Selenium vs Playwright

This page avoids claims about market share or speed benchmarks that we cannot source. Where something depends on your situation, it says so.

At a glance

The same test, side by side

Selenium (Java):

WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
driver.get("https://example.com/login");
driver.findElement(By.id("email")).sendKeys("[email protected]");
driver.findElement(By.id("password")).sendKeys("secret123");
driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("button[type='submit']")).click();
new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10))
    .until(ExpectedConditions.urlContains("/dashboard"));
driver.quit();

Playwright (TypeScript):

test('login', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://example.com/login');
  await page.getByLabel('Email').fill('[email protected]');
  await page.getByLabel('Password').fill('secret123');
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Sign in' }).click();
  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/dashboard/);
});

The Playwright version is shorter because the runner, the browser lifecycle and the waiting come with it. The Selenium version is not worse; it is just the part you build yourself in a framework.

Where Selenium is the better choice

• Your team or company already has a large Selenium suite. Rewriting for its own sake rarely pays.
• You need a language Playwright does not cover, or the widest range of real browser and device combinations through a cloud grid.
• Job listings you want ask for it. Many Indian IT services job descriptions still list Selenium with Java. Check with the resume keyword matcher against a few real job descriptions instead of trusting anyone's opinion, including ours.
• You also test native mobile apps and want to stay in the WebDriver family with Appium.

Where Playwright is the better choice

• New web projects where you can pick the tool.
• You want fewer timing-related flaky tests out of the box.
• You want traces, network mocking and API tests in one tool.
• Developers and testers share the same TypeScript codebase.

How to decide

1. Look at ten job descriptions for the roles you want. Count which tool each names.
2. If most name Selenium and Java, learn that first and add Playwright later.
3. If you are free to choose, or the jobs name Playwright, start there: you will be writing real tests sooner.
4. Either way, learn the ideas that transfer: locators, waiting, page objects, test independence and CI.

In an interview, do not argue that one is "better". Say what each is good at and which you would choose for the project in front of you.

Official sites, for the current install steps: Selenium and Playwright.