Compare Playwright to TestCafe
Recently, I had the opportunity to compare TestCafe with Playwright, and this post shares my findings. If you are comfortable with TestCafe and it meets all your requirements, you may not need to look further, as both tools behave similarly at a high level. However, if you are considering using TestCafe but haven’t started yet, this post could help make your decision easier.
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Based on my experience, comparing automation tools necessitates careful examination of various crucial features. These include platform and language support, features and functionality, ease of use and learning curve, performance and scalability, licensing and cost, and specific use case considerations. By evaluating these factors according to your project requirements and available resources, you can select the most suitable automation tool for your needs. Therefore, the information in this post is categorised into two sections: similarities and differences, taking these factors into account.
Similarities:
- Both Playwright and TestCafe use a multi-threaded approach for parallel test execution, enabling faster overall performance.
- Both employ mechanisms to ensure test isolation: The playwright uses separate browser contexts for each worker. TestCafe uses a dedicated thread for communication between test code and browser, ensuring smooth operation.
- Both leverage internal optimizations to improve test execution efficiency: The playwright pre-fetches resources and utilizes the Chromium DevTools Protocol. TestCafe caches page elements uses asynchronous operations, and optimizes network communication.
- Both Playwright and TestCafe facilitate cross-browser testing. However, TestCafe’s mobile browser support is somewhat limited in comparison to Playwright. TestCafe only supports Chromium family browsers, WebKit, and Firefox, whereas Playwright also supports Opera and a few additional browsers.
Differences:
- Worker Pool vs. Dedicated Thread: Playwright employs a worker pool for parallel execution, potentially providing superior scalability and resource utilization compared to TestCafe’s single-thread approach. However, TestCafe excels in terms of simplicity and ease of use.
- Approach to Browser Automation: Playwright, which uses the Chromium DevTools Protocol for browser automation, provides a wider range of features and functionalities compared to TestCafe. TestCafe’s internal automation mechanisms, however, guarantee efficient operation for smaller test suites.
- Reporting and debugging tools: Playwright offers more advanced reporting and debugging tools, including tracing capabilities and detailed logs.
- Built-in assertions: Playwright supports a wide range of built-in and custom assertions and integrates with libraries like Jest, Mocha, and Jasmine. Conversely, TestCafe offers basic built-in assertions, with limited support for custom ones and restricted integration with external libraries, relying primarily on its native functionality.
- Programming languages: Playwright focuses primarily on JavaScript and TypeScript, offering comprehensive features and extensive documentation. Although other languages such as Python, Java, and .NET are supported through actively developed SDKs, they may not be as mature as JavaScript and TypeScript. TestCafe, on the other hand, only supports JavaScript and TypeScript but also provides well-rounded features and documentation.
- License: TestCafe requires a paid subscription for commercial use. While Playwright is open-source under the Apache License, TestCafe requires a 12-month subscription from DevExpress for commercial websites or applications. This subscription includes 12 months of updates for each licensed product.
- Premium features: Features like visually recording tests, advanced test selectors, an intelligent wait mechanism, and a test development environment are premium in TestCafe, but they are included by default in Playwright.
My recent publication compiled a comprehensive collection of 100 similar typescript programs. Each program not only elucidates essential Typescript concepts and expounds upon the significance of test automation but also provides practical guidance on its implementation using Playwright. This resource will undoubtedly be valuable if you look deeper into similar topics.
