Playwright vs Selenium: Key Differences Between Both Frameworks:
How can you choose the best software testing tool from the various web-based options available? Even if you’re considering outsourcing your QA services, you’ll still need to select a specific application for running these tests. So, which tool should you choose?
Two popular frameworks for testing web applications are Playwright vs Selenium. While Selenium is a longstanding open-source tool widely used in the industry, Playwright is a more recent open-source technology developed by Microsoft. How do their features differ, and which one is better suited for your needs?
To understand this, let’s briefly explore both tools. Now, let’s dive deeper into Playwright vs. Selenium to compare their capabilities.
Selenium:
Jason Huggins first presented Selenium in 2004. From its beginning, several volunteer contributors have selflessly given thousands of hours to code development and maintenance, hence contributing about 30,000 to the GitHub project.
A set of tools meant to automate web browsers, Selenium The most often used framework for testing web applications and guaranteeing consistent, smooth user experiences across many browsers and devices is it. Selenium is made up of several parts: Selenium WebDriver, Selenium IDE, and Selenium Grid.
The WebDriver component lets users control browser behavior and communicate programmatically with online pages. Often, it is used to automate functional and regression testing of online applications; when integrated with other tools, it can produce complete testing solutions.
Selenium IDE lets people record their interactions with web sites and export these recordings as portable, maintainable, reusable testing scripts in several computer languages. Lightweight and simple to use, Selenium IDE is perfect for developing straightforward test cases and running fundamental automation chores.
Selenium Grid lets users run tests concurrently across several computers. Running tests concurrently helps users to assess their web apps under several conditions and configurations and greatly shortens the total time needed to run large test suites.
A hub and one or more nodes make up Selenium Grid. Clients send test execution requests to the hub, which then allocates these duties to suitable nodes. Running tests using one or more web browsers and sending the findings back to the hub is under each node’s purview. Among its many advantages, Selenium Grid especially offers the adaptability to rapidly expand the testing infrastructure to effectively satisfy changing testing needs.
Playwright:
Designed for web applications, Playwright is an end-to-end testing tool. Though meant to be quicker and simpler, it resembles other testing tools like Selenium. Playwright lets you write tests in several languages—including TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, .NET, and Java—and run them on well-known browsers including Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit. Playwright also enables mobile web testing with native mobile emulation of Google Chrome for Android and Mobile Safari.
Playwright offers a strong toolkit with Codegen, Playwright Inspector, and Trace Viewer. The Codegen tool captures your interactions and lets you create tests in the language of your choice.
Web page inspection, selection creation, test execution stepping, click location visualization, and execution log exploration are all made possible by the Playwright Inspector. The Trace Viewer tool records thorough information to evaluate test failures, including test execution screencasts, live DOM snapshots, an action explorer, and test source code.
Though newer than Selenium, Playwright has swiftly become well-known and created a large user community. Although it supports less browsers and programming languages than Selenium right now, it has more current capabilities suited to modern web development methods.
Having covered the fundamentals of both technologies, let us look more closely at their distinctions.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is Playwright better than Selenium?
Selenium and playwright are technologies for web application testing and automation. While Selenium was once an internal product at Thoughtworks and has been in the business for a longer time, both are open source; Playwright is being developed by Microsoft.
Is Selenium better than Playwright for scraping?
Both Selenium and Playwright are effective tools for web scraping. Selenium offers greater browser compatibility and flexibility, while Playwright is ideal for those seeking simplicity and ease of use. The choice between them ultimately depends on the specific needs and requirements of your project.
Does Playwright work with Selenium?
Although Playwright has features comparable to Selenium, it is a distinct and separate tool. Users currently using Selenium may consider switching to Playwright instead of combining both tools. Playwright is ideal for users seeking enhanced functionality and an easier transition.
