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Head-to-head · End-to-End Testing Software

Playwright vs Selenium

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score Playwright #1 in End-to-End Testing Software 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Playwright
Selenium #3 in End-to-End Testing Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Selenium

Playwright leads on 0 checks, Selenium on 0, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 4 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scorePlaywright · 9.4/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresPlaywright · 3 of 3

Playwright scores higher on our rubric for end-to-end testing software: 9.4 against 9.1 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #3.

On browser support, Playwright gives you Multi_engine where Selenium offers Cross_browser.

Playwright is the better fit for teams building modern web E2E suites. Selenium is the better fit for engineering teams wanting a free browser standard.

  • Playwright fits best

    Teams building modern web E2E suites

  • Selenium fits best

    Engineering teams wanting a free browser standard

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Side by side

Feature Playwright 9.4/10 Visit ↗ Selenium 9.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 9.1
Ranking #1 in End-to-End Testing Software #3 in End-to-End Testing Software
Best for Teams building modern web E2E suites Engineering teams wanting a free browser standard
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted, Desktop Self-hosted, Browser extension
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome extension
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Playwright 3/3 · Selenium 2/3
Self-hosted runner ✓ ✓
Mobile web testing ✓ ✓
Visual testing ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Specs
Test authoring Code Code
Browser support Multi_engine Cross_browser
Parallel runs Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Covers Chromium, Firefox, WebKit, Chrome, and Edge
  • Supports parallel execution, worker processes, and test sharding
  • Rich traces combine DOM snapshots, network requests, logs, and screenshots
  • Free, open-source browser automation with Apache 2.0 licensing
  • WebDriver, Selenium IDE, Grid, parallel execution, and cross-browser testing
  • Supports multiple languages, remote execution, and self-hosted runners
Cons
  • Code-based authoring requires programming knowledge
  • It is a framework rather than a hosted testing service
  • AI features are available, but their specific capabilities are not detailed
  • Does not include a testing framework or built-in test runner
  • Requires teams to pair Selenium with a language-specific test runner
  • Broader setup and maintenance responsibilities than a hosted testing service
Our verdict

Playwright is an open-source framework for web automation and end-to-end testing. It is designed for teams building modern web E2E suites across TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Java, and .NET. A single API drives Chromium, Firefox, and…

Read the review →

Selenium is an open-source suite for automating web browsers, aimed primarily at developers and QA teams building browser-based regression and end-to-end tests. Its WebDriver component provides language-specific client bindings and a…

Read the review →
  1. PlaywrightEnd-to-End Testing Software 9.4Free plan
  2. SeleniumEnd-to-End Testing Software 9.1Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Playwright — where it wins

    • Covers Chromium, Firefox, WebKit, Chrome, and Edge
    • Supports parallel execution, worker processes, and test sharding
    • Rich traces combine DOM snapshots, network requests, logs, and screenshots

    Where it doesn't

    • Code-based authoring requires programming knowledge
    • It is a framework rather than a hosted testing service
    • AI features are available, but their specific capabilities are not detailed

  • Selenium — where it wins

    • Free, open-source browser automation with Apache 2.0 licensing
    • WebDriver, Selenium IDE, Grid, parallel execution, and cross-browser testing
    • Supports multiple languages, remote execution, and self-hosted runners

    Where it doesn't

    • Does not include a testing framework or built-in test runner
    • Requires teams to pair Selenium with a language-specific test runner
    • Broader setup and maintenance responsibilities than a hosted testing service

More comparisons

All End-to-End testing software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update