VRTs – Visual Regression Tests
Keep your WordPress websites bug-free with automatic screenshots, daily comparisons, and instant tests after WordPress and plugin updates.
Safe pick
Yes — VRTs – Visual Regression Tests is a safe, well-maintained plugin to use in 2026. It runs on 800+ sites, is rated 4.6/5 and was last updated 2 weeks ago, and scores 80/100 on our health check.
- Actively developed — last update 2 weeks ago
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Momentum — downloads up 56.6% vs the previous 30 days
- Small user base (800+ active installs)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where VRTs stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| regression | #1 |
| tests | #1 |
| visual | #5 |
| visual regression | #1 |
| vrts | #1 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 from 9 reviews
About VRTs – Visual Regression Tests
From the official readme · v2.2.1Description
Find issues before others do – every time. With automatic screenshots, daily comparisons, and instant tests after WordPress and plugin updates. Select the pages of your choice for continuous monitoring. The plugin immediately notifies you of any visual changes it detects.
Please note: The website must be publicly accessible in order to set up and run the tests. Password protection or any kind of firewall might prevent the plugin from working correctly.
Your strategy to spot unwanted changes
How do you check your website after updates and code changes? Do you manually go through pages, or do you just cross your fingers, hoping everything will be okay? Visual regression testing provides a better way to spot issues and detect visual changes. The VRTs plugin automates testing for you with a click of a button.
- Activate tests for any page or post: Upon activation, a reference screenshot is taken. This will be renewed when a post is saved or updated.
- VRTs monitors your pages: Every day, VRTs captures and compares screenshots of your selected pages. Upgrade to Pro to automate tests for WordPress updates, integrate deployment pipelines via API, and run manual tests on demand.
- Receive instant alerts: If a change is detected between the snapshot and the comparison screenshot, the plugin will notify you via email.
- Review changes: The difference view makes it easy to spot changes, while the comparison slider lets you inspect the details.
- Hide elements: Prevent false positives by excluding dynamic elements, ads, and animations from snapshots.
- Set alert thresholds: Only get alerted when a change is big enough to matter.
Use cases
In which cases can visual regression testing help you spot issues?
- Plugin and core software updates
- Manual code changes
- External software and API issues
- Server issues
- Malware and other malicious code
- Missing quality assurance
Features
- No Setup: After plugin activation, the frontpage is immediately monitored and alerts are sent to the WordPress admin email.
- Daily Tests: The plugin monitors selected posts and pages and compares screenshots daily.
- Hide Elements: Hide dynamic or irrelevant elements to prevent false positives in your tests.
- Click Element: Define an element that should be clicked before taking a screenshot. This is useful for closing cookie banners or modals.
- Alert Threshold: Only get alerts for changes above a threshold you choose, for all tests or per test.
- Email Notifications: As soon as a change is detected between the snapshot and the comparison screenshot, you will be notified via email.
- Fullscreen Review: Inspect changes up close using the difference view and comparison slider in fullscreen mode.
- Read / Unread: Keep track of test results that require further attention by marking alerts as unread.
- Flag False Positives: Identify acceptable changes or non-issues to minimize unnecessary notifications.
- Update Automation (Pro): Automatically trigger tests on WordPress core, plugin, theme, or language updates and catch any issues right away.
- Manual Testing (Pro): Run tests manually on demand, either for all configured pages or for specific pages, to verify any changes or global edits immediately.
- API Integration (Pro): Trigger tests via PHP scripts or WP CLI for integration with other tools, deployment pipelines, or custom automations.
- Customizable Notifications (Pro): Specify email addresses for each trigger, to set up notifications for various teams or stakeholders.
Free forever
- Test up to 3 pages
- On one domain
- Automatic daily tests
Go Pro
Do you like VRTs and want to run more tests?
Unlock more features with our paid plans:
- Test up to 500 pages in total
- On multiple domains
- Scheduled daily tests
- Multiple alert recipient groups by alert type
- Manual tests (unlimited)
- API access (unlimited) Read the docs.
- Automatic tests after WordPress updates, plugin updates and plugin installations
Bug reports
You found a bug? Please report it by creating an issue on the support forum.
Read more
Want to learn more about VRTs?
Visit our website: vrts.app
Installation
INSTALL VRTS WITHIN WORDPRESS
(recommended)
- Open Plugins > Add new
- Search for vrts
- Click install and activate the plugin
INSTALL VRTS MANUALLY THROUGH FTP
- Download the plugin on the WordPress plugin page
- Upload the ‘visual-regression-tests’ folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
- Activate the VRTs plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
AFTER ACTIVATION
- By default: The homepage is immediately monitored and alerts are sent to the stored admin email.
- Open the settings to configure who should receive alerts.
- Open a page or post to activate more tests.
UPGRADE TO VRTS PRO
- Open VRTs > Upgrade
- Click Buy Pro
- Enter license key you have received after purchasing the plugin
Frequently asked questions
What is Visual Regression Testing?
With visual regression testing, you can detect errors and unwanted changes on your website by comparing a previous state of the website with a more recent one. For example, errors in the frontend can be caused by plugin updates and changes. For small websites, you may be able to find them right away, but for complex websites, it becomes difficult. A tool can help by taking pictures of pages and posts to detect visual changes and inform you automatically.
How does visual regression testing work?
Tests can be done manually, pixel-by-pixel, DOM-based or AI-based. In all cases, you compare an earlier website state with a newer one. Our Visual Regression Tests Plugin takes periodical screenshots and compares them on a split screen.
Why should I use a tool for visual regression tests?
You can do visual testing either manually or with automated tools. Checking your website for errors manually is time-consuming and less accurate. Automated tests may find errors that are minimal and irrelevant. But the chance of finding critical errors is much higher with a tool. As soon as you discover an error, you’ll receive a warning so that you can fix the problem as soon as possible.
Is the testing done on my server?
Screenshots and comparisons are performed on an external server and sent to your WordPress website. Only required meta data is stored in your database.
Why are email notifications not working properly?
If our external screenshot service cannot access your WordPress installation directly, test status updates and sending emails will be handled by the WP-Cron system. In order to be notified by the plugin about new alerts, please make sure that your WordPress instance can send emails and that the WordPress cron system is set up correctly. The default configuration of the WordPress cron system does not work reliably if you cache your site heavily, do not have frequent visitors or do not use wp-admin regularly. In this case, you should hook the WP-Cron into the system task scheduler, or use an…
Does the plugin work with cookie consent banners?
Yes, cookie banners are not an issue. Before taking a snapshot, the tool can automatically trigger the Accept button to hide the banner. This option can be configured with CSS selectors in the plugin settings.
Can I ignore small changes?
Yes. Set an alert threshold, and VRTs only alerts you when the most-changed screen of a page differs by more than it: Small (1%), Medium (10%), Large (25%) or Huge (50%). By default, every change triggers an alert. Set the default for all tests under VRTs > Settings, or choose a different threshold for a single test in its test settings.
Can I test custom post type archives with VRTs?
The VRTs plugin primarily supports WordPress pages and posts. Automated visual testing of pages with dynamically changing content can lead to false positives. However, you can test such pages by following these steps: Create a new blank page or post in WordPress. Set up a redirect from this page to your desired URL. Configure a test for this page. The screenshotter will follow the redirect.
How do I prevent screenshots from getting blocked?
If your firewall is blocking our screenshot service, whitelist our IP addresses. For detailed steps and a list of IPs, visit our documentation: Whitelisting IPs.
Changelog
2.2.1
- Improved the scroll to changes button to stay visible whenever more changes are further down the page.
2.2.0
- Added an alert threshold option for tests.
2.1.0
- Added a scroll to changes button that takes you straight to the detected changes in the alert view.
- Improved the speed of navigating between the alerts of a test run.
- Improved the tests and runs pages to update without page reloads.
- Improved the reliability of alert delivery when service notifications are missed or interrupted.
- Fixed unfinished test runs being reported as passed.
- Fixed duplicate and orphaned alerts created by the hourly update check.
- Fixed the tests page not showing a test as in progress after starting a manual run.
2.0.9
- Fixed a security issue with how service updates are verified.
2.0.8
- Fixed visual compatibility issues with WordPress 7.
2.0.7
- Changed license key field to text input to prevent browser autofill from overwriting the saved key.
Screenshots
For developers
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Best VRTs – Visual Regression Tests alternatives
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VRTs – Visual Regression Tests: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 13, 2026
Is VRTs – Visual Regression Tests free?
Yes. VRTs – Visual Regression Tests is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory. The developer also sells premium add-ons or a Pro version with extra features.
Is VRTs – Visual Regression Tests safe to use in 2026?
Yes — VRTs – Visual Regression Tests is a safe, well-maintained plugin to use in 2026. It runs on 800+ sites, is rated 4.6/5 and was last updated 2 weeks ago, and scores 80/100 on our health check.
How many websites use VRTs – Visual Regression Tests?
VRTs – Visual Regression Tests is active on 800+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 22,182 times since it launched in November 2022. It was downloaded 1,403 times in the last 30 days.
Does VRTs – Visual Regression Tests work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested VRTs – Visual Regression Tests up to WordPress 7.1.3, the latest release. It requires WordPress 5.0 or newer.
What PHP version does VRTs – Visual Regression Tests need?
VRTs – Visual Regression Tests requires PHP 7.0 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was VRTs – Visual Regression Tests last updated?
The latest version, 2.2.1, was released on October 2, 2026 (2 weeks ago).
Who makes VRTs – Visual Regression Tests?
VRTs – Visual Regression Tests is developed and maintained by Bleech.
What are the best alternatives to VRTs – Visual Regression Tests?
The most popular alternatives to VRTs – Visual Regression Tests are PatchOn Agent (10+ installs) and Tumil's Migration Safety Ne… (<10 installs).
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