Optimizely

Helping marketers unlock their digital potential with AI-powered experimentation and digital experiences.

CRO & Testing
★★★☆☆ 2.8
2010 Founded
1001-5000 Employees
10,000+ Customers
New York, NY, USA Headquarters

Quick Facts

Starting Price
unknown
Pricing Model
usage-based
Company Type
private

About Optimizely

Optimizely is an American software company providing an AI-powered digital experience platform (DXP) that combines experimentation, content management, commerce, content marketing and customer data in a single SaaS offering. In the CRO and testing market it is best known for Optimizely Web Experimentation and Optimizely Feature Experimentation, which enable teams to run A/B and multivariate tests, manage feature flags and personalize experiences across web, mobile and server-side applications. en.wikipedia.org

Founded in 2010 by former Google employees Dan Siroker and Pete Koomen, Optimizely completed the Y Combinator program and quickly grew into one of the most widely adopted A/B testing platforms. Over the 2010s it raised multiple funding rounds (including large Series A–D rounds) and became a standard tool for evidence-based optimization across thousands of digital properties. en.wikipedia.org

In 2020, digital experience vendor Episerver acquired Optimizely; in January 2021 Episerver rebranded the combined company as Optimizely, bringing together Episerver’s CMS and commerce products with Optimizely’s experimentation stack. The company has continued to expand its platform with acquisitions such as Zaius (CDP), Welcome (content marketing/CMP) and NetSpring (warehouse-native analytics), and now positions “Optimizely One” as an operating system for marketing teams. en.wikipedia.org

Today Optimizely is headquartered in New York City and operates 21 global offices with roughly 1,400+ employees. Its DXP serves more than 10,000 businesses and 9,000+ brands worldwide, including H&M, PayPal, Zoom, Toyota and Salesforce. Within the CRO & testing category, Optimizely is considered a premium, enterprise-focused platform aimed at organizations with significant digital traffic, complex stacks and mature experimentation programs. optimizely.com

Key Features

Web A/B and multivariate testing - Run client-side A/B, split and multivariate tests on websites using a visual editor and JavaScript snippet, without heavy engineering dependencies. support.optimizely.com

Feature flags & full-stack experimentation - Use server-side feature flags to gradually roll out features, run experiments in application code and roll back instantly if issues arise. docs.developers.optimizely.com

Remote configuration - Change feature behavior and configuration values from the Optimizely UI in real time, without redeploying code. docs.developers.optimizely.com

Stats Engine & results analysis - Built-in statistical engine and dashboards to estimate lift, confidence and significance, helping non-statisticians interpret experiment results safely. g2.com

Advanced audience targeting - Target experiments and experiences using behavioral, contextual and CRM/CDP attributes, including AI-powered predictive audiences for personalization. optimizely.com

Multi-armed bandit optimization - Automatically allocate more traffic to winning variations over time using bandit algorithms to maximize reward while testing. support.optimizely.com

Cross-platform experimentation - Run consistent experiments across web, mobile apps and backend services using language-specific SDKs and deterministic bucketing. docs.developers.optimizely.com

Free Rollouts / Free Feature Flagging - A permanently free plan providing unlimited feature flags, staged rollouts, one concurrent experiment and SDKs in popular languages, with no credit card required. optimizely.com

Edge delivery & performance - Low-latency, in-memory bucketing and edge experimentation capabilities designed to minimize performance impact in production applications. docs.developers.optimizely.com

Visual editor & WYSIWYG tools - Non-technical users can modify page elements, copy and layouts via a browser-based visual editor, while developers can inject custom JavaScript and CSS for complex tests. support.optimizely.com

Personalization & recommendations - Configure rule-based and AI-driven personalized experiences and recommendations, often powered by Optimizely Data Platform segments and CMS visitor groups. gartner.com

Customer data platform & audiences - Use Optimizely Data Platform to unify customer data, build segments and sync them to experimentation for behavior-based targeting. optimizely.com

Integrations with analytics & marketing tools - Native connectors for Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics, Marketo, HubSpot, Salesforce, Shopify and more for end-to-end attribution and activation. amplitude.com

Governance, roles and workflows - Fine-grained roles, projects and permissions to manage experimentation across large organizations, plus Opti ID-based SSO and security controls. support.optimizely.com

AI assistance (Opal) - Embedded AI agents (Optimizely Opal) to generate experiment ideas, suggest content variations and summarize experiment learnings directly in the platform. optimizely.com

Pros & Cons

👍 Pros

  • Powerful and flexible A/B and multivariate testing capabilities that support complex experiments and multi-page journeys across web and apps. g2.com
  • Intuitive visual editor and UI that let marketers and product managers launch many experiments without heavy developer involvement, while still allowing custom code for advanced use cases. support.optimizely.com
  • Robust Stats Engine and reporting that automate statistical significance calculations and make it easier for non-statisticians to interpret experiment outcomes. support.optimizely.com
  • Deep integration ecosystem with analytics, CRM, CDP and commerce tools such as Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics, Shopify and Salesforce, enabling end-to-end attribution and targeting. amplitude.com
  • Enterprise-grade reliability, 24x7 support and a strong partner ecosystem; many reviewers highlight responsive support teams and expert implementation partners. optimizely.com
  • Feature Experimentation and Rollouts provide mature feature flagging with staged rollouts, remote configuration and cross-platform SDKs, helping engineering teams ship faster with lower risk. docs.developers.optimizely.com

👎 Cons

  • High cost and enterprise-focused pricing model make Optimizely difficult to justify for small businesses or low-traffic sites; many reviewers describe it as expensive compared to alternatives. biztechnosys.com
  • Steep learning curve and complex interface, especially when combining personalization with experimentation or when less technical users try to build more advanced tests. g2.com
  • Reporting can be limiting for certain KPIs (for example, revenue/AOV and long-term metrics), often requiring exports or external analytics tools for deeper analysis. trustradius.com

User Reviews

G2
4.2
★★★★☆
Capterra
0.0
☆☆☆☆☆
TrustRadius
8.6
★★★★★

Integrations

Salesforce Salesforce Marketing Cloud Shopify Shopify Plus Amplitude Mixpanel Google Analytics HubSpot Marketo Microsoft Dynamics 365 Lionbridge Smartling LanguageWire Cookie Information commercetools

Best For

Company Size

mid-market enterprise smb

Industries

Retail & eCommerce SaaS & Technology Financial Services Media & Publishing Travel & Hospitality Manufacturing & B2B

Use Cases

Website A/B and multivariate testing for conversion rate optimization Feature flagging and progressive delivery for safer releases Personalization and targeting based on behavioral and CRM data Experimentation on pricing, packaging and user journeys End-to-end optimization across content, commerce and campaigns

FAQ

What is {vendor_name}?

+

Optimizely is an enterprise digital experience and experimentation platform that lets teams test, personalize and optimize digital experiences across websites, apps and back-end services. Its core CRO offerings are Optimizely Web Experimentation and Optimizely Feature Experimentation, which provide A/B and multivariate testing, feature flags, remote configuration and AI-assisted insights. On top of that, Optimizely One combines CMS, content marketing, commerce and a customer data platform into a unified DXP targeted at marketing and product teams. en.wikipedia.org

How much does {vendor_name} cost?

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Optimizely does not publish list pricing for Web or Feature Experimentation; all paid plans are custom-quoted based on monthly active users (MAUs), traffic volume and which modules of the platform you license. The official FAQ confirms that paid Feature Experimentation plans use an MAU-based licensing model and are sold on 12-month subscriptions. There is a permanently free Rollouts / Free Feature Flagging plan, while industry analyses suggest that Web Experimentation and Full Stack deployments for mid-market and enterprise customers often start in the tens of thousands of US dollars per year and can exceed $200,000 annually for large-scale DXP implementations. Prospects must contact Optimizely's sales team for a quote and may be able to secure limited-time trials as part of evaluation. world.optimizely.com

What are the main features of {vendor_name}?

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Key CRO and testing features of Optimizely include client-side A/B and multivariate testing with a visual editor; server-side feature flags and full-stack experimentation; advanced audience targeting and personalization using behavioral, contextual and CRM/CDP data; multi-armed bandit optimization; cross-platform SDKs for web, mobile and backend services; and robust statistical analysis via Optimizely's Stats Engine. Beyond experimentation, the broader Optimizely One platform adds headless and hybrid CMS, a content marketing platform, commerce, a customer data platform and AI-powered Opal agents that help ideate experiments, generate content and summarize insights. support.optimizely.com

Who are {vendor_name}'s main competitors?

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In the CRO and experimentation space, Optimizely commonly competes with tools like VWO, AB Tasty, Convert Experiences and Adobe Target for web A/B testing and personalization. On the feature-flag and full-stack side, alternatives such as Statsig and LaunchDarkly are frequent comparisons, especially for engineering-led organizations. Depending on which parts of the Optimizely One platform a customer is evaluating, broader DXP competitors can also include Adobe Experience Cloud, Sitecore and other enterprise CMS/commerce suites. g2.com

Is {vendor_name} good for small businesses?

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Optimizely can technically be used by small businesses - particularly via the free Rollouts / Free Feature Flagging plan - but the full platform is generally optimized for organizations with substantial digital traffic, dedicated experimentation resources and enterprise budgets. Reviews and third-party comparisons frequently note that Optimizely's pricing and complexity make it harder to justify for small teams that only need occasional A/B tests or simple personalization. For such users, more affordable tools like VWO, Convert or Google Optimize alternatives may be more appropriate, while Optimizely becomes attractive once experimentation is a core, scaled practice. optimizely.com

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