Comparison

Cypress vs Playwright

On the evidence we track, Playwright leads this comparison with a composite score of 78/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Cypress71
★Playwright78
Score
vioscaleAI score
Cypress71 / 100high · 77%
Playwright78 / 100high · 76%
Pricing
Free tier
Cypress✓
Playwright–
Model
Cypressfreemium
Playwrightopen_source
Price level
Cypresshigh
Playwrightfree
Starting price
Cypress$799
Playwright–
Transparent
Cypress✓
Playwright–
Integrations
Count
Cypress4
Playwright6
Reliability
Status page
Cypress✓
Playwright–
Adoption
Dependent repos
Cypress126,733
Playwright12,585
Github stars
Cypress51,043
Playwright97,789
Package downloads weekly
Cypress5,949,802
Playwright27,066,229
Stackoverflow questions
Cypress30,000
Playwright9,000
Activity
Commits last 30d
Cypress100
Playwright100
Release
Cadence days
Cypress13
Playwright20
History
Cypress20 items
Playwright20 items
License
Spdx
CypressMIT
PlaywrightApache-2.0
Language
Primary
CypressTypeScript
PlaywrightTypeScript
Content
Faq
Cypress8 items
Playwright7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for testing tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
Test types
Cypress-
PlaywrightUnit + integration + E2E
Browser automation
Cypress✓
Playwright✓
Built-in assertion library
Cypress✓
Playwright✓
Languages
CypressJavaScript/TypeScript
PlaywrightTypeScript, Python, .NET, Java
Isolation
Mocking / stubbing
Cypress-
Playwright✓
Techniques
Snapshot testing
Cypress-
Playwright✓
Performance
Parallel execution
Cypress✓
Playwright✓
Insight
Code coverage
Cypress✓
Playwright-
DX
Watch mode
Cypress-
Playwright-
Ops
CI integration
Cypress✓
Playwright✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Cypress

A testing platform combining an open-source desktop application with a cloud service for managing test execution, scaling tests across CI environments, and providing real-time insights into test results and application quality.

Independently observed

Playwright

Leader

A testing framework that enables automated testing across multiple web browsers using a single API. Supports end-to-end and API testing with automatic waiting, assertion retries, parallel execution, test recording, and visual regression testing.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Cypress

from $799/yrHybridFree tier30-day trial

Free tier for open-source projects; paid plans from $799/year billed annually

  • FreeFree
    • Basic test execution and storage
  • Starter$799/year
  • Business$3,199/year
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Unlock all features
as of verify ↗

Playwright

Leader
Open source
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Cypress✓
Playwright✗
macOS
Cypress✗
Playwright✓
Windows
Cypress✗
Playwright✓
Linux
Cypress✗
Playwright✓
CLI
Cypress✓
Playwright✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Cypress✓
Playwright✗
Self-hosted
Cypress✗
Playwright✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Cypress

9 total
  • Jira
  • GitHub Enterprise
  • GitLab Enterprise
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Okta
  • Azure AD
  • Slack
  • Microsoft Teams
Independently observed

Playwright

Leader
6 total
  • VS Code
  • Cursor
  • Claude Desktop
  • Windsurf
  • GitHub Copilot
  • Claude Code
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Cypress or Playwright: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.