Optimizely Pricing Explained: How Much Does Optimizely Cost?

If you’re here, you’re probably trying to make sense of Optimizely pricing — or, more accurately, why Optimizely refuses to share it upfront. Fair warning: no one knows the exact figures.

What we do know is that prices start at around $36,000 per year and can skyrocket to $400,000 or more, depending on your business size, traffic, and the features you need.

In this article, we’ll dive into what Optimizely is, why they keep their pricing under wraps, what influences those big numbers, and whether it’s even worth the investment.

And because we’re here to help, we’ll also introduce you to a great alternative that’s easier on the wallet.

So, if that $36,000 figure has you side-eyeing your budget, let us hook you up with an alternative: Personizely. Try it free for 14 days — no long-term contracts, no credit card, no stress. Here you go, your CRO journey just got a whole lot easier.

What is Optimizely: Optimizely X, Optimizely Web, Optimizely Full Stack, and more...

Optimizely is a digital experience platform that helps businesses enhance their conversion rate optimization (CRO) efforts. It enables the creation, testing, and optimization of guest users' experiences across channels, influencing customer behavior and boosting customer lifetime value.

Product modules this tool offers to marketing teams

Optimizely offers several products that aim to cover various aspects of CRO, experimentation, and digital content management. Here’s a breakdown of what they provide:

• Content Marketing Platform: Focuses on content planning and execution to align with business goals.
• Optimizely Content Management System (CMS): A tool for managing and delivering personalized content.

(Detailed breakdown of the key features offered to the users of the Optimizely Content Management System and Content Marketing platform modules)

• Web Experimentation (formerly Optimizely X): This platform enables A/B and multivariate tests to fine-tune websites and drive higher conversion rates. Originally called Optimizely X, it has evolved into Optimizely Web Experimentation to reflect its expanded advanced features for marketing teams.

• Feature Experimentation: Provides teams with experimentation features to test product functionality in real-time, equipping them with the tools to optimize user satisfaction and overall performance through effective feature management.

(Detailed breakdown of the key features offered to the users of the Optimizely Web Experimentation and Feature Experimentation modules)

• Warehouse-Native Analytics: Offers direct integration with data warehouses, enabling businesses to use advanced analytics tools without data transfers. Its integrations with solutions like Snowflake and BigQuery provide faster insights and streamlined decision-making.
• Personalization: Delivers tailored content and product recommendations to individual user segments based on factors like user behavior, creating more relevant experiences and offering advanced conversion rate optimization.
• Commerce Connect (also known as Configured Commerce): Combines content and commerce to create more compelling experiences for e-commerce customers.

(Detailed breakdown of the key features offered to the users of the Optimizely Configured Commerce and Personalization modules)

• Digital Asset Management (DAM): Organizes and optimizes assets, simplifying workflows for teams focused on delivering conversion-friendly campaigns.
• Data Platform: Consolidates customer data for more precise segmentation and advanced targeting.

(Detailed breakdown of the key features offered to the users of the Optimizely Data Platform and Digital Asset Management modules)

For businesses looking to run a wide range of experiments, personalize content, and make data-driven decisions, Optimizely positions itself as a go-to solution — but it comes with a high price tag and a steep learning curve only the enterprise variant can afford.

Gated pricing: What's up with Optimizely pricing plans?

Back in the day — pre-2014, to be exact — Optimizely was a go-to testing tool for businesses of all sizes. Their pricing model reflected this inclusivity: they offered a free monthly plan for SMBs and startups with small-scale needs and Silver and Gold business plans for enterprise level teams that required more robust features.

Better yet, all pricing information was public, and businesses could sign up directly — no sales calls, no hassle, no mystery of gated pricing.

But a lot can change in a decade (yes, it’s really been that long!)

Today, Optimizely’s pricing model looks completely different. If you’re wondering how much the platform costs, good luck finding clear answers on their website. That’s because Optimizely has embraced gated pricing and now relies on customer-specific pricing to tailor annual plans to the conversion rate optimization demands of individual customers.

Why the secrecy? It boils down to a shift in focus: Optimizely X now exclusively targets enterprise level corporations with at least 501-1000 employees and leans on complex pricing structures to accommodate their elaborate requirements. Moreover, if you want to know how much their conversion rate optimization program costs, you’ll need to contact their sales department to uncover the implementation costs and price per month.

This makes sense for enterprise companies with massive budgets and intricate requirements, but for many businesses, this gated pricing approach is a barrier. After all, how do you know if a product fits your conversion rate optimization needs — or your budget — without transparency?

Annual price unknown: Key factors that impact the basic price

Optimizely’s gated pricing isn’t just about secrecy — it’s about flexible pricing options for them and ambiguity for you. While their sales team keeps the exact price values under lock and key, a few factors influencing their complex pricing structures are no mystery.

Optimizely openly acknowledges some of these in their help center, and with our experience, we can pinpoint some additional features that are likely to drive the basic price even higher.

Website traffic volume

Successfully exploring growth channels and getting lots of traffic? The more target visitors your site has, the higher the bill climbs as Optimizely scales costs with data demands. For a good reason, though — the platform needs additional resources to handle the data from larger audiences.

Number of experiments

Thinking about running split testing with concurrent experiments? Get ready for an additional cost. Optimizely doesn’t come with unlimited tests or unlimited variations out of the box, so the more you test simultaneously, the more you’ll end up paying.

Selected features and modules

As we mentioned earlier, Optimizely offers a wide range of advanced tools, but their pricing works on a modular basis. You pick and choose the features you need, and each selection adds to your annual plan cost.

• Need multivariate testing? That’s included in Optimizely Web Experimentation.
• Want behavioral targeting? You’ll need the Personalization module for that.
• Looking for in-depth analytics tools tied to your data warehouse? Add Warehouse-Native Analytics.

This à la carte approach offers flexibility but also means sales prices can climb quickly, especially as you add more modules to your package.

Business size and requirements

Optimizely’s pricing depends on the scale of your organization. Larger businesses with high users per month and complex customer profiles require tailored setups, often involving custom applications. The flow for pricing scales to meet enterprise demands, but the custom approach comes with a premium cost.

Implementation complexity

The more intricate your setup, the higher the price tag. Integrating Optimizely into existing systems, especially those with lots of moving parts or 3rd party integrations, can raise costs. And if you’re aiming for seamless improvements in user experience, that complexity will likely cost you.

Support and service levels

Need round-the-clock premium support and stellar customer experience for you as a client? Optimizely’s support options vary, and the higher-tier services can add a notable additional cost to your bill.

So, how much will you actually pay?

For those after making only informed decisions, we’ve done the legwork — scouring reports, consulting past and current customers, and piecing together the elusive puzzle of Optimizely’s price values. Here are the calculated prices:

• Entry level plans: The starting, basic list price for an annual plan is estimated at $36,000.
• Enterprise level plans: For larger businesses with higher traffic and advanced needs, annual costs can soar past $200,000 or even $400,000.
• Usage-based pricing: For Web Experimentation, plans are rumored to cost around $63,700 per 10 million impressions.

While introductory rates might seem reasonable at first glance, Optimizely’s pricing model charges per visit. Unless your site boasts a stellar conversion rate and high average order value, those fees can add up quickly, turning an affordable price (or at least a "decent deal") into a major expense.

At the end of the day, is it worth it?

Optimizely X offers a robust suite of tools that make it a heavyweight in the world of conversion rate optimization and digital experiences.

With advanced capabilities like multivariate testing, behavioral targeting, and seamless integrations, it empowers enterprise level businesses to fine-tune their strategies.

These tools enable organizations to conduct precise experiments (including concurrent experiments), analyze results, and make data-driven decisions that enhance customer interactions.

For companies with substantial budgets and intricate requirements, Optimizely has the potential to be a game-changing investment.

But let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the cost.

Pricing problems that might make you pause

1. Revenue-based pricing: Unlike most platforms, Optimizely has been reported to charge a percentage of revenue instead of using a flat pricing model. For some businesses, this has led to frustration, as the costs can quickly escalate beyond expectations.
2. Paying for non-usage: Smaller businesses or those with fluctuating usage often find themselves paying for services they aren’t actively using. With no lower pricing tiers to accommodate periods of inactivity, you’re charged regardless of whether the platform is fully utilized.
3. Automatic renewal traps: Optimizely’s contract terms can catch users off guard. If you miss the deadline to cancel in writing, you could be locked into another year, incurring hefty costs — like one user who found themselves stuck with a $24,000 bill for a product they no longer needed.
4. Declining support quality after signing the long-term contract: Users have reported frustration with Optimizely’s support after committing to long-term contracts. Complaints include receiving generic answers and a lack of actionable help for specific issues.

What's a good Optimizely alternative?

Let’s face it — there are plenty of Optimizely alternatives, and to be fair, Optimizely isn’t even the most expensive tool out there. Several other enterprise-level solutions are built for companies with deep pockets and equally deep needs.

But just because those tools don’t fit your budget doesn’t mean you should abandon the idea of optimizing your conversion rates. Affordable, transparent, and effective alternative platforms exist, and Personizely is one of the best.

Why Personizely?

Personizely is an all-in-one conversion rate optimization suite that helps e-commerce businesses transform interactions into lasting customer relationships. Packed with features and solutions tailored to drive sales and engagement, Personizely offers everything you need to take your store to the next level.

Key features of Personizely

• Widgets: Create any kind of widget to drive conversions and boost sales.
• Website Personalization: Build unique experiences for your visitors through tailored content and campaigns.
• A/B Testing: Optimize your store by running tests to identify what drives higher conversions.
• Integrations: Seamlessly connect Personizely to your existing marketing tools and workflows.

Unlike many competitors, Personizely's pricing is completely transparent, offering tiered plans to fit different business sizes and budgets.

Pricing Tiers

The standout benefit of Personizely? Its flexibility. Unlike numerous Optimizely alternatives, Personizely doesn’t lock you into long-term contracts. You can cancel your subscription at any time, though funds are non-refundable.

Plus, there’s a 14-day unlimited free trial to explore everything Personizely offers. No contract. No credit card. Just a risk-free way to kickstart your CRO journey.

Ready to take your conversion rates to the next level without breaking the bank? Sign up for Personizely today and see what a transparent, affordable, and flexible optimization tool can do for your business.

FAQs about Optimizely pricing

1. Why doesn’t Optimizely share its pricing upfront?

Optimizely uses a custom pricing model based on factors like your business size, traffic, and required features. They predominantly target larger companies.

2. How much does Optimizely cost?

The starting price for Optimizely is estimated at $36,000 per year for basic plans. However, costs can climb to $400,000 or more.

3. How to find out the exact price for Optimizely?

To get an exact price, you’ll need to contact the tool's sales team. They’ll assess your business' specific situation to provide a custom quote.

4. Are there affordable Optimizely alternatives?

Yes! Personizely is an excellent alternative, offering transparent pricing starting at $39/month and a 14-day free trial. It’s a flexible and affordable option for businesses looking to optimize conversions without breaking the bank.

5. Can I test Optimizely before committing?

Optimizely does not offer a free trial, so you’ll need to commit to a plan to use their platform.