Is Chromatic Free for Private Storybook Projects?
Yes. Chromatic’s free plan supports private Storybooks, with separate limits for publishing and visual testing or review.
Yes. Chromatic’s standard free plan can publish private Storybooks. Published Storybooks are private by default and available to signed-in users who have access to the project. Publishing by itself does not use billed snapshots when UI Test and UI Review are disabled. The free plan separately includes 5,000 billed snapshots per month for visual testing and review. [Chromatic billing documentation] [Chromatic FAQ] [Chromatic privacy documentation]
What the free plan covers
It helps to separate hosting from testing. Chromatic’s Publish Storybook service can publish a Storybook without billed snapshots if you leave UI Test and UI Review disabled. If you enable those workflows, the standard free plan provides 5,000 billed snapshots each month across the account.
| Use | Free-plan treatment |
|---|---|
| Publish a Storybook with UI Test and UI Review disabled | No billed snapshots for publishing alone |
| Run UI Test or UI Review | Uses the shared allowance of 5,000 billed snapshots per month |
| Reach the snapshot allowance | Testing and review pause until the allowance resets or you upgrade |
The free plan is not a time-limited trial. Chromatic says there is no trial period and that the free plan can be used indefinitely. Plan limits may change, so check the current billing documentation before planning usage.
Are private Storybooks actually private?
Chromatic says published Storybooks are private by default. Viewers must sign in with a profile that has access to the project. There are two visibility details to check before publishing:
- Public repository: a project linked to a public repository publishes a public Storybook.
- Project visibility: a Storybook can be set to public, which lets anyone with its link view it.
Public Storybook visibility exposes the published Storybook; Chromatic says the Library, tests, settings, Git provider details, and other project metadata remain private. Do not assume repository privacy alone determines the hosted Storybook’s visibility. Verify both repository visibility and the Storybook project’s visibility in Chromatic. See Chromatic’s documentation for current privacy controls.
How to use Chromatic for a private Storybook on the free plan
- Connect the Storybook project to Chromatic and configure its publishing workflow.
- Check the connected repository’s visibility. A public repository leads to a public Storybook.
- Check the project’s Storybook visibility setting and keep it private if access should be limited to project members.
- If you only need hosted publishing, disable UI Test and UI Review so publishing does not consume billed snapshots.
- If you need review or visual tests, track account-level snapshot use across all projects. The standard free allowance is 5,000 billed snapshots per month.
- When the allowance runs out, expect review and testing to pause until the monthly reset or an upgrade.
Managing snapshot use
The 5,000-snapshot allowance is shared at the account level, rather than being a separate allowance for each project. Usage depends on the tests, builds, browsers, modes, and test types you run.
Chromatic’s TurboSnap can reduce billed usage by using code changes and dependencies to focus new captures on affected stories. Its documented accounting is 1 billed snapshot for a captured snapshot, 0.2 for a copied snapshot, and 0 for a bypassed snapshot. See Chromatic’s TurboSnap documentation for details and setup.
Open-source sponsorship is a separate offer
Eligible open-source design systems and UI component libraries may qualify for Chromatic’s separate sponsorship plan. The documented offer includes 35,000 snapshots per month, Chrome-only testing, and publicly visible Open Source Storybooks. Eligibility depends on specified contributor, npm-download, GitHub-star, or organization criteria; Chromatic directs applicants to its in-app chat. This is not the standard free plan, and its published Storybooks are public under the stated terms. See Chromatic’s open-source sponsorship details.
Alternatives to Chromatic’s hosted publishing
If you prefer to host a built Storybook yourself, Chromatic’s comparison article names options including Heroku, Netlify, Vercel, and Surge, alongside storage or cloud infrastructure such as S3, GCP, and DigitalOcean. Compare whether you need access control, integrated review and comments, CI and Git integration, and how much deployment and maintenance work your team can take on. This list reflects Chromatic’s own comparison; evaluate each hosting option against your requirements.
When screenshots are the goal
If your immediate task is capturing a website page for documentation, QA, or an AI workflow, ScreenshotNeo is the alternative to try first: it removes cookie and consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture, bills only clean shots, and offers an MCP server for AI agents. It captures website screenshots and PDFs; it does not replace Chromatic’s Storybook publishing, visual testing, or review workflows.
Or skip the browser setup
For a website screenshot, call ScreenshotNeo’s API with one GET request. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for options and response details.
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpimport requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);- Cookie banners, popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot.
- Bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are never billed; response headers identify the page verdict and billing status.
- An MCP server lets AI agents, including Claude and Cursor, take screenshots.
- 1,000 screenshots a month are free with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots.
Sign up free for 1,000 screenshots a month, with no card required.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A published Storybook is visible to anyone with the link | The linked repository is public or the project’s Storybook visibility is public | Review both repository visibility and the Chromatic project visibility setting. |
| A teammate cannot open a private Storybook | They are not signed in with a profile that has project access | Have them sign in and confirm their profile has access to the project. |
| Visual tests or review stop running | The account has used its monthly free snapshot allowance | Check account-level usage; wait for the reset or upgrade to resume sooner. |
| Publishing seems associated with snapshot usage | UI Test or UI Review may be enabled alongside publishing | Check workflow settings and distinguish publishing from testing and review usage. |
| Snapshot use is higher than expected | Builds, browsers, modes, or test types can all affect usage across projects | Review the account’s usage and consider configuring TurboSnap to focus captures on affected stories. |
Cost and reliability notes
- The regular free plan has no stated expiration; its visual review and testing allowance refreshes monthly.
- Publishing alone can avoid billed snapshots when UI Test and UI Review are disabled.
- Testing and review pause when the monthly free allowance is exhausted, and Chromatic says upgrading resumes them immediately.
- Snapshot use is account-wide, so include every project when estimating whether the free allowance is sufficient.
- Confirm privacy settings before publishing any work that should remain restricted.
FAQ
Does Chromatic’s free plan expire?
No. Chromatic says the free plan has no trial period and can be used indefinitely.
What happens when I use all included free snapshots?
UI Test and UI Review pause until the monthly allowance resets or you upgrade.
Can I publish without using the 5,000 snapshots?
Yes, when you use the Publish Storybook service with UI Test and UI Review disabled.
Does a private Git repository guarantee a private Storybook?
Check the project’s Storybook visibility directly as well. Chromatic documents that a linked public repository publishes a public Storybook, and projects can also be set to public.
