Comparison

Playwright vs Selenium

On the evidence we track, Playwright leads this comparison with a composite score of 76/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Playwright76
Selenium68
Score
Vioscale score
Playwright76 / 100high · 77%
Selenium68 / 100high · 76%
Pricing
Free tier
Playwright
Selenium
Model
Playwrightopen_source
Seleniumopen_source
Price level
Playwrightfree
Seleniumfree
Transparent
Playwright
Selenium
Integrations
Count
Playwright4
Selenium5
Reliability
Status page
Playwright
Selenium
Adoption
Dependent repos
Playwright17,326
Selenium
Github stars
Playwright95,167
Selenium34,397
Package downloads weekly
Playwright24,331,800
Selenium13,857,103
Stackoverflow questions
Playwright9,000
Selenium
Activity
Commits last 30d
Playwright100
Selenium95
Release
Cadence days
Playwright13
Selenium30
History
Playwright20 items
Selenium20 items
License
Spdx
PlaywrightApache-2.0
SeleniumApache-2.0
Language
Primary
PlaywrightTypeScript
SeleniumJava
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Playwright7 items
Selenium

Capabilities

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

Core
Test types
Playwright-
Selenium-
Browser automation
Playwright
Selenium
Built-in assertion library
Playwright
Selenium-
Languages
PlaywrightTypeScript, Python, .NET, Java
SeleniumJava, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, .NET
Isolation
Mocking / stubbing
Playwright
Selenium-
Techniques
Snapshot testing
Playwright
Selenium-
Performance
Parallel execution
Playwright
Selenium
Insight
Code coverage
Playwright-
Selenium-
DX
Watch mode
Playwright-
Selenium-
Ops
CI integration
Playwright
Selenium

What each one is

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

Playwright

Leader

Playwright is an open-source framework for automating and testing web applications across Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit. It includes built-in waiting mechanisms, resilient element selection, and assertions designed to minimize test flakiness.

Independently observed

Selenium

Open-source tool that automates web browsers to enable automated testing of web applications, regression testing, and automation of repetitive web-based administrative tasks. Includes WebDriver for robust test automation, IDE for record-and-playback scripting, and Grid for distributed test execution.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

Playwright

Leader
Open source
as of verify ↗

Selenium

Open sourceFree tier

Free and open-source (Apache 2.0 license)

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
Playwright
Selenium
macOS
Playwright
Selenium
Windows
Playwright
Selenium
Linux
Playwright
Selenium
CLI
Playwright
Selenium
Deployment
Self-hosted
Playwright
Selenium

Integrations

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

Playwright

Leader
4 total
  • VS Code
  • Cursor
  • Claude Desktop
  • Windsurf
Independently observed

Selenium

5 total
  • Chrome
  • Firefox
  • Edge
  • Appium
  • Chrome for Testing (CfT)
Independently observed

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