Playwright vs Puppeteer: Pros & Cons

Here's a clear comparison of Playwright vs Puppeteer, two popular Node.js libraries used for browser automation and end-to-end testing.


⚔️ Playwright vs Puppeteer

Feature Playwright Puppeteer

Developed by Microsoft Google

Browser Support Chromium, Firefox, WebKit Chromium only (Chrome/Edge)

Cross-browser testing ✅ Yes (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit/Safari) ❌ No (Chromium only)

Mobile emulation ✅ Yes (iOS and Android via WebKit) ✅ Yes (limited to Chromium)

Multiple tabs/contexts ✅ Advanced support ✅ Supported, but more limited

Auto-waiting for elements ✅ Built-in ❌ Manual (you need to add waits/sleeps often)

Network Interception/Mocking ✅ Full support ⚠️ Limited

Test runner included ✅ Built-in test runner (@playwright/test) ❌ No, you need something like Jest/Mocha

Headless mode ✅ Yes ✅ Yes

Ease of use 👍 Modern API, slightly more complex ✅ Simpler and lightweight

Documentation 📘 Excellent 📘 Excellent

Community & Ecosystem Growing fast More mature and stable


✅ Pros & ❌ Cons

Playwright

Pros:


✅ Supports all major browsers (including Safari via WebKit)


✅ Better for modern testing needs: multi-tabs, multiple contexts, iframes


✅ Built-in test runner and tracing/debugging tools


✅ Auto-waits for elements to be ready before interacting


✅ Handles complex interactions better


Cons:


❌ Slightly heavier and more complex API


❌ Newer – smaller ecosystem than Puppeteer (but catching up fast)


❌ Larger install size due to bundled browsers


Puppeteer

Pros:


✅ Lightweight and easier to get started


✅ Well-integrated with Chrome (built by the Chrome team)


✅ Great for simple scripts and scraping tasks


✅ Faster installs if you only need Chromium


Cons:


❌ Limited to Chromium-based browsers


❌ Requires manual waits (flaky tests)


❌ No built-in test runner (needs extra tools like Jest)


🏁 Summary

Use Case Best Choice

Cross-browser testing ✅ Playwright

Simple Chrome automation or scraping ✅ Puppeteer

Complex E2E testing (multi-tabs, wait-free tests) ✅ Playwright

Lightweight and fast setup ✅ Puppeteer


If you're starting a new test suite and need robustness + cross-browser support, Playwright is generally recommended.


If you're doing quick automations or Chrome-only tasks, Puppeteer is simple and effective.


Would you like a sample test written in both tools side by side?

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