Difference between Alpha and Beta Testing

1.   Alpha- carried out at the developer's site by the potential customers.

     Beta-  carried out at the customer's site by the customer himself.

2.  

Alpha- carried out in a controlled environment.

     Beta- carried out in a real environment.

3. 

Alpha- errors due to strange inputs by the customer are prevented as the developer is looking               over the customer's shoulder and can thus prevent any such errors.

  Beta- failures due to strange inputs by the customer can occur as the developer is not present here.

4.  

Alpha- carried out when the formal testing process is near completion.

    Beta- carried out after alpha testing.

5.  

Alpha- the whole software may be tested or only a specific module of the software may be presented to the customer for testing.

  Beta- various beta releases of the software may be sent to the potential customer. These contain the whole software and may be further improved upon depending upon the customer's feedback.

6.  

Alpha- errors if any can be removed by the developer then and there as the developer is present during the testing.

  

Beta- the customers are expected to report failures if any so that the developer's can work to rectify them.