Best Free A/B Testing Tools 2026
You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars per month to start A/B testing. Several tools offer genuinely useful free tiers that let you run experiments, analyze results, and improve your conversion rates without opening your wallet. This guide covers every free A/B testing option available in 2026 — what's actually free, what's just a trial, and which free tier gives you the most value.
The Reality of “Free” A/B Testing
Let's be honest: most tools that claim to be “free” actually offer a 14-day trial, then lock you out. A truly free A/B testing tool needs to meet these criteria:
- No time limit — Free means free forever, not “free for two weeks.”
- Actually functional — You can create, run, and analyze tests — not just view a dashboard.
- No credit card required — If they need your payment info to “start for free,” it's a trial.
- Reasonable limits — Some restrictions are fine (test count, features), but they shouldn't make the tool unusable.
With these criteria in mind, the landscape narrows significantly. Here are the tools that actually offer free A/B testing in 2026.
1. PageDuel — Best Value A/B Testing Tool
🏆 Editor's Pick — Best Value
PageDuel was built specifically for small teams who need powerful A/B testing without enterprise pricing. Plans start at $9/mo with a straightforward feature set:
- ✅ 5 experiments on Hobby ($9/mo) — enough to test your most important pages
- ✅ 10k visitors/mo on Hobby — unlimited experiments from $19/mo (Starter)
- ✅ Visual editor — make changes without writing code
- ✅ AI variant generator — generate headline and copy alternatives with one click
- ✅ Built-in analytics — conversion tracking and statistical significance
- ✅ No annual contract — month-to-month billing on all plans
Pricing: Hobby at $9/mo (10k visitors, 5 experiments), Starter at $19/mo (unlimited experiments), Pro at $49/mo (AI variants, 250k visitors).
Best for: Startups, freelancers, and small businesses who want professional A/B testing at an affordable price. The AI variant generator alone makes it worth trying — it's a feature that competitors charge $100+/month for.
2. Google Optimize — Discontinued (RIP)
Google Optimize was the go-to free A/B testing tool for years. It offered a visual editor, Google Analytics integration, and up to 5 simultaneous experiments — all for free. Unfortunately, Google shut it down in September 2023 and has not released a replacement.
If you're reading old blog posts recommending Google Optimize, they're outdated. The tool no longer exists. For the closest replacement, see our Google Optimize alternative comparison.
Status: ⚰️ Dead. Not coming back.
3. PostHog — Free Tier with Experimentation
PostHog is primarily a product analytics platform, but it includes A/B testing (called “Experiments”) in its free tier. It's developer-focused and requires coding to implement tests — there's no visual editor.
- ✅ Free tier includes experiments
- ✅ Feature flags for server-side testing
- ✅ Open source
- ❌ No visual editor — requires code for every test
- ❌ Complex setup — not beginner-friendly
- ❌ Primarily an analytics tool, not optimized for CRO
- ❌ Free tier limited to 1M events/month
Best for: Developer-led teams who already use PostHog for analytics and want to add basic experimentation without another tool.
4. Statsig — Free Tier for Feature Flags & Experiments
Statsig offers a generous free tier that includes A/B testing through feature flags. Like PostHog, it's developer-oriented and focuses on product experimentation rather than marketing page optimization.
- ✅ Free tier with experiments
- ✅ Strong statistical engine
- ✅ Feature flags included
- ❌ No visual editor
- ❌ Requires engineering resources to implement
- ❌ Better for product experiments than landing page tests
- ❌ Free tier limited to 10M events
Best for: Product teams running feature experiments in code, not marketers testing landing pages.
5. GrowthBook — Open Source A/B Testing
GrowthBook is an open-source experimentation platform that you can self-host for free. It's powerful but requires significant technical setup and maintenance.
- ✅ Completely free if self-hosted
- ✅ Open source — full control
- ✅ Bayesian and frequentist statistics
- ✅ SDK support for multiple languages
- ❌ No visual editor
- ❌ Requires self-hosting (server costs, maintenance)
- ❌ Complex setup — days, not minutes
- ❌ Cloud version starts at $75/month
Best for: Technical teams who want full control and are comfortable managing infrastructure. Not practical for most small businesses.
Tools That Are NOT Free (Despite Claims)
These tools are often listed as “free” in roundup articles, but they only offer time-limited trials:
- VWO — 14-day free trial, then $356+/month. Compare with PageDuel.
- Optimizely — No free tier. Starts at ~$79/month, enterprise plans at $36K+/year.
- Convert.com — 15-day trial, then $399+/month. Compare with PageDuel.
- AB Tasty — No free tier. Custom pricing starting ~$220/month.
- Personizely — Free trial only, then $39+/month with visitor caps. Compare with PageDuel.
- Shoplift — Free trial only, then $149+/month. Compare with PageDuel.
Free Tool Comparison Table
| Feature | PageDuel | PostHog | Statsig | GrowthBook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual Editor | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| AI Variant Generator | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| No Code Required | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Setup Time | 5 min | 1–2 hours | 1–2 hours | 1–2 days |
| Page View Limit | 10k/mo (Hobby, $9) | 1M events | 10M events | None (self-host) |
| Best For | Everyone | Developers | Product teams | Self-hosters |
How to Get the Most from a Free A/B Testing Tool
Even with a limited free tier, you can drive significant results. Here are strategies to maximize your free plan:
- Test your highest-traffic pages first. With limited test slots, focus on pages that get the most visitors. Your homepage, main landing page, or pricing page will produce results fastest.
- Make bold changes. Small tweaks need large sample sizes to detect. On a free plan, test dramatically different headlines, layouts, or CTAs to find big wins quickly.
- Use AI to generate variants. PageDuel's AI variant generator creates professional copy alternatives in seconds. Don't spend hours writing — let AI give you a starting point.
- Run one test at a time per page. Don't split your limited test slots across low-traffic pages. Concentrate your testing on what matters most.
- Implement winners immediately. When a test reaches significance, implement the winner and free up the test slot for your next experiment.
- Document everything. Keep a simple spreadsheet of what you tested, the hypothesis, and the result. This builds your optimization knowledge over time.
When to Upgrade Your Plan
The Hobby plan is great for getting started, but you'll eventually need more capacity. Signs it's time to upgrade:
- You consistently have more test ideas than available experiment slots
- You need team collaboration features
- You want to run tests on more pages simultaneously
- Your testing program is producing measurable ROI
With PageDuel, upgrading to Starter ($19/mo) removes the experiment limit and is often the smartest $19 you'll spend — a single winning test typically pays for months of the subscription. See our full pricing comparison for details.
Start A/B Testing from $9/mo
No annual contract. Set up in under 5 minutes. The Hobby plan at $9/mo gives you 10k visitors/mo and 5 experiments — everything you need to start optimizing.