The Top 10 Playwright Alternatives in 2024

If you’re familiar with the word Playwright in 2024, you’re either looking for an end-to-end browser testing tool, or really into musicals. We’re going to move forward assuming that it’s not the latter, though.

Playwright is a powerful, open-source front-end testing tool that is making waves. It is designed to be the end-all for browser testing, accumulating into a tool that can test any browser on any platform using a single API.

By the way, if you’re looking for tools to help you with API monitoring, then check out the 10 Best API Monitoring Tools in 2024.

However, like any open-source tool, Playwright isn’t exactly “free”. True, there are no fees or subscriptions required to use the tool, but it will undoubtedly contribute to some extensive overhead. The reality is that you will need to front the bill for your servers and pay the salaries of the people you have on staff to manage Playwright.

If you’re looking for a Playwright alternative, then you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’re going to go over the best front-end testing tools on the market.

Just a heads up, though. If you’re looking for a Playwright alternative because you’re tired of the overhead costs, then Better Stack may be able to help!

Better Stack is known as a monitoring tool that keeps tabs on critical infrastructure elements, schedules on-call coverage, and helps you resolve incidents before they affect the end user. With Better Stack, you can also run Playwright script so that you can monitor your front end, too. Just copy and paste, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Playwright features

Since Playwright is open-source, there’s a lot of flexibility in terms of what it can do. Essentially, Playwright is a Node.js library that lets you automate and script browsers using a single API.

Playwright is also very flexible in the fact that it can be used in any modern rendering engine. Chrome, Firefox, Webkit, Safari, and more, Playwright covers it all. You can also run it on Windows, MacOS, Linux, locally or CI, headed or headless.

A cool feature that Playwright promotes is their “No Flake” tests. Using an auto-wait function, Playwright will wait for elements to be actionable before performing any actions. Additionally, checks are automatically retired until they’re needed again, but only when the necessary conditions are met.

The Top 10 Playwright Alternatives 2024

Playwright is a great tool, and it can even run in tools like Better Stack with a simple copy-and-paste function, but it’s still not for everyone. If you’re still on the hunt for a new tool, then stay tuned. Here are the top 10 Playwright alternatives that you can use right now:

1. Cypress

Cypress, like Playwright, offers a lot in terms of flexibility. The core function of Cypress tests modern apps in the browser directly. Because of this, you can watch components and end-to-end tests in real-time, all while your app is being developed.

With Cypress, you can also debug failures. Since it's an in-browser tool, it’s quite easy to debug using the developer tools that you probably already use.

Cypress doesn’t have any servers, drivers, or dependencies that contribute to complicated installations and configurations. Cypress actually promotes any user’s ability to write a passing test within a few minutes.

Not a big fan of Cypress? Check out some similar tools to Cypress.

🌟Key features

• Frontend testing
• API testing

➕Pros

• Easy setup and fast execution
• Real-time browser testing
• Cross-browser
• Cross-platform

➖Cons

• User reviews report issues with testing Chromium-based browsers
• Tests can not execute in multiple browser sessions
• Some third-party plugins are required for important features like reports, XPath, and more

💲Pricing

Cypress has both an open-source and paid option. The only difference between the two is that with open-source, you’re hosting the service yourself, and with the paid version, it’s hosted in their cloud.

The first paid plan is the Team plan. It starts at $75/month and includes 50 users and up to 10,000 tests.

The Business plan starts at $300/month, but it also includes just 50 users and 10,000 tests. However, with this tier, you gain access to features like Spec Prioritization, SSO, and Auto Cancellation.

They also offer an Enterprise plan, but you have to reach out to sales to get any prices. All the specifications of this plan are custom and can scale to meet your needs.

2. Selenium

Selenium is primarily used for automating applications for testing purposes, but it doesn’t stop there. Selenium is robust and offers loads in terms of browser automation. Selenium’s limitations are only equal to the limitations of your imagination.

Selenium provides three key solutions: WebDriver, IDE, and Grid. WebDriver comprises language-specific web-driving bindings. IDE enables you to record and replay browser interactions using Chrome, Firefox, and Edge add-ons. Lastly, Grid helps you execute tests across various combinations of browsers and operating systems.

🌟Key features

• Automated web browser and mobile testing

➕Pros

• Open-source
• Full browser automation
• Cross-platform
• Parallel testing
• Language independent

➖Cons

• Overhead can be expensive with maintenance, running your server, etc.
• User reviews report that Selenium struggles to generate test reports
• Script-based approach is slow for testing development
• Requires some third-party tool bindings

3. Testim

Testim taps into the power of AI to boost the reliability and efficiency of automated test results. If you're dealing with trickier situations, Testim gives you the flexibility to inject more advanced JavaScript and even has Chrome extensions for recording test steps.

That said, if you're searching for something a lot more than basic but not overly complex either, Testim fits the bill nicely as a Playwright alternative. It manages to balance user-friendliness and robust capabilities, making it a solid choice for a testing solution.

Testim leverages AI throughout the entire testing process to make test creation and maintenance efficient and smart. This AI-powered feature is seamlessly integrated into Testim's testing workflow.

🌟Key features

• Automated web browser and mobile testing

➕Pros

• AI-driven assistance
• Customizable with JavaScript
• Easily scalable
• Easy-to-use Chrome extension

➖Cons

• Utilizes some open-source frameworks, but not “open-source”
• Do not offer prices online
• User reviews complain about limited integration options
• Very few reviews online

💲Pricing

As I mentioned just about, Testim isn’t open-source. To take advantage of everything I mentioned, you’ll have to pay for their services. What’s more, they don’t offer their prices online, which is unfortunate. If you want any more information, you’ll have to reach out to their sales team for a quote.

4. AskUI

Starting in 2021, AskUI has quickly become a fan favorite in the UI testing industry. It works by running simulations and automating all user interface commands. These commands are meant to mimic real user interactions, using collected data and deep learning tech to analyze and fix UI elements.

AskUI is platform-independent and leverages AI to automate frameworks like Flutter, QT, and Xamarin. It also implements cross-platform workflows for end-to-end automation across multiple applications.

AskUI is great for automating enterprise application testing, too. Get valuable insight through platforms like SAP, Salesforce, Citrix, and ServiceNow. Test native mobile applications and automate on Android and iOS with support for virtual and real devices.

🌟Key features

• Automated UI testing

➕Pros

• Open-source
• Cross-platform
• Cross-application
• Enterprise application support
• Native mobile testing

➖Cons

• Overhead can be expensive with maintenance, running your server, etc.
• Very few reviews online

5. Puppeteer

Puppeteer is maintained by Google and has become one of the most popular testing automation tools available today. It’s known for being a simple and reliable way to automate browser testing.

Puppeteer isn’t necessarily known as a testing tool. Its capabilities are a bit more broad than that, really landing it in a vague “automation” category. That said, it’s a very popular choice for things like scraping and PDF generation, too.

Puppeteer and Selenium use the same debugger protocol to execute clicks. Believe it or not, both Puppeteer, Selenium, and even Playwright utilize identical code for executing clicks.

Above anything, Puppeteer is known for being extremely easy to use. Being maintained by Google, you can expect some quality-of-life features like automatic Chrome downloads and more.

🌟Key features

• Test automation

➕Pros

• Open-source
• Maintained by Google
• Easy to set up
• JavaScript-focused

➖Cons

• Overhead can be expensive with maintenance, running your server, etc.
• Only supports Chrome and Firefox
• Feels more like an “automation” tool than a testing tool

6. Jest

Speaking of testing automation tools managed by giants, Jest is a JavaScript testing framework focused on correcting any JavaScript codebase and managed by Meta. Jest is known for working great for projects that utilize TypeScript, Babel, Node.js, Vue.js, React, Svetle, Angular, and more.

Jest earns some unique points for its built-in mocking capabilities. Basically, this makes it easier to test certain modules and functions. It’s especially useful for isolating functions and components and then testing them.

Equally as useful, Jest doesn’t require a complex setup. The sensible defaults make it easy to adopt, and you can get started relatively quickly.

🌟Key features

• Automated web browser and mobile testing

➕Pros

• Open-source
• Unit testing
• Mock testing
• Cross-platform testing capabilities

➖Cons

• Overhead can be expensive with maintenance, running your server, etc.
• User reviews report that higher-capacity loads and large amounts of code slow it down

7. Katalon

Katalon piggybacks off the power of Appium and Selenium, which makes it a well-rounded and extremely powerful front-end testing solution. It’s versatile in the sense that it allows for multi-environment testing across web, mobile, API, and desktop applications.

Katalon is known for offering a user-friendly interface that simplifies testing tasks that might otherwise be more complex. Katalon is great because it caters to both technical and not so technical users. With its robust feature set and ease of use, Katalon makes a good choice for diverse testing teams looking for a Playwright alternative.

🌟Key features

• Automated web browser and mobile testing

➕Pros

• Paid and open-source options
• No technical skills required
• Utilizes AI
• Keyword-driven testing with fast scripting capabilities

➖Cons

• Overhead can be expensive with maintenance, running your server, etc.
• User reviews report specific hardware requirements
• User reviews report needing to pay for licensing to utilize CI/CD integration
• User reviews report an inactive open-source community

💲Pricing

Katalon has an open-source option, but it also offers a cloud-based solution. This could be a pro or a con, depending on who you ask.

Katalon starts at $208/month, however, the $208 only covers Katalon Studio Enterprise. Katalon TestCloud is an extra $192 per month, Katalon Runtime Engine is an extra $166, and Katalon TestOps is $41/month extra minimum.

8. LambdaTest

Based out of San Francisco, LambdaTest is a test orchestration platform with a lot to offer. It’s a secure, reliable, and performance-driven test execution cloud that’s been built with scale in mind.

As far as testing capabilities go, LambdaTest offers all the essentials. They offer live and automated testing for both mobile and desktop applications and back it all up with AI-powered test analytics. They also use AI to test for visual cloud regression, essentially saving you money by testing for otherwise costly visual bugs.

What makes LambdaTest unique on this list of Playwright alternatives is its ability to test smart TV applications. You can execute automated testing for OTT solutions on your smart TV like Apple TV, Roku, and more.

🌟Key features

• Mobile apps and cross-browser testing

➕Pros

• Cross-platform
• Visual regression cloud
• Smart TV app testing
• AI-powered test execution

➖Cons

• Not open-source (could be a pro in some eyes)
• User reviews report some performance issues
• User reviews report an overwhelming integration experience

💲Pricing

Because it’s not an open-source tool, LambdaTest comes with a price tag. Fortunately, their offerings are relatively solid.

They offer a free version of their tool that only offers 1 parallel test. There’s nothing fancy here, but it is real-time and supports over 200 browser combinations.

Next, they have what they call the “Live” plan. This plan starts at $19 per month. This is the price for 1 parallel test, but the number of said tests can be customized to meet your needs, provided you’re willing to pay more. This plan comes with unlimited Live real-time testing and supports over 3,000 browser combinations.

After that, you’ll find the “Real Device” plan. This plan starts at $35 and again it only comes with 1 parallel test. What defers this plan from the others is the ability to test real, live mobile devices.

Finally, they have an Enterprise option. This is a completely custom package that is tailored to your needs. For more information on that, you’ll have to contact their sales team.

9. Rainforest QA

Rainforest QA is an innovative, codeless software testing solution. It's well known for curating solutions that help simplify the testing process for teams and improve efficiency.

What makes Rainforest QA a great playwright alternative is that it doesn’t require deep coding knowledge. It's oriented towards non-technical users, but it’s not necessarily specifically catered for them. In actuality, the way RainforestQA standardized testing simply reduces the amount of time and resources needed for anyone of any skill set.

RainforestQA executes actions outside of the normal browser environment, thus significantly expanding your testing capabilities. It’s fairly easy to integrate with existing CI/CD processes, creating pipelines that can enhance your workflow efficiency.

🌟Key features

• Automated web browser testing

➕Pros

• Open-source
• AI-driven
• No coding skills required
• Easy to integrate with existing CI/CD processes
• Broadens testing capabilities beyond browser interactions

➖Cons

• Overhead can be expensive with maintenance, running your server, etc.
• No mobile app testing
• User reviews report accuracy issues with tests
• User reviews report limited testing customization options
• User reviews report that RainforestQA is unable to test on local environments

10. Keploy

Like many on this list, Keploy is an open-source testing automation tool, and it’s designed to help you turn real user traffic into test cases. Keploy simplifies API testing and focuses on cutting down on the effort it takes to maintain test suites by automating test generation.

Keploy offers an automated test and stub generation feature that makes it one of the most compelling Playwright alternatives. Essentially, this feature creates test cases out of real user interactions. In turn, this reduces the need for manual test writing and saves time and effort, which could translate into saving you money.

Keploy also offers native integrations with plenty of popular tools and workflows that you’re probably already using. Subsequently, teams can pick up Keploy pretty quickly and integrate it into their development process without much friction.

🌟Key features

• Automated API testing

➕Pros

• Open-source
• Automated test and stub generation
• Native integrations
• AI-driven

➖Cons

• Overhead can be expensive with maintenance, running your server, etc.
• Very few reviews online

Top 10 Playwright Alternatives Comparison

Conclusion

There you have it: The top 10 Playwright alternatives on the market today. Please feel free to reference this page and the comparison table above whenever you need. It’s helpful for quickly identifying the strengths of a certain tool, and whether or not it’s a paid SaaS or open-source.

Although we’ve mentioned it a few times here today, I’ll stress once more that just because a tool is open-source, it doesn’t mean that it will never cost you anything. All open source means in this case is that you host it yourself, which will come with its own costs, especially the developer salaries.

Above all else, we’ll take these final moments to encourage you to do your research and see which tool is best for you. If you’re still a big fan of Playwright, but not so much the self-hosting, then don't forget that Better Stack can run those scripts for you!

Article by

Zach McDaniel

With his laptop as a sword and coffee machine as a shield, Zach is a content strategist here at Better Stack. When he's not wordsmithing, he's putting together PCs, working on cars, or scheming about how to own a zoo one day.

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