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Product
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Solutions
Bankingaqua ALM helps banks increase testing productivity by over 50%
InsuranceConsistent testing with aqua ensures robust insurance software that increases retention
ManufacturingUsing aqua helps an IoT manufacturer save 3% of revenue by reducing production defects
Governmentaqua paves the way for digital transformation with a portfolio of 7 government organisations
Tech companiesaqua helps reach a defect detection ratio of 98% with thorough and efficient testing
Medicalaqua proudly serves 10+ enterprise medical companies to level up their QA -
Resources
BlogTips & tricks on how to manage testing process effectively and speed up releases
aqua wikiDetailed information on aqua capabilities, functionality and features
Product updatesDescription of our newest features and their value to QA teams
Success storiesCompanies that want to keep up with digital change trust in aqua
Product FAQFast answers to the most important product questions
Data centersExplore our infrastructure & global locations
Can a Jira Plugin Keep Up With a Dedicated Solution?
It’s tempting to manage testing in Jira. Xray is the most popular plugin to do exactly that, used by over 10 million testers across 10,000 companies. But Xray is architecturally constrained by Jira. That constraint shows when you need AI-powered testing, advanced reporting, or On-Premise deployment. aqua is a standalone QA-first ALM that operates independently. Find out what that difference means in practice.
Key differences between aqua and Xray
aqua offers free AI-powered testing across the full QA lifecycle
aqua is the only option with full On-Premise deployment
aqua includes free Guest and low-cost Scout licences with no Jira seat required
How we compare
AI
AI in test management has evolved well beyond basic test generation. A well-rounded AI solution should function as a context-aware AI embedded in the full QA workflow. Here is what to look for:
- Analyse your workspace and project documentation to get relevant QA context
- Create test cases and requirements from plain text, images, or PDFs
- Support multiple test methodologies: BDD, equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis
- Generate test data for simple values through to complex datasets
aqua’s Copilot AI uses Retrieval-Augmented Generation, grounded in your actual project documentation rather than generic templates. It covers requirements generation, test case creation, test data creation, and BDD output. All of this is included free on Cloud plans. Teams report saving over 12 hours per week per tester. Xray introduced AI Test Case Generation on Standard and Advanced Cloud tiers, supporting manual and BDD (Cucumber) formats with human-in-the-loop control. Xray Enterprise adds AI Test Model Generation, which transforms requirements into visual system models. Xray’s AI does not cover requirements generation or test data creation. It is also unavailable on Data Center.
Verdict: aqua wins. Its RAG-grounded Copilot AI covers the full QA lifecycle for free, while Xray's AI covers test case and model generation only.
Test management
Test management is the core reason to compare these tools. Beyond creating and running tests, you should look for traceability, compliance logging, and flexible organisation. Here is what a well-rounded solution should include:
- Create, execute, share, and manage test cases in the workspace
- Group tests into test scenarios, segment into folders, and assign labels
- See the entire execution history for a test case
- Store a full log of changes for compliance
- Support reusable shared test steps and nested test cases
- Visualise requirements coverage and dependencies
Both tools handle test management fundamentals well. Xray offers requirements linked to test cases, detailed traceability reports, native BDD support, and Jira-native workflows. aqua adds shared test steps, nested test cases, change reversal, and shared views. Compliance logging is available on all aqua plans. Xray adds test case versioning only at the Enterprise tier.
Integrations
Most QA teams rely on third-party tools built up over many years. Native integrations and REST API access are essential to stay independent. Here is what a strong integration offering looks like:
- Native integrations with test automation tools
- Jira integration with real-time synchronisation
- REST/GraphQL API for integrating any tool
- Native bug reporting or test recording tool
- Support for CI/CD pipeline connections
Both tools offer Jira integration and REST API. Xray supports native integration with automation frameworks including Cucumber, Selenium, and JUnit, and fits into CI/CD pipelines. aqua covers a wider range of native QA tool connections including Selenium, Jenkins, UFT, JMeter, SoapUI, and Ranorex. It also includes the native Capture tool for one-click bug recording with video, screenshots, and technical context. Xray’s exploratory testing is handled by a separate desktop app rather than a built-in recorder.
Pricing flexibility
Pricing models in test management vary widely. Looking beyond the list price matters when spotting hidden costs and licence restrictions. Key criteria:
- Free licences for stakeholders or read-only users
- Affordable licence types for developers and manual testers
- Transparent, publicly available pricing
- No minimum seat requirement
Xray Cloud Standard starts at $100/year for up to ten Jira users. Because Xray is a Jira plugin, every user also needs a paid Jira licence on top of that. There are no reduced licence types or free viewer licences. aqua offers three named licence types: the Full Licence for Requirement Management or Test Management at €89/user/month, a Test Runner DEV licence at €19/user/month for developers and QA specialists who execute tests without needing to manage requirements or test cases, and free unlimited Guest Licences with read-only access included on every plan. The complete aqua Suite covering all modules is available at €99/month for Private Cloud or On-Premise. No Jira licence is required to run aqua.
Verdict: aqua wins — no Jira dependency, free Guest Licences, and a €19 Test Runner DEV licence that lets test executors join without a full licence cost.
Deployment Models
Deployment flexibility is critical, especially in regulated or security-sensitive industries. Vendors do not always make their options obvious. Key deployment types to look for:
- Vendor-hosted Cloud
- Self-hosted / Data Center deployment
- On-Premise deployment
- AI feature availability across deployment types
aqua has supported On-Premise deployment for over a decade, serving banking, insurance, and government clients. Xray offers Jira Cloud and Jira Data Center (self-hosted on your own infrastructure). Xray’s AI features are Cloud-only and unavailable on Data Center. aqua also offers GDPR-compliant German-hosted Cloud and Enterprise Custom Cloud on any Azure data centre.
Dashboards
QA dashboards serve two vital purposes. They help the QA team track progress and make bottlenecks visible to the wider organisation. A strong dashboard feature set should cover:
- Use all workspace data including custom fields
- Create private and shared dashboards
- Choose between various graph types
- Set up KPI alerts via email or in-app notifications
Xray provides reporting via built-in Jira gadgets and cross-project traceability charts. aqua provides fully customisable dashboards displaying any workspace data, multiple graph types, and KPI Alerts. KPI Alerts notify you when a tracked metric goes outside a defined range, shifting dashboards from reactive to proactive.
Reporting
Reporting is important for both internal and external stakeholders. When a tool offers both a template library and rich customisation, that is a good start:
- Access vendor-provided template library
- Create custom layouts and save them
- Use and transform any data
- Add external data and imagery
- Employ scripts and parametrisation to auto-update reports
Xray includes a Document Generator with built-in report templates and gadgets. Custom data or layouts beyond these templates require building Word/Excel documents manually outside the platform. aqua’s reporting engine is fully native: drag-and-drop any data, apply custom formatting, add external imagery, use pivot tables, write scripts, and save reusable templates. All of this happens without leaving the tool.
User management
Precise user management is essential when working on multiple projects and external specialists. Key criteria include:
- Set default and custom roles
- Apply per-user permission overrides
- Authenticate users via SSO
- Server and project level administration
Xray inherits Jira’s user and permission model. aqua provides individual per-user permission overrides, SSO via both SAML and LDAP, and both server-level and project-level administrators. These are all available on all aqua plans without requiring an upgrade.
ALM
You may be interested in a solution that handles the full product lifecycle. Consolidating into a single platform reduces licensing costs and improves traceability. Look for:
- Test case management
- Requirements management
- Project management
Both tools cover the full product lifecycle. aqua is purpose-built as a QA-first ALM where requirements, tests, and project management coexist natively in one interface. Xray achieves ALM coverage through the combination of Jira and the Xray plugin. Both approaches provide end-to-end traceability, though through different architectures.
What people say
Here are a few things people like and dislike about both tools.
“I was surprised to find such a comprehensive and mature tool for test management in the German market without having taken it seriously beforehand.”
Jörg Großmann
Head of Development at Bank 11
“According to me, Xray is the best test management tool in Jira.The only thing bothers a lot is the order of test cases gets disorganised each time a test execution or test plan gets created.”
Dinesh P
Software Development Engineer at a small business (<50 emp.)
“The reporting is meaningful and provides a good basis for decisions. After the employees have used aqua, they recognize the added value very quickly.”
Thomas Haeske
Head of Organisation/IT at Berlin Hyp
“- Navigating test execution in test coverage could be simpler - No version control - No availability to link test execution to the sub-task”
A G2 Reviewer
Computer Software (50-1000 emp.)
“Manual test cases are easily automated with aqua. Seamless integration with test automation tools helps here.”
Jörn-Hendrick Sörensen
Test Manager at KBA
“It's a bit of a learning curve when getting started. It took our team about a year to realise that there are so many other tools to utilise, but didn't really understand how to get to that point. On top of that, Xray is different by JIRA account type, so the documentation is different. If you don't find the correct documentation that applies to your company's JIRA account (Cloud, Server, etc...), you might end up reading through the wrong one, and being utterly confused. “
Sarah P..
QA Engineer at a small business (<50 emp.)
“I was surprised to find such a comprehensive and mature tool for test management in the German market without having taken it seriously beforehand.”
Jörg Großmann
Head of Development at Bank 11
“The reporting is meaningful and provides a good basis for decisions. After the employees have used aqua, they recognize the added value very quickly.”
Thomas Haeske
Head of Organisation/IT at Berlin Hyp
“Manual test cases are easily automated with aqua. Seamless integration with test automation tools helps here.”
Jörn-Hendrick Sörensen
Test Manager at KBA
“According to me, Xray is the best test management tool in Jira.The only thing bothers a lot is the order of test cases gets disorganised each time a test execution or test plan gets created.”
Dinesh P
Software Development Engineer at a small business (<50 emp.)
“- Navigating test execution in test coverage could be simpler - No version control - No availability to link test execution to the sub-task”
A G2 Reviewer
Computer Software (50-1000 emp.)
“It's a bit of a learning curve when getting started. It took our team about a year to realise that there are so many other tools to utilise, but didn't really understand how to get to that point. On top of that, Xray is different by JIRA account type, so the documentation is different. If you don't find the correct documentation that applies to your company's JIRA account (Cloud, Server, etc...), you might end up reading through the wrong one, and being utterly confused. “
Sarah P..
QA Engineer at a small business (<50 emp.)
Final verdict
aqua is a QA-oriented ALM that runs independently, includes AI across the full QA lifecycle at no extra cost, and supports true On-Premise deployment for regulated industries. Xray is the most widely used Jira-native test management plugin, trusted by 137 Fortune Global 500 companies, and a strong fit for teams already deep in the Jira ecosystem. Where Xray reaches its limits is visible in AI depth, reporting, pricing flexibility, and deployment independence.
Winner
FAQ
What are the key differences between aqua and Xray?
aqua is a standalone QA-first ALM with RAG-grounded AI across the full testing lifecycle, true On-Premise deployment, and native custom reporting. Xray is a Jira-native plugin trusted by 10,000+ companies that excels for teams already in the Jira ecosystem, but is constrained in AI depth, reporting, and user licensing.
Can I migrate from Xray to aqua without losing my project structure?
Yes, aqua provides an automated migration tool that preserves test cases, attachments, and project hierarchy.
Does Xray work without Jira?
No. Xray is a Jira plugin and requires a Jira licence for every user. aqua operates fully independently without a Jira subscription.
Is AI available on Xray Data Center?
No. Xray AI features are only available on Cloud plans. Aqua’s Copilot AI is similarly Cloud-only, though aqua continues to offer On-Premise for teams that do not require AI.
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