# Forge QA, compared

Side-by-side facts from each vendor's public pricing pages and docs, checked in October 2026. Where another tool is the better fit, we say so.

## The verdict

- **Price you can see**: Forge QA starts at €19 a month, published on our site. Reflect and mabl don't publish prices: you ask sales for a quote.
- **Every browser**: Your site is tested in Chromium, Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari (WebKit), on every plan. BugBug runs Chromium-based browsers only.
- **Security check on every run**: Every Forge QA run also checks the page for redirects to other sites, card skimmers and injected scripts. We found no such scan at the other four tools.
- **Evidence**: When a test fails, you see a screenshot of every step, a video and a Playwright trace. Others keep results longer: Ghost Inspector 6 months, mabl 13 months, Forge QA 14–60 days.
- **When another tool fits better**: You need API or mobile app tests too: Reflect or mabl. You need 100,000 runs a month: Ghost Inspector costs less per run. Chromium-based browsers are enough: BugBug has unlimited runs.

## Side by side

Forge QA, Reflect, Ghost Inspector, BugBug and mabl compared

| Feature | Forge QA | Reflect by SmartBear | Ghost Inspector | BugBug | mabl |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Prices published | Yes | No, contact sales | Yes | Yes, except Business | No, quote |
| Entry price | €19/month | Not published | $125/month | $119/month | Not published |
| Unit | Runs | Credits | Runs | Unlimited runs¹ | Credits |
| Seats | Unlimited | Unlimited | 5 / 15 / 40 | 1 / 3 / unlimited | Unlimited participants |
| Browsers | All five browsers² | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari | Chrome, Firefox³ | Chromium-based only | Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari (WebKit)⁴ |
| Recorder | Cloud browser⁵ | Cloud browser | Browser extension | Chrome extension | Desktop app |
| Self-healing at run time | Fallbacks, then AI | Selectors, then AI | Backup selectors | Not found | Auto-heal and AI |
| Page security scan | Every run, every plan | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Playwright trace | Every run | Not found | Not found | Not found | Step trace⁶ |
| Evidence kept | 14–60 days | Not found | 6 months | 1 to 3 months | 13 months |
| API, mobile, email testing | No | Yes⁷ | Email inbox⁸ | Email inbox | Yes⁹ |

1. BugBug: unlimited cloud runs; the Core plan allows up to 50 tests.
2. Forge QA: Chromium, Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari (WebKit).
3. Ghost Inspector's docs list Chrome and Firefox runners, while its marketing pages also list Edge and Safari.
4. mabl: Safari via WebKit.
5. Forge QA: a real browser that runs inside the app, nothing to install.
6. mabl: "step trace", opt-in, in Chrome and Edge only.
7. Reflect: yes, some as add-ons.
8. Ghost Inspector: email inbox from the Growth plan.
9. mabl: yes, mobile as add-on.

"Not found" means we searched the vendor's public pages and docs and found no statement; it doesn't prove the feature is missing. Prices in the vendor's currency, billed monthly.

## Detailed comparisons

Full feature tables, and when each tool is the better choice.

- [vs Reflect](https://forgeqa.io/compare/reflect): Web, API, mobile, email and SMS, sold through sales. Strong if you need all of those.
- [vs Ghost Inspector](https://forgeqa.io/compare/ghost-inspector): Published prices and big run allowances. Cheaper per run at very high volume.
- [vs BugBug](https://forgeqa.io/compare/bugbug): Unlimited runs and free local runs, on Chromium-based browsers only.
- [vs mabl](https://forgeqa.io/compare/mabl): An enterprise platform on custom quotes, with API and mobile testing.

## Other options

- **Rainforest QA**: No-code testing with AI test planning. Prices aren't published. It lists Safari on emulated macOS virtual machines.
- **Testim**: Test automation from Tricentis. Prices aren't published; plans are "Contact us".
- **Checkly**: Code-first monitoring built on Playwright. Free Hobby plan; paid plans from $24 a month billed annually. A good fit if your team writes Playwright code and wants uptime-style checks.
- **Playwright, self-run**: Free and open source, and what Forge QA uses underneath. You build and run the rest: browsers on CI, schedules, evidence storage, alerts and a way for non-developers to write tests.

## Compare it on your own site.

7 days, 100 runs, five browsers, no credit card.

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Source: https://forgeqa.io/compare/ · Start a free trial: https://app.forgeqa.io/#signup

Summary: Side-by-side facts on pricing, browsers, recorders, self-healing, evidence and security scanning for Forge QA, Reflect, Ghost Inspector, BugBug and mabl, checked October 2026.