Google Optimize vs Stellar

Q: Is Google Optimize still available in 2026?

No. Google Optimize and Optimize 360 were shut down on 30 September 2023 and have not returned. Existing containers stopped serving experiments, and the interface is gone. Anything you find suggesting it is still available is out of date.

Q: Is Google Optimize the same as Optimizely?

No — they are unrelated products from different companies, and the similar names cause a lot of confusion. Google Optimize was Google's free A/B testing tool, discontinued in 2023. Optimizely is an independent enterprise experimentation and DXP vendor that is very much still operating, with contracts reportedly starting around $36,000 per year.

Q: What is the closest free replacement for Google Optimize?

Stellar's free tier is the closest like-for-like replacement for the way most teams used Optimize — a visual editor, one lightweight script, GA4-compatible tracking, and no cost up to 25,000 monthly tracked users. GA4 Experiments is Google's own successor but has no visual editor, so it cannot replace on-page testing.

Q: Does GA4 Experiments replace Google Optimize?

Only partially. GA4 Experiments handles measurement and audience-based comparisons, but it has no visual editor, so you cannot change a headline or button without code. For teams that used Optimize precisely because it required no developer, GA4 Experiments is not a replacement.

Q: Do I need to remove the old Google Optimize snippet?

Yes. The Optimize container no longer serves experiments, but leaving the script in place still costs a DNS lookup and request on every pageview, and any legacy anti-flicker snippet can still delay rendering. Removing it is part of the migration checklist.

Google Optimize shut down on 30 September 2023. This page compares what it did against what Stellar does, so you can judge whether the replacement covers your actual workflow — and flags the one thing Optimize did that nothing has truly replaced.

First, a naming clarification

Two different products, constantly confused:

Google Optimize — Google's free A/B testing tool. Discontinued in 2023. Gone.
Optimizely — an independent enterprise experimentation and DXP vendor, unrelated to Google, still operating. Contracts reportedly start around $36,000/year (Optimizely pricing).

If you are searching for "Google Optimizely," you almost certainly want one of those two. They are not the same company and never were.

Feature comparison

Dimension	Google Optimize (until 2023)	Stellar (2026)
Cost	Free	Free up to 25k MTU, Pro $99/mo
Visual editor	✓	✓
A/B tests	✓	✓
Split URL tests	✓	✓
Multivariate tests	✓ (Optimize 360 for larger)	Planned
Personalization	✓	✓ (web personalization)
Experiment limit	5 concurrent (free tier)	Unlimited
Script weight	Heavier, sync anti-flicker common	5.4KB async
GA integration	Native, Universal Analytics then GA4	GA4 and analytics integrations
Server-side testing	✗	✗
Statistical model	Bayesian	Bayesian (calculator)
Support	Community only	Email and chat
Status	Discontinued	Active

Where Stellar is genuinely better

No concurrent experiment cap. Optimize's free tier limited you to five running experiments, which is the constraint teams hit first once testing became a habit.
Much lighter script. Optimize's tag plus the synchronous anti-flicker snippet was a well-known source of render delay. Stellar's snippet is 5.4KB and async, with anti-flicker available as an option rather than a necessity.
It still exists. Not a small advantage over a discontinued product.

Where Optimize had the edge

Worth being straight about this rather than pretending the replacement is strictly better:

It was free at any scale. Optimize had no MTU ceiling on its free tier. Stellar's free tier stops at 25,000 monthly tracked users, so a high-traffic site that ran Optimize for nothing will now pay something.
Native Google Analytics integration. Optimize was inside the Google stack, so experiment data appeared in Analytics reporting without configuration. Every third-party tool, Stellar included, requires setup to reach the same place.
Multivariate testing was available in Optimize and Optimize 360.

If those are dealbreakers, the honest answer is that no single tool reproduces all three. Free-at-any-scale and native-Google are structurally hard for an independent vendor to match.

What about GA4 Experiments?

GA4 Experiments is Google's own successor, and it is not a like-for-like replacement. It can compare audiences and measure outcomes, but it has no visual editor — so changing a headline, button, or layout requires a developer to build the variant.

That matters because the visual editor is the reason most marketing teams chose Optimize in the first place. Full breakdown in Google Optimize vs GA4 Experiments.

Migrating

The switch is mostly mechanical: remove the old container, install the new snippet, recreate experiments, verify tracking. The step people skip is the first one — a dead Optimize script still costs a request on every pageview.

Step-by-step: How to migrate from Google Optimize to Stellar.

Platform-specific guides:

WordPress — or go straight to the WordPress A/B testing setup guide
Webflow — or the Webflow A/B testing setup guide
Shopify — or the Shopify A/B testing setup guide

Stellar also has install guides for Wix, Squarespace, Elementor, Framer and Bubble.

FAQ

Is Google Optimize still available in 2026?

No. Google Optimize and Optimize 360 were shut down on 30 September 2023 and have not returned. Containers stopped serving experiments and the interface is gone. Anything suggesting otherwise is out of date.

Is Google Optimize the same as Optimizely?

No. They are unrelated products from different companies. Google Optimize was Google's free A/B testing tool, discontinued in 2023. Optimizely is an independent enterprise vendor, still operating, reportedly starting around $36,000/year.

What is the closest free replacement for Google Optimize?

Stellar's free tier is the closest like-for-like match to how most teams used Optimize: visual editor, one lightweight script, GA4-compatible tracking, free up to 25,000 monthly tracked users. GA4 Experiments is Google's own successor but lacks a visual editor.

Does GA4 Experiments replace Google Optimize?

Only partially. It handles measurement and audience comparisons but has no visual editor, so on-page changes still need code. For teams that used Optimize because it needed no developer, it is not a replacement.

Do I need to remove the old Google Optimize snippet?

Yes. The container no longer serves experiments, but the script still costs a DNS lookup and request on every pageview, and a legacy synchronous anti-flicker snippet can still delay rendering.

Next steps

➡️ Start free with Stellar — no sales call, 25k MTU included
➡️ Google Optimize alternative hub — full feature comparison
➡️ Migration checklist — step-by-step switch

Try Stellar A/B Testing for Free!