What Katalon is
Katalon, Inc., based in Atlanta, sells the Katalon True Platform, which it calls the AI platform for software quality. This is a comparison, not a Katalon review: the facts below come from Katalon's own pages, as of September 2026. The platform has four parts:
- Katalon Studio is where tests are written, for web, mobile, API and desktop apps, in no-code, low-code or full code, or with AI. It is built on Selenium and Appium, so existing scripts keep working (Katalon Studio).
- TestOps manages manual, automated and AI-generated tests. Its agents review requirements for gaps and ask clarifying questions, generate test cases, run manual tests and record the evidence, file bugs and report release readiness (test management).
- TestCloud runs tests on Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge and on real iOS and Android devices. The Runtime Engine runs the same tests inside your own network (TestCloud).
- TrueTest watches real users in production, compares their journeys with your regression tests and generates tests for the gaps (TrueTest).
Katalon AI heals broken locators mid-run and offers fixes for failed runs, both for your approval. Katalon says it holds a current SOC 2 Type II attestation.
Why teams look for a Katalon alternative
Katalon covers the whole testing lifecycle. Teams that look for a Katalon alternative usually want something narrower.
- A suite needs owners. AI makes tests faster to write and repair, but someone still reviews generated cases, approves healed locators and keeps the suite current.
- A platform to run. Studio, TestOps, TestCloud, the Runtime Engine and TrueTest are separate parts, priced by seat, licence, session or quote. A product team without dedicated testers may only want each release checked.
- What "correct" means for your product. Whether a release is right depends on your requirements, design system and business rules: a flow can pass every step and still show the wrong price.
- A record of the release itself. Some teams want a single signed report for each release: what was checked against which requirement, what needs a decision and what was not covered.
In fairness, TestOps already reviews requirements for gaps, keeps audit logs and, Katalon says, lets nothing ship without a person signing off. The real question is whether your team wants to run a testing platform, or have each release checked and signed off.
Katalon vs ShipperAG at a glance
Katalon gives your team the tools to build, run and manage tests; ShipperAG checks each release and hands you evidence. Here is how they compare as of September 2026.
| Aspect | Katalon | ShipperAG |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Testers and QA teams at every skill level, up to regulated enterprises | Product and engineering teams that need evidence to approve each release |
| Approach | Test authoring, test management, an execution cloud and production insights, with AI agents throughout | AI QA specialists check each release against your requirements, design system and business rules |
| Who writes and maintains tests | Your team, in no-code, low-code or full code, helped by AI generation and self-healing | No suite to write: the coordinator picks the specialists each change needs, within your limits |
| How failures are handled | AI failure analysis names the root cause and offers a fix for approval | An independent verifier re-runs every finding in a fresh session before it is reported |
| Evidence and sign-off | TestOps keeps requirements, test cases, evidence, defects and releases in one auditable record | Verified, Issue found, Needs input and Not covered, sealed in a hash-chained ledger, plus a shareable report |
| Browsers and devices | Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge, plus real iOS and Android devices | Real Chromium sessions, including phone and tablet sizes by emulation; Firefox, Safari and real devices not covered |
| Pricing model (as published) | Published per-seat prices, from a free Studio plan; add-ons extra; Enterprise on quote | From $149 a month, after a free 45-day trial |
| Availability | Available now: free plan and 30-day trial | Private pilot (waitlist) |
Want release evidence you can check alongside your Katalon coverage? Start with a free 45-day trial, no card.
Work email only. We keep your email, team size, plan choice and the page you joined from, only to contact you about the ShipperAG pilot. No spam.
Katalon pricing, as published
Katalon publishes its prices. As of September 2026, its pricing page lists these online prices, billed annually:
- Katalon Studio Free: $0, for students and personal projects, with local execution and no AI assistant.
- Katalon Studio Professional: $84 per seat per month for the first three seats and $150 per seat from the fourth.
- True Platform (TestOps and TestCloud): from $58 per seat per month.
- True Automation (Studio, TestOps and TestCloud): $167 per seat per month.
- Enterprise plans, which can include SSO, hybrid licensing and TrueTest: custom.
Add-ons include the Runtime Engine for headless and CI runs, at $145 per licence per month, and TestCloud browser or real-device sessions at $158 per session per month. Monthly billing costs more. Katalon says there are no per-run fees, and its 30-day trial needs no credit card. If Katalon pricing is your reason for looking at an alternative, ShipperAG starts at $149 a month for 20 release checks, after a free 45-day trial; it is in a private pilot.
Where ShipperAG is different
As a Katalon alternative, ShipperAG is designed for a narrower job: check each release against what your product is supposed to do, re-check every finding, and hand your team evidence it can sign. Here is how it works, in short:
- Connect a preview or staging URL.
- Add the context: your requirements, the design system or brand tokens, business rules and API docs.
- The coordinator reads the change and picks the specialists it needs, within your limits.
- Specialists run real checks: a real Chromium browser, HTTP and API calls, automated accessibility rules, and visual comparison against design tokens.
- The independent verifier re-runs every finding in a fresh session, and the results are sealed in an evidence ledger.
- A person on your team signs off, or shares the report with the stakeholders who approve the release.
Every item ends as Verified, Issue found, Needs input (the requirements were unclear or contradictory, so it asks instead of guessing) or Not covered. The ledger is hash-chained, and the report is a self-contained HTML file. A language model's opinion alone can never mark anything verified.
When Katalon is the better choice
Not every team needs a Katalon alternative. Katalon is the stronger choice when:
- You test native mobile and desktop apps as well as the web, from one tool and one project.
- You need real browsers and devices. TestCloud covers Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge and real iOS and Android devices. ShipperAG runs in Chromium only.
- Your team has mixed skills. Testers and developers work in no-code, low-code or full code, and keep existing Selenium, Appium or Playwright work.
- You need one system of record for manual, automated and AI-generated tests.
- Tests must stay inside your network. The Runtime Engine and hybrid options keep execution on your own machines.
- You want to buy online today, at published prices, with a free plan and a 30-day trial. ShipperAG is a private pilot.
The two can also sit side by side: a Katalon suite for regression across platforms, and per-release checks for what changed against your requirements. We explain that blend in agentic QA vs test automation. If codeless automation for packaged enterprise systems such as SAP and Salesforce is the real priority, rather than web and mobile testing, our Tricentis Tosca alternative comparison covers that ground.
What ShipperAG does not do
ShipperAG is new, and it is not right for every job:
- It is not generally available or self-serve. It is a private pilot with a waitlist: teams start with a free 45-day trial with up to 20 release checks, and paid plans start at $149 a month.
- It checks in real Chromium browser sessions only, including phone and tablet sizes by emulation. Firefox and Safari (WebKit) rendering and real devices are not covered, and reports list them under Not covered. Our guide to AI browser testing explains why the browser engine matters.
- It does not replace a maintained regression suite on a long-lived product. It is designed to run alongside one.
- It only tests targets you own or have written permission to test, and it stays inside the hosts you allow.
Other Katalon alternatives and competitors
ShipperAG is not the only Katalon alternative. If you need a Katalon Studio alternative for writing and running automated tests, or are weighing mabl vs Katalon or testRigor vs Katalon, these are closer matches:
- mabl is an agentic testing platform for web, mobile and APIs. See our mabl alternative comparison.
- testRigor is a generative AI-based test automation tool for plain-English tests across web, mobile, desktop and APIs. See our testRigor alternative comparison.
- Testsigma is an agentic test automation platform whose AI agents generate, run and heal tests and score release confidence. See our Testsigma alternative comparison.
- Virtuoso QA is an enterprise test automation platform with plain-English, self-healing tests. See our Virtuoso QA alternative comparison.
Sources: Playwright, playwright.dev; Katalon home page, pricing, Katalon Studio, test management (TestOps), TestCloud and TrueTest; mabl home page; testRigor home page; Testsigma home page; Virtuoso QA home page. Competitor details change, so check their websites for the latest. Checked 20 September 2026.