Chromatic vs Argos
Choose Argos if your visual tests run in Playwright, Cypress or Vitest as well as Storybook, if you want screenshots taken in your own CI browser, or a lower flat price. Choose Chromatic if your team works entirely in Storybook and wants the tool built by its maintainers.
Read the migration guideChoose Argos if
- Your visual tests run in Playwright, Cypress or Vitest, not only Storybook.
- You want screenshots taken in your own CI browser, the one your tests already run in.
- You want a flat price: $100/month for 35,000 screenshots, then $0.0015 per Storybook screenshot.
- You want preview deployments for any static build, not only Storybook.
- You want open-source code you can read and audit.
Choose Chromatic if
- Your UI work happens entirely in Storybook, and you want the tool made by its maintainers.
- You want stories rendered in several cloud browsers without running them in your CI.
- You rely on TurboSnap to bill unchanged stories at a fraction of a snapshot.
Sources for Chromatic: Chromatic pricing, Chromatic billing, Diff threshold, Interaction tests, Collaborators, Chromatic MCP. Checked October 2026.
Estimate your savings
Chromatic
Argos
Chromatic prices from chromatic.com/pricing (checked October 2026). The estimate assumes 80% of Storybook snapshots are TurboSnap copies, billed at a fifth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Argos a good Chromatic alternative for Storybook?
Yes. Argos captures every story through the Storybook Vitest addon (Storybook 9 and later) or the test runner (Storybook 8), compares each one with its baseline from your Git history, and puts the review on the pull request. It also deploys the built Storybook to a preview URL on every pull request. See visual testing for Storybook.
What's the difference between a Chromatic snapshot and an Argos screenshot?
Where it's taken and how it's billed. Chromatic renders your stories in its cloud browsers, and every story, browser and viewport combination is a billed snapshot. Argos takes the screenshot in your CI browser during the test run and bills each uploaded file, with Storybook screenshots at a lower rate.
How do Chromatic and Argos prices compare?
As of October 2026, Chromatic Starter is $179/month for 35,000 snapshots and Pro $399/month for 85,000, then $0.008 per snapshot; TurboSnap bills an unchanged story at a fifth of a snapshot. Argos Pro is $100/month for 35,000 screenshots, then $0.004 per screenshot, or $0.0015 per Storybook screenshot. Both have a free plan with 5,000 a month; Argos's is for individual developers.
Does Argos support story modes and play functions?
Yes. Story modes capture each story in several themes or viewports, from the globals your stories already use, and argosScreenshot(ctx, name) captures extra states inside a play function, as many as you need. Chromatic takes one snapshot when the play function ends.
Can Argos replace Chromatic for Playwright and Cypress tests?
Yes. Chromatic archives the DOM from your Playwright or Cypress tests and renders it in its cloud. Argos takes the screenshot inside the test with argosScreenshot(), so the diff shows what your test displayed. See Playwright and Cypress.
Can I set a diff threshold per story?
On both. Chromatic has diffThreshold per story, component or project. Argos has a threshold from 0 to 1 (default 0.5) per screenshot, and per upload with the CLI.
How do I migrate from Chromatic to Argos?
Install the Argos Storybook SDK, add its Vitest plugin next to storybookTest(), and replace the Chromatic step in CI with a Vitest run and, if you want previews, argos deploy. The migration guide maps each Chromatic concept to Argos.
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