Difora › Compare › Chromatic alternative
The EU-hosted Chromatic alternative
Chromatic is an excellent visual testing service for Storybook — and a US company that renders your UI in its own cloud browsers and stores the screenshots in the United States. If your procurement, DPA or customers require EU data residency and EU corporate control, Difora gives you the same workflow without leaving the EU.
Difora vs. Chromatic at a glance
| Difora | Chromatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Company jurisdiction | 🇦🇹 Austria (EU) | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Where screenshots are stored | EU-owned object storage in EU data centres, nothing elsewhere | United States (EU data residency not offered for screenshots)* |
| Who renders the screenshots | Your own CI (Playwright, Storybook test-runner, anything that outputs PNGs) | Chromatic's cloud browsers |
| Storybook support | Yes — run the Storybook test-runner or Playwright and upload the PNGs | Yes, deeply integrated (TurboSnap, UI Review) |
| Pull-request check | Yes (GitHub check run) | Yes |
| Review UI | Side-by-side, diff overlay, approve/reject per snapshot | Yes, mature |
| Entry price | Free (5,000 snapshots/month), then €29/month excl. VAT | From $179/month* |
| Free tier | 5,000 snapshots/month | 5,000 snapshots/month* |
| Data processing agreement | Art. 28 GDPR DPA with EU-only subprocessors | US DPA with Standard Contractual Clauses |
*Based on the vendor's own public pricing pages, documentation and data-processing terms as of 2026-09. Corrections welcome — write to us via the form on the home page.
Switch to Difora if…
- Your DPA, security questionnaire or customers require EU-only storage and an EU-based processor.
- You already render screenshots in CI and do not want to hand your Storybook to a third-party browser farm.
- You want predictable pricing for a small team or agency.
Stay with Chromatic if…
- You rely on Chromatic-specific features such as TurboSnap, UI Review comments or Storybook publishing.
- You need Chromatic's cross-browser cloud rendering rather than your own CI browsers.
Migration in three steps
- Keep your CI and your screenshot step (Playwright, Storybook test-runner, Cypress…). Make sure it writes PNG files to a directory.
- Add
npx difora upload ./screenshots --branch "$GITHUB_HEAD_REF"with your project token asDIFORA_TOKEN. - Approve the first build — it becomes your baseline. Every following pull request gets a pass/fail check and a review link.
Frequently asked questions
Can I migrate from Chromatic to Difora?
Yes. Keep your Storybook stories and CI. Render screenshots with the Storybook test-runner or Playwright, then run `npx difora upload ./screenshots`. The first run establishes your baselines; approve it once and every following pull request is compared automatically.
Does Difora render my components in the cloud like Chromatic?
No — deliberately. Your CI renders with the browsers and versions you already trust; Difora only receives PNG files. That is what keeps the whole screenshot path inside the EU and makes results deterministic.
Is Difora GDPR compliant?
Difora is operated by Missus GmbH (Graz, Austria) and processes customer content exclusively on EU-owned infrastructure in the EU, with an Art. 28 DPA and a published EU-only subprocessor list. That goes beyond "GDPR compliant" claims that rely on US transfer mechanisms.
Is there a free plan?
Yes: 5,000 snapshots per month and one project, no credit card. Paid plans start at €29 per month excl. VAT.
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