QA GUARDIAN
From $3,500/mo
Fully Managed Flow Model
TESTIM
Custom Quote
Self-Service AI Platform
QA Guardian vs. Testim
This is the complete Guardian vs. Testim breakdown — how the pricing models actually differ, a full feature-by-feature table, and realistic timelines to working coverage, not just headline claims. Testim (now marketed as "Tricentis Testim" after Tricentis's 2022 acquisition) is a self-service, AI-powered test automation platform — you record, author, and maintain tests yourself, with pricing available only through an enterprise sales quote. Guardian is different by design: a fully managed service where our engineers build and maintain your Playwright test suite for you, with rates published from $3,500/mo.
Full Guardian pricing published on our site with a calculator to compare costs.
Guardian builds and maintains your tests — Testim leaves that to youPricing published upfront — no sales call requiredStarting at $3,500/mo, all-inclusiveFree itemized quote by email · No sales pitch · No commitment
Pricing Comparison
TestimGuardianPublished UpfrontZero Authoring EffortManaged For You$0 Extra HeadcountFull-Journey Coverage<30 Days, GuaranteedTestim
QA GuardianPublished UpfrontZero Authoring EffortManaged For You$0 Extra HeadcountFull-Journey Coverage<30 Days, GuaranteedFree itemized quote · No sales pitch · One-click pure Playwright export — you own the code
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Pricing at Scale
Testim's rate card stays behind a sales quote no matter how you scale — Guardian's per-flow rate is published and automatically decreases with volume.
Testim (Tricentis)
Self-Service · Enterprise Sales Quote
- CommunityFree
Limited self-serve tier for individual authoring
- Essentials / Pro / MobileQuote-only
Annual contract via Tricentis sales; scoped to seats, test volume, parallelization
- Third-party directories cite ~$450/mo+ entry SaaS tiers, with enterprise quotes reportedly running into the thousands/month — none of this is officially published by Tricentis
- Internal authoring & upkeep~$144k/yr
You're paying for a platform license plus the fully-loaded cost of whoever on your team builds and maintains tests in it — illustrated here at a typical fully-loaded SDET salary.
QA Guardian
Fully Managed · No Headcount Needed
- 20 Flows (Entry)$3,500 / mo
- 50 Flows$5,500 / mo
- 100 Flows$11,000 / mo
- 200 Flows$21,500 / mo
- Avg. Per-Flow Rate at 200$108/flow
All-inclusive: AI drafting, senior QA engineer verification, unlimited maintenance with a 24-hour repair SLA, unlimited test runs. No internal QA hire required.
Testim pricing is not publicly published: Tricentis routes Essentials, Pro, and Mobile plans through a sales quote, scoped to seats, test volume, and parallelization. The ~$450/mo+ figure above comes from third-party software directories, not Tricentis directly — treat it as directional, not confirmed.
The internal labor line is illustrative, not a Testim-specific figure: it uses this site's standard fully-loaded SDET assumption to show what it typically costs to allocate meaningful in-house ownership of test authoring and maintenance, whether that's a dedicated QA engineer or equivalent developer time.
How Does Guardian Offer Better Coverage at a Lower Price?
AI has made QA testing faster to deliver. We pass those gains directly to customers — reducing per-flow cost by ~50% since launch. Our AI + Human model delivers flake-free coverage without asking your team to become the ones operating the tool.
Rapid Flow Architecture
We rapidly architect flows using advanced tooling, then senior engineers refine every edge case and business rule.
Engineer Improvement
Senior QA engineers improve every flow to ensure edge cases, business logic, and real-world reliability.
Savings Pass to You
AI efficiency cut our delivery cost in half. You get the same expert-verified quality without hiring anyone to run the tool.
Two Fundamentally Different Ownership Models
Testim gives you a powerful AI-assisted authoring tool. Guardian gives you a team that builds and maintains your tests for you. That's the real difference — not a feature checklist.
Same Goal, Opposite Operating Models
Testim — Self-Service
Guardian — Fully Managed
Same web app tested: with Testim, your team owns creation and upkeep vs with Guardian, our engineers own it end to end.
This isn't a knock on Testim's AI. Its Smart Locators and self-healing are useful for teams that want to author tests in-house. The distinction is who is responsible for the work: with Testim — even with AI assistance — a person on your team is the operator. With Guardian, that person is one of our engineers.
See exactly what fully managed coverage would cost for your team.
Calculate Your CostFeature-by-Feature Comparison
| Capability | QA Guardian | Testim (Tricentis) |
|---|---|---|
| Service model | Fully managed | Self-service SaaS platform |
| Test authoring | Handled by our engineers | You author (AI-assisted recorder + agentic prompts) |
| AI-assisted authoring & self-healing | AI drafts initial Playwright; engineers finish it | Mature, purpose-built AI authoring |
| Test maintenance & repair | 24-hr engineer SLA, unlimited | AI self-heal; your team resolves structural breaks |
| Internal headcount required | None | Yes — dedicated QA or developer time |
| Underlying technology | Standard Playwright TypeScript | Proprietary AI-driven recorder & runtime |
| Coverage architecture | Flows (Full User Journey) | Individual tests you assemble into suites |
| Enterprise integration surface | Focused on web/Playwright coverage | Backed by Tricentis's broader QA suite |
| Native mobile testing | Not offered — web only | Dedicated Testim Mobile product |
| Company track record | Newer, flow-based managed model | Est. 2014, part of Tricentis since 2022 |
| Pricing transparency | Published rates | Quote-only, not publicly published |
| Test ownership & export | One-click pure Playwright export — client owns every line | Export available on select plans; tool-native format |
| HIPAA BAA | Available | Not publicly confirmed |
| Security compliance | SOC 2 Type II aligned | Enterprise program (Tricentis); specifics not detailed here |
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
When you sign a contract, how long until your team has working tests in CI? With a self-service tool, that clock is entirely yours to run.
Testim (Tricentis)
Tool Access Granted
Contract signed, sign in to Testim, start recording tests immediately
Team Onboarding
Your engineers/QA learn the recorder, Smart Locators, and CI setup
Test Authoring
Your team builds tests for each user journey, alongside their other work
Coverage Grows With Capacity
No vendor-guaranteed milestone — depends entirely on your team's available time
QA Guardian
Critical flows live in <30 daysDiscovery 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
Senior QA engineers harden each flow — edge cases, business logic, reliability.
Live in CI
All flows running on every PR. Ship with confidence.
Common Questions
Things people ask when evaluating Testim vs. Guardian.
Our honest take
Evaluating Both? Here's the honest comparison.
Tricentis Testim is a mature, AI-powered test automation platform — a strong pick for large enterprises that want an in-house team authoring and maintaining tests themselves, especially with existing QA capacity and Tricentis ecosystem needs (Salesforce, SAP, enterprise integrations). Guardian is built for teams that want their critical flows built and maintained for them, without adding QA headcount. If you have the internal capacity and want full control over authoring, Testim is worth evaluating. If you'd rather hand that work to engineers who do it full-time, that's Guardian.
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