VWO vs Optimizely: The Ultimate Showdown of Experimentation Tools

Data driven insights rule decision making and A/B testing (split testing) has emerged as an indispensable tool for optimising website conversions and enhancing user experience. Two of the leading contenders in this field are VWO and Optimizely, both of which have garnered a loyal following among organisations of all sizes. Whether you want to find out which colour CTA you should be using or you are after customer specific analytics, performing tests throughout your website is the best way to gain this invaluable data. This will help to make informed decisions, harness predictive marketing and deliver personalised experiences. So VWO vs Optimizely, which platform is the best? 

A Closer Look At The Experimentation Leaders

When looking at VWO vs Optimizely, it is important to note both platforms are excellent for performing A/B testing, however one platform stands out. VWO, an acronym for Visual Website Optimiser, is a cloud-based platform known for its A/B testing and optimisation capabilities that empowers organisations to make data-driven decisions to improve their websites. Founded in 2010, VWO has established itself as a partner for enterprises worldwide, catering to diverse industries ranging from e-commerce to travel and hospitality. However, when comparing VWO to other industry giants, its experimentation capabilities lag behind.

Optimizely on the other hand, is trusted as the world’s leading experimentation and optimisation platform that empowers organisations to deliver advanced personalised experiences. Its robust feature set caters to a wide range of needs, from simple A/B tests to complex experimentation strategies, powered by a machine learning stats engine – Optimizely can do it all. In 2020, Episerver acquired Optimizely and this super DXP platform was officially rebranded as Optimizely in 2021. Since its inception, Optimizely has continued to revolutionise the digital experience and experimentation landscape, as evidenced by its consistent upward trajectory in the latest Gartner DXP Magic Quadrant report.

The Benefits Of Using Experimentation

Website experimentation is crucial for organisations to understand and make the most of user interactions. A/B testing, a comparison of two webpage versions, allows for data-driven decisions. Businesses can refine their online presence by tweaking elements like headlines or calls to action. Multivariate testing, a more sophisticated approach. It tests multiple variations of different elements simultaneously to bring together a combination of the most effective elements for enhanced engagement and conversions.

The benefits of website experimentation are:

• Risk Migration:  it mitigates the risk associated with website changes by allowing small adjustments based on real-time user feedback. This ensures that changes resonate positively with the audience, enhancing user satisfaction and loyalty.

• Making Innovation Possible: by fostering a culture of continuous improvement, organisations can push boundaries, test bold ideas, and discover new strategies that set them apart.

• Informed decision making: the data-driven insights that come from experimentation empower businesses to make informed decisions. Whether it’s refining the user interface, optimising the conversion funnel, or personalising content, experimentation lays the groundwork for strategic enhancements that directly impact the bottom line.

The adoption of website experimentation is not a trend but a necessity for organisations navigating the competitive digital world.

Experimentation Capabilities

Experimentation is what these platforms are known for. Optimizely experimentation is renowned for its robust and versatile features that help marketers boost conversions, drive revenue and elevate customer experience. Customer-centric marketers can take advantage of a complete suite of tools for A/B testing, Multivariate testing (MTV), feature flagging and sophisticated personalisation. 

Optimizely’s experimentation offering is highly flexible, providing different experimentation packages depending on the organisation’s needs. Marketing teams can access a simple out of the box package or opt for a deeper more developer focused approach. Optimizely’s emphasis on the validity and reliability of results, along with advanced targeting options, provides a level of sophistication that caters to the diverse needs of businesses. 

VWO also provides experimentation capabilities which help organisations optimise their digital experience. The platform also empowers marketing and developer teams to run A/B tests, multivariate tests, and feature flags to uncover insights to make data driven decisions. However, when it comes to needing more in depth tests or analytics this platform falls behind. In comparison the industry leaders Optimizely have a reputation for user-friendliness, versatility, reliability, and continuous innovation which sets them apart from the rest of the industry.

Ease Of Use

Both VWO and Optimizely are considered user-friendly experimentation platforms, but they are clearly very different platforms.

For example, when it comes to editing features VWO offers a drag-and-drop visual editor that allows users to create and modify experiments without coding knowledge. Whereas Optimizely provides a WYSIWYG visual editor that enables users to conveniently edit experiments directly on the webpage. For the experimentation setup, Optimizely allows users to fine-tune targeting options, decide on experiment goals, and set advanced and specific variables, something that cannot be done with VWO.

There’s not much point in running experiments if you can’t understand and use the results. With VWO, users can access  basic reporting dashboards. Or for those using Optimizely can gain access to more detailed reporting and analytics tools, including heatmaps, session recordings, and funnel analysis, providing deeper insights into user behaviour making it easier to make informed marketing decisions.

When deciding which platform is suitable, it’s important to consider alignment between technology and business goals. Which platform offers the breadth of capabilities that will help your organisation through the future digital transformation journey. In this instance, Optimizely is the more advanced platform and customers have access to an impressive portfolio of industry leading products that offer flexibility and can cater to users who require more granular control over experiments and deeper data analysis.

How Much Does Each Platform Cost?

VWO and Optimizely pricing varies significantly with Optimizely often leaning towards a more competitive pricing structure. 

VWO employs a pay-as-you-go pricing model based on monthly pageviews or active users. This model is suitable for businesses with fluctuating traffic levels or those starting with a smaller user base. The platform offers a website user based pricing model, so the price changes depending on your traffic or users. VWO also offers a FullStack plan for larger enterprises with more complex experimentation needs.

Optimizely adopts a tiered pricing model based on features and user volume. The Optimizely Pricing model is for more ambitious enterprises that require a comprehensive suite of experimentation capabilities.There are multiple experimentation products available including Optimizely Web Experimentation, a simple out of the box set of experimentation and analytical options and Feature Experimentation, a more complex software that relies on SDK’s and requires development implementation.

VWO vs Optimizely? Who wins when it comes to cost? In both cases the price reflects the value of the product and the revenue potential. VWO’s pricing is generally aimed at smaller businesses or those with lower traffic volumes. Optimizely’s pricing, on the other hand, caters to larger enterprises, often operating at a global scale with more complex experimentation needs and extensive data analysis requirements. The tiered pricing structure reflects the increased features and capabilities.

Integrations

Looking at VWO vs Optimizely in terms of integrations shows how Optimizely boasts impressive integration capabilities that often give it an unmatched competitive edge.. Optimizely is built with API’s in mind so provides a broad range of integrations including industry leading software such as Mixpanel, Microsoft and Salesforce just to name a few. These integrations enable organisations to connect their experimentation data with advanced data management and machine learning tools, allowing them to gain deeper insights and make more data-driven decisions.

VWO focuses on providing seamless integration with popular marketing and analytics tools, while Optimizely offers deeper integrations with data management, machine learning, and content management platforms. VWO’s integrations allow organisations to connect their experimentation data with their existing marketing and analytics tools, providing a more holistic view of their customer journey. 

The difference between the two platforms reflects the target audience of each platform, with VWO catering to businesses with more general experimentation needs and Optimizely targeting enterprises with more complex data analysis and personalisation requirements.

Scalability Opportunities

Speed and scalability are both so important for any organisation, because ultimately you want to grow and evolve your business and you want a platform that can scale with you. As Optimizely has both basic and complex experimentation options the platform can scale up with an organisation to handle large user bases and high experiment volumes providing extensive analytics. Huge brands including Toyota, PayPal, Zoom and Vodafone have invested and seen amazing results with the Optimizely platform. However, as VWO offers more simplistic experimentation organisations with simpler experimentation needs and fluctuating traffic may see it as a suitable platform for them.

Innovation and AI Leadership

Optimizely is at the forefront of innovation providing a cutting-edge platform that is constantly expanding. Known for its transformative innovation, aiming to push the boundaries of experimentation capabilities and introduce groundbreaking features. It invests heavily in research and development, exploring new AI and machine learning applications. For example Optimizely’s AI is implemented in the stats accelerator to improve the speed and validity of experiments. 

VWO also has a focus on innovation, however it is a very different approach. VWO focuses on continuous improvement and incremental innovation, introducing new features and enhancements regularly. When looking at VWO vs Optimizely the choice depends on if you are after a quick and simple experiment or whether you are wanting advanced experimentation with personalisation and actionable analytics.

Which Platform Will Your Organisation Choose: VWO vs Optimizely?

For organisations with low traffic and modest data and analytic requirements, VWO may be the right experimentation platform. However, if you are looking for advanced experimentation capabilities, in depth analysis and specific personalisation then Optimizely is the platform for your organisation.

Its comprehensive suite of features, enables data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement. Optimizely’s robust integrations with leading third-party tools makes it easy for data collection and holistic insights. Its user-friendly interface makes it accessible for users of all technical backgrounds. With its commitment to innovation and AI integration, Optimizely remains at the forefront of experimentation software, empowering organisations to unlock their true potential. If you are considering using the UK’s leading experimentation platform or would like to learn more about how it could benefit your organisation, contact us today, we’d love to help you get started.
Enhance your digital presence with Ultimedia and the Optimizely experimentation platform, tailored to your organisation’s unique needs. With over two decades of experience, our team of experts will seamlessly integrate Optimizely’s powerful experimentation features into your current platform, ensuring you maximise your investment with no disruption. Join nearly 10,000 organisations who are already using Optimizely. Book your Optimizely Demo today and kickstart your experimentation journey.