Diffy vs Ghostinspector
Ghost Inspector is great for fast testing of your pages. But it lags behind Diffy when it comes to options available to tweak and test your pages before taking the screenshot. Diffy provides a rich set of tools to edit and check all possible scenarios before taking the screenshot.
Technical difference
Ghost Inspector is a tool for automating functional testing with elements of visual testing as well. You can start recording your tests using a Chrome plugin by clicking “Start recording”. The plugin will keep recording all the actions you performed like clicking buttons, links, submitting forms etc. All elements are referenced by CSS selectors.
Diffy doesn’t require installing any plugins nor any “recording” of the actions.
Ghost Inspector does assertions based on texts shown on the page. There is also the possibility to see if there were any differences in the screenshots. The service runs tests in the cloud and provides “pass” / “fail” results with one screenshot in the end.
Pixel Perfect + Vertical Shifts for Minimum False Positives
Diffy has combined pixel perfect and vertical shift testing to ensure that there are fewer false positives to make the reviewing process swift and error-free. Diffy’s custom algorithms allow it to combine both approaches for double authentication of all elements before showing the results.
Ghost Inspector only uses Pixel Perfect, which has been prone to false positives.
Easier as a Whole
To make the testing easier for its users, Diffy has made a number of useful shortcuts that make testing less intimidating. For example, Diffy doesn’t need you to code while testing. Everything is visual so any member of your team can do the testing without any training.
Great Performance – Always
Instead of spending money on upgrading your infrastructure, you can use Diffy’s scalable infrastructure for the fastest and most accurate testing possible. To get started, just send the URL you want to test.
Peace of Mind
Diffy charges its users based on the number of pages they’ve tested in a month. It’s not only easier to keep track of, but also eliminates the headache of calculating the price. Ghost Inspector uses the number of tests as the billing criteria.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Ghost Inspector | Diffy |
|---|---|---|
| Coding required | No | No |
| How to start | Install plugin. Record scenarios. | Provide list of URLs to scan |
| Integration with functional testing frameworks | No | No |
| Take screenshots as authenticated user | Yes. As a part of actions recorded. | Yes. Via configuration. |
| Manipulate DOM prior taking screenshots | Yes (isolating, removing) | Yes |
| Image comparison | Pixel perfect | Pixel perfect and custom (recognizes vertical shifts) |
| Performance | Runs in the cloud. | Based on Diffy’s infrastructure. |
| Billing model | Based on number of test runs per month | Based on number of pages all your projects have altogether |
Ghost Inspector is a great tool to start functional testing fast. Meanwhile, it is not much aimed towards the visual testing of pages. It does come with a single screenshot in the end, but that is it.