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Playwright vs WebdriverIO: What are the differences?

Playwright and WebdriverIO are both popular tools for automating web browsers, but they have some key differences. Here are the main differences between the two.

  1. Architecture: Playwright is built on top of a new web automation protocol called the "CDP" (Chrome DevTools Protocol). It supports multiple browsers (Chrome, Firefox, and WebKit) and provides a more efficient and consistent way to interact with web browsers. WebdriverIO, on the other hand, is built on top of the WebDriver protocol, which is more widely supported but can sometimes be less performant and have browser-specific limitations.

  2. Multi-Tab Support: Playwright has built-in support for handling multiple tabs or windows in a browser, making it easier to perform actions in different browser contexts. WebdriverIO also supports multi-tabs, but it requires additional setup and custom code to achieve the same functionality.

  3. Parallel Execution: Playwright supports parallel execution out of the box, allowing you to run tests concurrently and speed up the execution time. WebdriverIO also supports parallel execution, but it requires additional setup and configuration.

  4. Debugging: Playwright provides a powerful debugging experience with built-in support for recording and capturing screenshots or videos during test execution. It also offers the ability to pause and inspect the state of the browser at any point in your tests. WebdriverIO does not provide these debugging features out of the box, although it can be achieved with additional tools and workarounds.

  5. Automation Capabilities: Playwright offers advanced automation capabilities, such as the ability to interact with iframes, shadow DOM elements, and native file dialogs. WebdriverIO also supports these features but may require additional configuration or workarounds to achieve the same level of automation.

  6. Community and Ecosystem: WebdriverIO has a larger community and ecosystem compared to Playwright, which means there are more resources, plugins, and integrations available for WebdriverIO. However, Playwright has been rapidly gaining popularity and has a growing community and ecosystem as well.

In summary, Playwright offers a more modern and efficient approach to web automation with its new protocol and advanced features, while WebdriverIO provides a more widely supported solution with a larger community and ecosystem. The choice between the two depends on your specific requirements and preferences.

Advice on Playwright and WebdriverIO
Needs advice
on
JestJestSeleniumSelenium
and
WebdriverIOWebdriverIO
in

we are having one web application developed in Reacts.js. in the application, we have only 4 to 5 pages that we need to test. I am having experience in selenium with java. Please suggets which tool I should use. and why ............................ ............................ .............................

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Replies (1)
Prashanth Marappa
Senior Software Engineer at Mphasis · | 1 upvotes · 227.9K views
Recommends
on
SeleniumSelenium

with the help of selenium we can automate react js for functional testing

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Needs advice
on
CypressCypressSelenideSelenide
and
WebdriverIOWebdriverIO

Hi, I am starting out to test an application that is currently being developed - FE: React. BE: Node JS. I want the framework to be able to test all UI scenarios (from simple to complex) and also have the capability to test APIs. I also need to run tests across all OSs and Browsers (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS). I have also looked into react-testing-library and @TestProject.io. Any advice you can give as to which framework would be best and why would be so much appreciated! Thank you!!

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Replies (3)
Recommends
on
PlaywrightPlaywright

You should also definitely look into Playwright, which is a new automation tool from Microsoft building on top of the Puppeteer experience and trying to bring this experience in the cross browser space - very exciting project. Great team. Also CodeceptJS as already Playwright support which at a ton of valuable features on top of Playwright, give it a go!

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Jinesh Khimsaria
Test Automation Specialist at Personal · | 3 upvotes · 76.3K views
Recommends
on
WebdriverIOWebdriverIO

I'm also looking for the same, FE: React & BE: NodeJS. Cypress won't help as it lacks cross-browser testing, it doesn't support all the browsers. I'm still investigating it, but looks like WebdriverIO may fulfil what I'm looking for - Cross-browser testing, integration with CI/CD, running it as a docker service, good support on assertions & reporting of test results. Let me know if you found any information on any of the above mentioned points.

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Recommends
on
CodeceptJSCodeceptJS

Hi Esther, if you really need cross OS and cross device automation Cypress wont help, with WebdriverIO you can do it … and check out CodeceptJS, which is a wrapper around several frameworks (like WebdriverIO) and will support future players (currently for example upcoming Playwright) as well.

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Pros of Playwright
Pros of WebdriverIO
  • 14
    Cross browser
  • 10
    Open source
  • 9
    Test Runner with Playwright/test
  • 7
    Promise based
  • 7
    Well documented
  • 5
    Execute tests in parallel
  • 5
    Integrate your POMs as extensible fixtures
  • 5
    API Testing
  • 4
    Capture videos, screenshots and other artifacts on fail
  • 4
    Python Support
  • 3
    Context isolation
  • 3
    Inbuild reporters html,line,dot,json
  • 2
    Fastest
  • 11
    Various integrations to vendors like Sauce Labs
  • 10
    Open Source
  • 8
    Great community
  • 7
    Easy to setup
  • 4
    Best solution for broad browser support

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Cons of Playwright
Cons of WebdriverIO
  • 12
    Less help
  • 3
    Node based
  • 2
    Does not execute outside of browser
  • 8
    High maintenance

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What companies use Playwright?
What companies use WebdriverIO?
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What tools integrate with Playwright?
What tools integrate with WebdriverIO?

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What are some alternatives to Playwright and WebdriverIO?
Puppeteer
Puppeteer is a Node library which provides a high-level API to control headless Chrome over the DevTools Protocol. It can also be configured to use full (non-headless) Chrome.
Selenium
Selenium automates browsers. That's it! What you do with that power is entirely up to you. Primarily, it is for automating web applications for testing purposes, but is certainly not limited to just that. Boring web-based administration tasks can (and should!) also be automated as well.
Protractor
Protractor is an end-to-end test framework for Angular and AngularJS applications. Protractor runs tests against your application running in a real browser, interacting with it as a user would.
Cypress
Cypress is a front end automated testing application created for the modern web. Cypress is built on a new architecture and runs in the same run-loop as the application being tested. As a result Cypress provides better, faster, and more reliable testing for anything that runs in a browser. Cypress works on any front-end framework or website.
TestCafe
It is a pure node.js end-to-end solution for testing web apps. It takes care of all the stages: starting browsers, running tests, gathering test results and generating reports.
See all alternatives