Comparison · 67 merchant reviews read · Updated October 2026
ABsolutely vs Essential
Short answer
Pick ABsolutely if you need price tests and theme tests and you want the most proven option (47 reviews).
Pick Essential if you want to start on a free plan and you want the fewest bug complaints.
 ABsolutely |  Essential | |
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | 4.9★ (47) | 5★ (28) |
| Cost at your traffic | $49+/moStarting price. The listing says price rises with orders but gives no tiers. | FreeCheapest plan: Free. |
| How price scales | Starts at $49/month (Content Testing), $199 (Price Testing) or $499 (Advanced Testing), and goes up with your store's sitewide order volume; a free trial is available but its length isn't stated. | The listing says this app is free and gives no paid plans or usage-based pricing. |
| Launched | November 29, 2024 | June 11, 2025 |
| App Store listing | App Store listing |
Essential starts at $0 a month, ABsolutely at $49
ABsolutely
- Content Testing$49/mo
- Price Testing$199/mo
- Advanced Testing$499/mo
“Starting at $49. Pricing scales based on sitewide order volume.”
Essential
- FreeFree
Only ABsolutely can run price tests
Read from each app's listing. A dot means the listing says it can do it.
| ABsolutely | Essential | |
|---|---|---|
| Price tests | ● | ○ |
| Theme tests | ● | ○ |
| Template tests | ● | ● |
| Content tests | ● | ○ |
| URL split tests | ● | ● |
| Shipping tests | ● | ○ |
| Visual editor | ● | ○ |
| Audience targeting | ● | ○ |
| Free plan | ○ | ● |
ABsolutely reviews mention support problems 4.3% of the time, Essential 0%
Share of each app's reviews that complain about the topic. Apps under 20 reviews are left out because a single review swings the number.
| ABsolutely | Essential | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 0% | 0% |
| Billing and refunds | 0% | 0% |
| Support | 4.3% | 0% |
| Bugs | 2.1% | 0% |
| Setup | 2.1% | 0% |
| Dashboard | 0% | 0% |
| Reporting and stats | 2.1% | 0% |
| Flicker | 0% | 0% |
| Page speed | 0% | 0% |
| Integrations | 0% | 0% |
| What you can test | 0% | 0% |
| Results | 0% | 0% |
The most common ABsolutely complaint: bugs
Update: They did reply. Most issues are unresolved but may be outside of their control. 1 issue is arguably user error / arguably UX defect (my bias as a customer is that it's a UX defect). Delay in response to a pri 1 issue seems to be from having recently switched support platforms. I need more time to evaluate and test things out, but am updating to 3 stars until I have a few days to do so. I…
Essential replies to 20% of reviews. ABsolutely replies to none
| ABsolutely | Essential | |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews with a developer reply | 0% | 20% |
| Praise support | 48.9% | 15% |
| Complain about support | 4.3% | 0% |
Serious problems reviewers reported
Billing disputes, broken stores, misused data and missing features. Each one is a single merchant's account.
Update: They did reply. Most issues are unresolved but may be outside of their control. 1 issue is arguably user error / arguably UX defect (my bias as a customer is that it's a UX defect). Delay in response to a pri 1 issue seems to be from having recently switched support platforms. I need more time to evaluate and test things out, but am updating to 3 stars until I have a few days to do so. I…
Results merchants put a number on
- 15% other with ABsolutely, testing lower prices. “lower prices increased our profits by 15%”
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