Best A/B Split Test WordPress Plugins for Real Tests

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Nelio A/B Testing is the A/B split test WordPress plugin to start with. It is free for up to 500 tested page views a month, it runs tests on pages, posts, headlines, menus, widgets and WooCommerce products from inside wp-admin, and it includes heatmaps at no extra cost. Note the distinction that decides this whole category: a split testing plugin serves two versions of a page to different visitors and works out which one wins, while an analytics plugin only reports on the single version you already published.

What separates a split testing plugin from an analytics plugin?

A real A/B testing tool does four things. It creates a variation B, splits incoming traffic between the versions, measures a goal you define, and tells you which version won with enough data behind it to be worth acting on.

An analytics tool does none of that. Google Analytics, a heatmap plugin or a dashboard widget shows you what happened on the page as it stands. That is useful, and it is not a test. If you install one expecting to compare two headlines, you will be waiting a long time.

The confusion has a cause. Google Optimize was the free tool most WordPress sites used for split testing, and it stopped being available on 30 September 2023. Google now points users at third-party providers instead, naming AB Tasty, Optimizely and VWO. A great many “best A/B testing plugin” pages were written before that and still recommend a product nobody can sign up for.

Plugin Price What it tests Active installs Rating Best for
Nelio A/B Testing Free version covers unlimited tests and heatmaps up to 500 tested page views a month on one site; paid plans by traffic Pages, posts, headlines, templates, menus, widgets, WooCommerce products, CSS and JavaScript 4,000+ 4.8 / 5 (97) Most WordPress sites, and the widest range of things to test
Thrive Optimize No free version; $199/year with Thrive Architect, or $299/year in Thrive Suite Landing pages and normal pages, not blog posts Sold direct, not on WordPress.org Not rated on WordPress.org Landing pages built in Thrive Architect
Split Test For Elementor Free version runs tests inside Elementor; Pro paid Elementor pages and sections 3,000+ 4.4 / 5 (23) Sites already built with Elementor
Sigmize Free version covers unlimited tests, heatmaps and session replays; paid tier available Full pages, individual elements, and revenue per variation 1,000+ 3.7 / 5 (3) WooCommerce, SureCart and EDD shops testing for revenue

Prices checked September 2026.

Which A/B testing plugins are worth installing?

Nelio A/B Testing

Nelio runs experiments from the WordPress admin and reports the winner there too. It suits almost any site that wants to test something real without wiring up an external optimisation platform first.

It is on version 8.5.3, was last updated on 27 August 2026, has 4,000+ active installs, a 4.8 rating from 97 reviews and is tested up to WordPress 7.1. The free Starter plan covers one site, unlimited tests and heatmaps within 500 tested page views a month. Paid plans are sold by traffic, at 5,000, 50,000 and 200,000 tested page views a month, with 20% off for annual billing.

The capability that decides it: the range of things it will test. Not just landing pages but posts, headlines, page templates, synced patterns, menus, widgets, WooCommerce products and even custom CSS and JavaScript. Nothing else here comes close to that spread, and testing a headline on a blog post is the experiment most publishers actually want to run.

The honest limitation: 500 tested page views a month is genuinely small. Nelio’s own guidance is to focus the free tier on one test at a time, and a busy page will burn the quota in days. Session recordings are not in the free plan either.

Nelio A/B Testing on WordPress.org

Thrive Optimize

Thrive Optimize is an add-on to the Thrive Architect page builder that splits traffic between landing page variations. It suits marketers who already build pages in Thrive Architect and want testing in the same editor rather than a separate tool.

There is no free version. Thrive Architect and Optimize together cost $199 a year at the current listed price, down from $399, and the full Thrive Suite of eight plugins is $299 a year, down from $599.

The capability that decides it: variation B is made by duplicating the page and editing it visually in Thrive Architect, with no shortcodes or scripts, and an automatic winner feature ends the test and keeps the better version without you watching it. Goals can be a page visit, an opt-in form submission or revenue.

The honest limitation: it tests landing pages and normal pages, not blog posts, and it only works if you build with Thrive Architect. It is not sold in the WordPress.org directory, so there is no independent install count or rating to check it against.

Thrive Optimize

Split Test For Elementor

This plugin adds split testing to Elementor, letting you serve alternative versions of a page or a section built in that editor. It suits the very large number of sites where Elementor is already the page builder and adding a second system is unappealing.

It is on version 1.9.3 with 3,000+ active installs, a 4.4 rating from 23 reviews, tested up to WordPress 7.0.4, requiring WordPress 4.9 and PHP 7.4, and translated into nine languages.

The capability that decides it: the variation is an Elementor page, edited with the Elementor tools you already know. There is no separate visual editor to learn and no compatibility gap between the builder and the testing layer.

The honest limitation: support looks thin. Its WordPress.org forum shows zero of three threads resolved over the previous two months, and 23 reviews is a small sample to judge a plugin on. Budget time to work things out yourself.

Split Test For Elementor on WordPress.org

Sigmize

Sigmize combines A/B testing with heatmaps, session replays and revenue tracking in one plugin. It suits shops, because it ties each variation to money taken rather than to clicks.

It is on version 1.2.0 with 1,000+ active installs, a 3.7 rating from 3 reviews and is tested up to WordPress 7.1. The free version covers unlimited tests, element-level tests, heatmaps, session replays and custom goals.

The capability that decides it: native revenue tracking for WooCommerce, SureCart and Easy Digital Downloads. A test that reports which product page variation earned more, rather than which got more add-to-cart clicks, answers the question a shop owner is actually asking.

The honest limitation: three reviews. The 3.7 rating is not a meaningful signal at that sample size, and at 1,000+ installs this is a young plugin. Treat it as promising rather than proven, and keep a backup of the site before you let it rewrite product pages.

Sigmize on WordPress.org

Which A/B testing plugin should you choose?

For most people, install Nelio A/B Testing. It is free to try properly, it works with any theme and any builder, and it tests the widest range of content of anything here, including the headline of a blog post. If a first test shows a real lift, the paid traffic tiers are there.

For the harder case, a shop that needs to know which variation earned more, use Sigmize. Revenue tracking wired into WooCommerce, SureCart and Easy Digital Downloads is the difference between measuring interest and measuring income. If instead your hard case is a high-value landing page and you already own Thrive Architect, Thrive Optimize at $199 a year gives you visual variations and automatic winner selection.

Skip the abandoned ones, and there are several. Simple Page Tester is closed on WordPress.org as of 18 January 2021 at the author’s request. Marketing Optimizer is closed as of 8 February 2024 with a security issue given as the reason. Dilemma Lite is still listed but sits at version 1.1.1, was last updated nine years ago, has 10+ active installs and carries WordPress.org’s warning that it is untested with the latest three major releases. If any of those three are on your site, deactivate and delete them, then set the test up again in Nelio.

One practical note before you start. Split testing needs traffic to reach a conclusion, and a page with a few dozen visitors a week will never produce a result you can trust. On a quiet site you will learn more from a heatmap showing where people actually click than from a test that never reaches significance. Once traffic is there, the elements worth testing first are usually the call to action, the popup timing and offer, and the opt-in form, which is why Thrive Leads includes its own form testing.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free A/B testing plugin for WordPress?

Nelio A/B Testing. Its free Starter plan runs unlimited tests and heatmaps on one site within a quota of 500 tested page views a month, and it holds a 4.8 rating from 97 reviews. It tests pages, posts, headlines, templates, menus, widgets and WooCommerce products, which is a wider range than any other free option in the WordPress directory.

Is Google Optimize still available for WordPress split testing?

No. Google Optimize and Optimize 360 stopped being available on 30 September 2023. Google did not replace them with another product and instead points users towards third-party testing providers, naming AB Tasty, Optimizely and VWO. Any WordPress guide still recommending Google Optimize is out of date.

What is the difference between A/B testing and analytics plugins?

An A/B testing plugin creates a second version of a page, splits visitors between the two, measures a goal and identifies the winner. An analytics plugin reports on the one version that is already live. Heatmaps, session recordings and traffic dashboards describe behaviour; only a testing plugin lets you change something and prove the change helped.

How much traffic do I need to run a split test?

Enough for the difference between versions to stand out from random variation, which in practice means hundreds of conversions rather than hundreds of visits. Nelio’s free plan caps you at 500 tested page views a month, which is deliberately sized for one small test. If a page gets a few dozen visitors a week, use a heatmap to find problems instead.

Can I A/B test WooCommerce product pages?

Yes. Nelio A/B Testing includes WooCommerce products among the things it can test, and Sigmize adds native revenue tracking for WooCommerce, SureCart and Easy Digital Downloads so each variation is scored on money taken rather than on clicks. Thrive Optimize can use revenue as a conversion goal but tests pages rather than blog posts.