Comparing Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright for Web Testing Automation

In the realm of software development, automating Quality Assurance (QA) tasks is crucial for enhancing productivity and product quality. Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright are three of the most prominent tools for test automation. This article provides a comparison of these tools based on their pros and cons, general setup and tech stack, tooling setup and recording environments, and concludes with recommendations for their best use cases.

Pros and Cons

First, let's dig in some basic pro/cons comparison which might help to choose the proper tool for a project.

‍Selenium:

• Pros: Broad browser compatibility, supports multiple programming languages, and has a large community.
• Cons: Complex setup, slower execution, and higher maintenance overhead.

Cypress:

• Pros: Fast execution, clear syntax, and developer-friendly.
• Cons: Limited to JavaScript, less flexible for non-browser applications.

Playwright:

• Pros: Cross-browser support, fast execution, modern API.
• Cons: Smaller community, learning curve for teams accustomed to older tools.

General Setup and Tech Stack

Since each tool has its own way to configure and set it up, here we describe the basic steps needed in each case.

Selenium

Selenium requires a more involved setup. First, you need to install Selenium WebDriver and a browser driver like ChromeDriver:

For ChromeDriver:

1. Download it from ChromeDriver Downloads.
2. Ensure the driver's location is included in your system's PATH environment variable.

Example of a simple Selenium script in Python:

Cypress

Cypress offers a straightforward setup, particularly for JavaScript-based projects:

To run Cypress:

This command opens the Cypress Test Runner where you can create and run your tests. Here’s a simple Cypress test:

Playwright

Playwright is also simple to set up and works well with multiple programming languages:

For specific browsers:

To run Playwright tests:

Here’s an example of a button click test with Playwright in JavaScript:

Tooling Setup and Recording Environment

One key aspect of tool productivity is recording, since it allows to genreate the testing code directly by interacting with the app. Each tool has its own way of configuring this.

Selenium IDE

Selenium IDE is a browser extension that simplifies creating and executing tests. It allows recording user actions and converting them into code without manual scripting. After installing the extension from your browser's store:

1. Click the Selenium IDE icon.
2. Start recording by clicking the red record button.
3. Perform the desired actions on your web application.

Cypress Studio

Cypress Studio, an experimental feature, allows recording interactions directly within the Cypress UI, generating test code automatically. To enable this:

1. Add the following to cypress.config.json:

2. Open Cypress with:

3. Use the "Add commands to test" button during test execution to generate code automatically.

Playwright Test in Visual Studio Code

Playwright integrates seamlessly with Visual Studio Code, providing an interactive test recording environment. Install the Playwright extension from the Visual Studio Code marketplace:

1. After installation, access the "Testing" tab.
2. Click "Record new" under the Playwright section.
3. Actions performed in the browser will be recorded into a Playwright test script.

Conclusion

Choosing between Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright depends on project-specific needs, team expertise, and browser requirements. Selenium is ideal for extensive browser coverage and multi-language support, Cypress excels in JavaScript-centric projects needing fast execution, and Playwright is perfect for modern projects requiring cross-browser testing and parallel execution. Evaluate these tools based on your specific requirements to make an informed decision.