Selenium WebDriver is Still the Best Web Test Automation Framework in 2024

This is an abridged version of my Medium article (2024-01-03)

Update (2023–01–15): FAQ for these two surveys.

On 2023–12–27, A cypress tester posted a survey in LinkedIn’s Software Testing & Automation group (with 350K+ members).

Web Test Automation Framework Survey

Below is the screenshot of the result on that day. (I will post the final survey results later). I show the initial day’s outcome to assess whether there is a significant variation in the final result. (the verdict: no variation)

The question is neutral. The (initial) result might surprise the author, whose profile (shown in the survey post) is “Cypress | JavaScript”.

The result does not surprise me, though. Michael Palotas did a similar survey during the TestFlix conference in October 2023: "The State of Test Automation: Insights From The Field":

• Selenium: 59%
• Playwright: 8%
• Cypress: 9.5%
• Appium: 9.5%
• Others: 14%

This includes non-web test automation, i.e. API or mobile, e.g. Appium. Let me make a small adjustment to focus on just web test automation, excluding the portion of Appium and small of others, and apply them equally.

• Selenium: 59 + 4.5% = 63.5%
• Playwright: 8 + 4.5% = 12.5%
• Cypress: 9.5 + 4.5% = 14%
• Others: 10%

It is quite close to the recent one on LinkedIn’s Software Testing & Automation group, right? If I apply the non-web proportionally, the result would be even more so.

I noted Michael Palotas’s TestFlix survey but didn’t share or write an article about it. Having spent 3.5 years as an IT research scientist, I cultivated a practice of citing at least two independent sources.

The Result

The LinkedIn Survey, from a statistical point of view, is a good source:

• Only approved members can vote
• there are a large number of responses, ~ 1000
• from a large audience base, ~350K
• no major variations.

The final result:

The Analyse

I draw the following conclusions from the above and my experience (17 years in test automation).

1. Selenium WebDriver is a clear leader by a huge margin.

You might have seen posts or comments about “Selenium is the past” or “WebDriver has been replaced by new modern frameworks” …, oh well, they are wrong.

2. Playwright has taken over Cypress

Combining Michael Palotas’s TestFlix survey, we can conclude that Playwright is eating Cypress’s share quickly (not affecting Selenium’s dominant position). Assuming the samples are the same, within ~ three months,

• Playwright: 12.5% -> 16%
• Cypress: 14% -> 11%
• Selenium: 64.5 -> 70%

Playwright is not in a position to challenge Selenium, which is actually extending its lead.

3. Selenium and Playwright are the two options for web test automation.

First of all, we can exclude the others (all added up), merely 3%.

Some say, how about the 3rd place, Cypress (11%)? But did you notice the alarming rate drop? The playwright’s gain is on Cypress’ loss while Selenium strengthens its lead by a huge margin. Also, cypress.io is dying .

In recent years, there have been too many failed JavaScript Test Automation Frameworks, such as PhantomJS, WebDriverIO, Protractor, TestCafe, …, etc.

Before another hype, there would be Selenium WebDriver and Playwright.

Which one will you choose for the 2024 Test Automation Work?

Between Selenium WebDriver and Playwright, which one will you choose for a new Web Test Automation?

The correct answer, of course, is and always has been Selenium WebDriver.

I know that some percentage will choose the wrong option: Playwright, as many have done so, PhantomJS, TestCafe, and Cypress.

Some might argue that "Zhimin, your liking Selenium does not mean it is right". This statement is not wrong. However, we are talking about the facts here.

1. Selenium WebDriver was released in 2011.
2. There have been many web test automation frameworks over the last 12 years, claiming to be "Selenium Killer". Those so-called "Selenium Killer" frameworks either were dead, such as Protractor, or dying, such as Cypress.
3. Selenium WebDriver still leads others by a huge margin, based on the above two surveys.

I like Selenium WebDriver and have been using it successfully for various projects for over 12 years. I have been providing proof, like the one below, in my articles all along.

"Showcase a 500+ End-to-End (via UI) Test Suite: E2E Test Automation is Surely Feasible for Large/Complex Apps"

Related reading:

My eBooks:

• Practical Web Test Automation with Selenium WebDriver
• Practical Continuous Testing: make Agile/DevOps real