UsOur Commitments to You
Every Guardian plan includes these guarantees — no asterisks, no fine print.
Zero Flake Guarantee
We fix any flaking flow at no charge, every time — or we credit your account.
30-Day Speed Commitment
Critical flows live in CI within 30 days — or we extend your onboarding at no extra cost.
Transparent Pricing Lock
Published rates, no surprise increases, no renegotiation. Your price is your price.
One-Click Pure Playwright Export
One-click export of pure Playwright TypeScript anytime. You own every line — run it in your CI or keep it forever. No lock-in, ever.
Ready to see these guarantees in your CI pipeline?
Book a DemoTime to Your First Coverage
Marketing speed claims vs. contractual commitments. Only one of these is a guarantee you can hold the vendor to.
QA Guardian
Critical flows in <30 days — contractualDiscovery Call
Define your critical flows in plain English. No environment setup required upfront.
AI Drafts Flows
Our LLMs generate Playwright boilerplate for every flow you defined.
Engineers Verify
A team of senior QA engineers hardens each flow — edge cases, business logic, reliability.
Live in CI
All flows running on every PR. Miss the window and we extend onboarding at no extra cost.
Bug0
~7 days claim — self-reported, not a published SLAKickoff & Access
Forward-deployed engineer gets access and begins test planning (exact process not detailed publicly).
“100% of Critical Flows”
Bug0's marketing milestone — not a contractual guarantee you can enforce if it slips.
Full App Coverage
Stated marketing milestone for complete coverage — still one engineer's bandwidth.
Common Questions
Things people ask when evaluating Bug0 vs. Guardian.
Why teams choose Guardian
Bug0 wins on sticker. Guardian wins on coverage you keep.
Bug0's $2,500 flat fee, open-source Passmark source, and multi-browser claims are real — and still the wrong primary reasons to pick a managed QA partner if you care about exit, team depth, and auditable units. Passmark remains package-level lock-in. One FDE is a bus factor. "500 flows" without a definition is marketing, not a rate card. Guardian starts higher, ships zero-dependency Playwright, puts a senior team on every account, and publishes both the flow spec and the price at every tier. That is the better long-term buy for teams that treat QA as infrastructure, not a temporary hire.
15-minute call · No sales pitch · See exact pricing for your flows
QA Guardian: one-click export of pure Playwright TypeScript — you own every line. No proprietary runtime. No lock-in, ever.
QA Guardian
See your critical flows live in CI within 30 days.
Talk to the engineers who'll build your tests — no sales pitch.
Book a Demo