Test management for startups: ship faster without an enterprise QA bill

TL;DR

Free until you outgrow it, $19/mo flat after. A test repository, run history, and exploratory sessions in one place — enough QA structure to ship weekly and answer "how do you ensure quality?" without buying a tool that demands a multi-quarter rollout.

01The startup QA problem

Sound familiar?

Your "test plan" is a Google Sheet that started clean three months ago and now has 14 tabs, three colour-coded systems, and at least two truths about which version is current. Nobody trusts it before a release. Nobody updates it after.

02Why TestOrchestrator fits startups

Real test management at $0

Not a 14-day trial. The Free plan is built for a 5-person team to run on indefinitely. 200 active cases is enough to cover a real product without artificial pressure to upgrade.

Same workspace, 5 to 50 users

Outgrow Free? Starter at $19/mo covers 15. Outgrow Starter? Pro at $79/mo covers 50. No replatforming, no data migration, no "talk to sales" gate.

Setup in an afternoon

Sign up, set up folders and templates, run your first cycle the same day. No implementation consultant, no multi-quarter rollout. You're buying a tool, not a process.

Coverage you can show investors

Investors and customers ask "how do you ensure quality?" A repository plus run history is the only credible answer. A spreadsheet isn't.

Built for engineers running QA

If your testing is split across engineers with no dedicated QA lead, the UI stays out of the way. Cases in folders, runs in cycles, results with the run.

Migration help if you need it

Bringing cases over from a spreadsheet or another tool? Contact support — we'll load them into your workspace so you don't retype anything.

03What you'll get out of week one

A clean test case repository — built fresh in the UI for small sets, or loaded by support if you have an existing collection to bring over
Your first test run logged with pass/fail per case
Exploratory testing sessions with findings captured properly
A reporting dashboard showing what passed, what failed, what's blocked
Predictable monthly pricing as your team grows
Folders, templates, and statuses set up your way

04Related reading

05Frequently asked questions

Do startups really need a test management tool?

Once you have more than one tester or more than ~50 test cases, spreadsheets stop scaling. Cases get duplicated, status drifts, and nobody trusts the "current" version. A test management tool fixes that without enterprise overhead.

How is this different from Notion or Google Sheets?

Notion and Sheets are good for ad-hoc lists. They're not built for test runs (which case ran where, what passed, what failed, by whom, when). TestOrchestrator gives you that structure without making you maintain it manually.

What does it cost for a 5-person team?

Nothing. The Free plan covers 5 users, 2 projects, 200 active test cases, and 1 GB of attachments — forever, no credit card.

Can we add contractors temporarily?

Yes. Pricing is flat per workspace, not per user, so adding contractors during a release crunch doesn't spike the bill. You only pay more when you cross the user limit on your tier.