Playwright vs. Selenium 2026: What Every QA Automation Engineer Must Know

In this post, I’ll break down the two most popular test automation frameworks: Playwright and Selenium, and what they mean for your automation strategy in 2026.

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𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

The automation framework you choose fundamentally determines:

Test reliability - Will tests be flaky or stable?

Development speed - How quickly can you write and maintain tests?

Feature availability - What’s included vs. what requires additional setup?

Team productivity - How much time is spent on plumbing vs. actual testing?

Maintenance overhead - How often will framework limitations slow you down?

ℹ️ Choosing the wrong framework leads to endless setup, flaky tests, and frustrated teams spending more time fixing infrastructure than writing tests.

🟢 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐢𝐧-𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Playwright is Microsoft’s modern test automation framework built from the ground up with everything a QA engineer needs, included out of the box.

What comes built-in:

∙ Auto-waits and actionability checks

∙ API testing capabilities

∙ Screenshots and video recording

∙ Test generator (Codegen)

∙ Network mocking and interception

∙ Trace viewer for debugging

∙ Parallel execution

Think of it as the “iPhone” of test automation - it just works, right out of the box.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬:

∙ Microsoft (obviously - they built it)

∙ VS Code testing

∙ Modern startups building new test suites

∙ Teams migrating from Selenium for better reliability

Playwright shines when organizations need:

∙ Fast test execution with built-in parallelization

∙ Reliable tests without flakiness from timing issues

∙ Full-stack testing (UI + API) in one framework

∙ Modern web support (Shadow DOM, iframes, web components)

∙ Quick onboarding for new team members

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐐𝐀 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬: Plug and play simplicity.

ⓘ What This Means for Testing:

➤ One install, ready to go. No hunting for WebDriver binaries or configuring browser drivers

➤ Auto-waits eliminate flaky tests. Playwright automatically waits for elements to be actionable

➤ API testing included. No need to integrate RestAssured or other tools

➤ Built-in debugging tools. Trace viewer shows exactly what happened during test execution

➤ Multiple browser engines. True cross-browser testing with Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit (Safari)

➤ Modern architecture. Runs outside the browser for better control and faster execution

➤ Less code, more testing. Focus on writing tests, not building infrastructure

𝐓𝐢𝐩:

For Playwright projects, QA teams should invest in:

∙ Learning the built-in locator strategies (getByRole, getByText)

∙ Utilizing the Codegen tool for quick test scaffolding

∙ Leveraging trace viewer for debugging failed tests

∙ Setting up proper test organization and page object patterns

🟠 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐦: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐈𝐘 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐡

Selenium is the pioneer of web automation - it’s been around since 2004 and powers countless test suites worldwide. But it requires significant assembly and configuration.

What requires additional setup:

∙ Auto-waits? Add explicit waits manually everywhere

∙ API testing? Install and integrate RestAssured or similar

∙ Screenshots? Write custom code

∙ Test generator? Install Selenium IDE separately

∙ Network mocking? Add proxy tools like BrowserMob

∙ Debugging? Build your own logging system

∙ Parallel execution? Configure TestNG or JUnit Grid

Think of it as building your own custom test framework - powerful and flexible, but requires constant maintenance.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬:

∙ Legacy enterprise applications

∙ Established companies with massive existing Selenium investments

∙ Java-heavy shops with years of Selenium expertise

∙ Projects where team already knows Selenium inside-out

Selenium still makes sense when:

∙ You have huge existing test suites that work well

∙ Team has deep Selenium expertise built over years

∙ Java ecosystem is mandatory for your organization

∙ Selenium Grid infrastructure is already established and working

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐐𝐀 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬: Endless plumbing and constant maintenance.

ⓘ What This Means for Testing:

➤ Manual wait management required. Every interaction needs explicit waits to avoid flakiness

➤ Additional tools for complete testing. API testing requires separate frameworks like RestAssured

➤ Custom code for basic features. Screenshot capture, video recording all need implementation

➤ WebDriver management headaches. Constant browser driver version compatibility issues

➤ More complex debugging. No built-in tools - you build your own logging and error tracking

➤ Slower initial development. Significant time spent on infrastructure before writing actual tests

➤ Higher maintenance burden. Framework updates and browser changes require constant attention

𝐓𝐢𝐩:

For Selenium projects, QA teams must invest heavily in:

∙ Robust explicit wait strategies to prevent flaky tests

∙ Integration with external tools (RestAssured, Extent Reports, logging frameworks)

∙ WebDriver management solutions (WebDriverManager)

∙ Custom utilities for screenshots, video recording, and reporting

∙ Grid setup for parallel execution

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐠 & 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐯𝐬. 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝

Playwright = Plug & Play 🚀

One install, everything included, ready to test

Selenium = Assembly Required 🔧

Endless setup, constant maintenance, DIY everything

For new projects in 2026? Playwright is the clear choice.

Unless you have:

∙ Legacy projects with massive Selenium investments

∙ Teams with years of Selenium expertise who resist change

∙ Organizational requirements that mandate Java + Selenium

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Expect questions like:

∙ “What are the main differences between Playwright and Selenium?”

∙ “Why would you choose Playwright over Selenium for a new project?”

∙ “What are Playwright’s advantages when it comes to test reliability?”

∙ “When would you still recommend Selenium?”

Answer Framework:

1. Acknowledge both frameworks have their place

2. Explain Playwright’s all-in-one approach vs. Selenium’s DIY nature

3. Highlight auto-waiting and built-in features that reduce flakiness

4. Mention API testing capabilities and modern web support

5. Be fair about when Selenium still makes sense (legacy projects, existing investment)

6. Demonstrate practical experience with both frameworks

𝐏.𝐒. 🚩 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝟑-𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 “𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐐𝐀 → 𝐒𝐃𝐄𝐓” 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩, 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢-𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐒𝐃𝐄𝐓 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬.

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