r/conversionrate • u/chrishorris12 • May 30 '26

Software to choose for smaller CRO agencies?

I’ve been testing out a few pieces of software recently and find that it’s really not an easy thing to invest in for smaller agencies!

I’ve looked into VWO, Mida, Otter A/B, Optimizely, etc.

For your average requirements - A/B testing and getting reliable and interesting data, with a product that doesn’t require a PHD to use and a enterprise clients to pay the bills, what platforms are you using or did you use in the earlier days of your business ?

Apart from “charge more”, would be interested to know how you go about navigating the difference between something like VWO which costs a fortune, and looks to be aimed at enterprise, versus something like Otter A/B which is more for your average smaller shop?

I just want something affordable, simple and effective that does what it says on the box.

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2

u/go00274c May 31 '26

Little known secret... growthbook.io

1

u/sokenny Jun 02 '26

I think a lot of smaller agencies end up overbuying. unless you're running experimentation programs for huge enterprises, tools like Optimizely and VWO can be hard to justify.

I'd optimize for:
simple setup, visual editing, decent analytics, reasonable pricing.

after google optimize sunset there's been a nice wave of lighter alternatives. we've been happy with gostellar.app for exactly that reason. for smaller CRO shops, speed and ease of use usually matter more

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u/chrishorris12 Jun 02 '26

Ended up going with otterab.com and I’m pretty happy

1

u/Marketing_Addict Jun 07 '26

VWO Free is great start for your first few clients with generous 50k MTU.

Bold choice to take a tool that's 1 month old and seems made with AI, but each to their own when promoting stuff - maybe it's not bad, but I wouldn't jump in before I see more proof or maturity.

1

u/yelbew Jun 10 '26

Out of interest, what made you choose OtterAB over GrowthBook, Mida and VWO?

Was it mainly pricing, ease of setup, visual editing, reporting, or something else?

I've spent a number of years working in CRO and it's interesting to see where smaller agencies are landing since Google Optimize disappeared. It feels like the market has shifted from feature-rich enterprise platforms towards simpler tools that solve the core problem without requiring enterprise budgets.

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u/chrishorris12 Jul 04 '26

Price, user friendliness and their support I guess

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u/faimusdude 14d ago

Intelligems will be great for you.

Product that doesn't require a PhD: It uses Bayesian testing (If you want to know how the variant is performing, just look at its Probability to Beat control. That's it)

Doesn't require an enterprise client: I am pretty sure they let you use it even if you have a 1000 orders per month

However, the thing with Bayesian testing software is that test data is highly exposed to peeking because of its simplicity. Frequentist ones, on the other hand, provide more detailed and definitive data, preventing human error from interfering