Reduce your costs by choosing a cheaper Zephyr Squad alternative

6 minutes read

You need a test management app for Jira, and think of investing in Zephyr Squad? Think twice. There are less pricey alternatives that can save you money, and still provide you with the functionality that you require.

In this article we will compare Zephyr Squad with a less-known, but more cost-efficient solution – QAlity Plus.

Learn more about QAlity Plus on the Atlassian Marketplace

Test writing

Test writing features lay at the foundation of test management apps. They allow you to create and modify your tests, and should be flexible and comfortable to use. QAlity Plus and Zephyr Squad have many test writing features in common. In both apps you can:

Create tests by choosing a test issue type
Add test steps to your tests
Choose one of two viewing options, detailed or simplified
Reorder test steps by dragging and dropping them
Clone your tests or test steps
Delete your tests or test steps

The apps also have their own distinct features. In QAlity Plus you can expand and collapse the view of your test steps, while Zephyr Squad allows you to add additional columns to the view, according to your preference. They also approach editing differently. In QAlity Plus there is an inline editing feature available. In Zephyr Squad, on the other hand, you need to enter edit mode to modify your test steps.

Although slightly different, both apps are equipped with all the basic features needed to easily create tests and edit their contents.

Test cycles

Once you’ve prepared your tests, the next step is arranging them. Both QAlity Plus and Zephyr Squad are equipped with features for test organization.

They provide you with an option to create groups of tests called Test Cycles. Within a Test Cycle, you can rearrange the order of tests with a drag & drop feature. Furthermore, both applications offer an overview of each Test Cycle, gathering essential information related to test executions and their respective statuses.

However, the distinction between the two applications lies in their approaches. QAlity Plus employs a simpler and more straightforward system for grouping tests, while Zephyr Squad presents a more advanced test organization framework, involving folders. There is also more information displayed on the Zephyr Squad Test Cycle Summary page, which can be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on what your preferences are. Additionally, Zephyr Squad permits you to customize the columns in your Test Cycle Summary.

Nevertheless, if your main requirement is a simple and clear test organization feature, QAlity Plus is undoubtedly adequate for your needs.

Test execution

Both apps provide a diverse set of test execution features, enabling users to conduct tests, modify their statuses, and oversee the overall execution status.

QAlity Plus and Zephyr Squad have a comparable set of test execution statuses available:

QAlity Plus:

Zephyr Squad:

The main difference between the two apps lies in the overall test execution status. In QAlity Plus, if all tests are passed, overall execution status will automatically be set to Passed as well. In Zephyr Squad, however, the overall execution status does not update automatically, and can only be changed manually.

Adding attachments to your test steps is also available in both apps. Additionally, in Zephyr Squad you can add attachments to the whole test execution as well.

Overally, Zephyr Squad is equipped with more flexible test execution options, such as custom statuses. QAlity Plus, on the other hand, supports more automation when it comes to overall test execution status. Despite these differences, both apps allow the user to effectively execute tests, which is the primal function of every test management app.

Reporting

Reporting is a crucial feature that enables you to monitor the testing process and its outcomes. As a vital part of every test management app, reports should be acknowledged when selecting a fitting solution for your team.

QAlity Plus and Zephyr Squad offer various reporting options. The most fundamental types of reports – Test Execution Report, Test Coverage Report, and Traceability Report, are all available in both apps.

Test Execution Report

In QAlity Plus this report serves as a simple overview of all test executions for a chosen period of time. In Zephyr Squad you can access Test Metrics (Daily Test Execution Progress by status, Test Executions by Test Cycle, Test Executions by Tester, Number of executions per day, List of executions with their details), or reports for specific projects (Test Execution Chart, Test Execution Burndown Chart, Top Defects Impacting Testing Report).

QAlity Plus allows you to export the Test Execution Report to an .XLSX file. In Zephyr Squad, however, there is no exporting option available for these reports.

Try it yourself. Check Test Execution Report on our demo server

Test Coverage & Traceability Reports

In both apps these two elements are combined into one comprehensive report. In QAlity Plus it is called Traceability Report, while in Zephyr Squad it is Traceability Matrix, with forward and backward reports available. The report can be exported to an .XLSX file (Zephyr Squad only).

Try it yourself. Check Traceability Report on our demo server

QAlity Plus

Functionality

Zephyr Squad

✅

Free up to 10 users

✅

Available for the Jira Cloud and the Jira Data Center

✅

Possibility to group executions

✅

Past executions history accessible from the execution page

⛔️

✅

Quickly raise and link bugs to the execution with automatically filled reproduction steps

⛔️

✅

Requirements and bugs traceability Report

✅

Test Execution Reporting

✅

Pay three times less

As you could see in the sections above, when it comes to functionality, QAlity Plus doesn’t stay much behind Zephyr Squad. What sets these two apps apart is their pricing.

Since quality is often associated with a higher investment, options that come at a lower cost are easily overshadowed. Due to a prevailing belief that only expensive solutions hold merit, individuals tend to remain unaware of valuable alternatives well within their grasp. QAlity Plus is a great example of this mechanism.

Here’s a short cloud pricing comparison of QAlity Plus and Zephyr Squad. As you can see, Zephyr Squad is about three times more expensive than QAlity Plus.

QAlity Plus

FREE

USD 150

USD 370

USD 570

USD 1 770

USD 2 770

USD 3 770

Users

Up to 10 (Flat fee)

100

500

1 000

5 000

10 000

20 000

Zephyr Squad

USD 10

USD 511

USD 1 289.50

USD 1 874.50

USD 3 314.50

USD 4 214.50

USD 6 014.50

Pricing for monthly cloud payments based on Vendor’s Marketplace Pricing Pages.

Summary

Undoubtedly, Zephyr Squad offers some advantages in certain aspects when compared to QAlity Plus. However, it’s important to note that not every user will require these supplementary features to ensure a seamless and successful testing experience. In fact, QAlity Plus stands out for its simplicity, which contributes to a more user-friendly interface – a merit in itself.

Nonetheless, the responsibility lies with each individual user to weigh the options and assess whether the extra features provided by Zephyr Squad are necessary for their testing demands, and whether they justify the investment that is triple the cost of QAlity Plus.