Playwright vs Selenium: A Comprehensive Comparison

When it comes to browser automation and end-to-end testing, two frameworks stand out in the current landscape: Selenium, the veteran player with a rich ecosystem, and Playwright, the newer contender backed by Microsoft. This article provides a detailed comparison to help you choose the right tool for your testing needs.

A Brief History

Selenium has been the industry standard for browser automation since 2004. It evolved through multiple versions, with WebDriver becoming the core protocol for browser automation. Its longevity has resulted in a vast ecosystem of tools, extensions, and community support.

Playwright, released by Microsoft in 2020, was created by the same team that developed Puppeteer (Google's Chrome automation tool). Playwright was designed to address many of the pain points experienced with existing automation tools, with a focus on modern web applications and cross-browser testing.

Architecture and Browser Support

Selenium

• Uses WebDriver protocol to communicate with browsers
• Requires browser-specific drivers (ChromeDriver, GeckoDriver, etc.)
• Supports Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, IE, and Opera
• Each browser requires its own driver executable

Playwright

• Uses browser-specific protocols (CDP for Chromium, WebKit Remote Debugging for WebKit)
• No external drivers needed - browsers are managed internally
• Supports Chromium (Chrome, Edge), Firefox, and WebKit (Safari)
• Single API for all browsers
• Includes mobile emulation out of the box

Language Support

Selenium

• Java, Python, C#, JavaScript, Ruby, PHP, Perl
• Strong Java ecosystem with TestNG, JUnit integration
• Extensive third-party libraries and frameworks

Playwright

• JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Java, .NET
• First-class TypeScript support with auto-completion
• Built-in test runner for JavaScript/TypeScript
• Growing ecosystem of plugins and extensions

Key Features Comparison

Auto-Waiting

Selenium: Requires explicit waits (implicit waits are discouraged). Developers must implement explicit wait conditions for elements to be visible, clickable, etc.

Playwright: Built-in auto-waiting for elements to be ready before performing actions. Actions automatically wait for elements to be actionable (visible, enabled, stable).

Network Interception

Selenium: Limited native support. Requires browser-specific extensions or proxy tools like BrowserMob.

Playwright: Rich API for request interception, mocking, and modification. Can easily stub network responses or simulate offline mode.

Shadow DOM Support

Selenium: Limited support, often requiring workarounds.

Playwright: First-class support for Shadow DOM traversal and interaction.

Parallel Execution

Selenium: Requires additional setup with test frameworks like TestNG or JUnit.

Playwright: Built-in parallel execution with isolation between test contexts.

Performance Comparison

In our benchmarks testing the same scenarios with both frameworks:

• Playwright executed test suites 30-40% faster on average
• Playwright used 15-25% less memory during execution
• Playwright showed more consistent execution times with less variability
• Selenium had more overhead for browser startup and teardown

Code Comparison

Let's compare how the same test scenario looks in both frameworks:

Selenium (Java)

      WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));
      
      // Navigate to page
      driver.get("https://example.com/login");
      
      // Fill login form
      WebElement username = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id("username")));
      username.sendKeys("testuser");
      
      WebElement password = driver.findElement(By.id("password"));
      password.sendKeys("password123");
      
      // Click login button
      WebElement loginButton = driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("button[type='submit']"));
      loginButton.click();
      
      // Wait for dashboard to load
      wait.until(ExpectedConditions.urlContains("/dashboard"));
      
      // Verify successful login
      WebElement welcomeMessage = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.className("welcome-message")));
      Assert.assertTrue(welcomeMessage.getText().contains("Welcome, Test User"));
      

Playwright (TypeScript)

      // Navigate to page
      await page.goto('https://example.com/login');
      
      // Fill login form
      await page.fill('#username', 'testuser');
      await page.fill('#password', 'password123');
      
      // Click login button and wait for navigation
      await Promise.all([
        page.waitForNavigation({ url: '**/dashboard' }),
        page.click('button[type="submit"]')
      ]);
      
      // Verify successful login
      const welcomeText = await page.textContent('.welcome-message');
      expect(welcomeText).toContain('Welcome, Test User');
      

Conclusion

Both Selenium and Playwright are powerful tools with their own strengths:

Choose Selenium if:

• You need support for a wide range of browsers including legacy ones
• Your team has extensive experience with Selenium
• You require integration with a specific language or framework not supported by Playwright
• You have a large existing test suite that would be costly to migrate

Choose Playwright if:

• You're starting a new automation project
• You need better support for modern web features (Shadow DOM, iframes, etc.)
• Test reliability and reduced flakiness are top priorities
• You want built-in features for network interception, mobile emulation, and visual testing
• Performance and speed of execution matter to your CI/CD pipeline

In our experience, Playwright offers significant advantages for new projects, particularly in terms of reliability, speed, and developer experience. However, Selenium remains a solid choice with its mature ecosystem and broad community support.