Cypress and Selenium are both popular automation testing tools used by software testers today. Both Cypress and Selenium have their benefits and drawbacks. But in the end, the best tool depends on your individual needs and preferences.
In this blog post, we’ll explore Cypress vs. Selenium in more detail so you can decide which tool is best for your specific situation.
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Cypress Vs. Selenium Comparison
Cypress and Selenium are two of the most popular choices for web application testing. These testing tools can be used to automate web applications, but there are key differences between them.
To help you decide, we’ve created a list of the pros and cons of Cypress.io vs Selenium.
Cypress
Cypress is built on top of the powerful, open-source JavaScript testing framework called Mocha. Using Cypress, QAs or software developers can execute:
- Unit testing
- Integration testing
- End to End testing
Here’s to weigh in the pros and cons of Cypress.
The Pros |
The Cons |
| ✔ Easy way to set up, write, run and debug your automated tests | ✖ Difficult to set up the environment correctly |
| ✔ Built-in support for spying on network requests, stubbing out methods, and simulating user events | ✖ Cypress does not support all browsers |
| ✔ Cypress automatically reloads the page when the code changes, making it easy to iterate on tests quickly | ✖ Debugging tools are not as robust as some of the other options available |
| ✔ Cypress tests run in the same browser that the user is viewing the site in and follows the same run loop like your app | ✖ Cypress tests can be flaky, meaning they sometimes fail for no apparent reason |
Selenium
Selenium is the best framework for testing web applications. Selenium provides a Domain-Specific Language (DSL) called WebDriver, which several other commercial and open source automation tools use.
Additionally, this tool can be used for both regression and functional testing. The tool is platform-independent, meaning it can be used on Windows, Mac, or Linux.
Here’s a comparison of the benefits and drawbacks of using Selenium to leverage parallel testing.
The Pros |
The Cons |
| ✔ Free to use | ✖ Difficult to set up and configure |
| ✔ Cross-browser testing support | ✖ Selenium tests can be slow to run |
| ✔ Selenium WebDriver can be used to test applications on mobile devices | ✖ Tests are written in code; they can be difficult to understand and maintain if they are not well-written |
| ✔ Selenium can also be used with many different programming languages, including Java, C#, Python, and Ruby | ✖ Tests can be unreliable if the application under test changes frequently |
Automation Testing Tool Pricing
While considering the features of Selenium and Cypress, it’s important first to know the pricing offered each.
Cypress Pricing
How much does Cypress.io cost?
Cypress.io has a tiered pricing structure, which means that the price you pay depends on the features and support you need. However, you can sign-up for free, with a maximum of 3 users.
The three plans are as follows:
- Team Plan: $75/month – Includes 10 users, 10,000 test results included, features, and general support.
- Business Plan: $300/month – Includes 40 users, 10,000 test results included, Smart Orchestration and email support, as well as GitHub and GitLab enterprise.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing – Includes unlimited users, as many test results as you need, features, and premium support.
The Team Plan may be all you need if you’re just getting started with building a test automation framework. But the Business or Enterprise Plan may be a better option if you’re looking for more comprehensive coverage.
Selenium Pricing
Selenium is free. Yes, you read that correctly—Selenium is free and open-source. That’s one of the great things that makes it so popular for QA engineers.
Because the Selenium test automation framework is free, there are no licensing fees associated with using it. You can download this tool and start using it immediately without worrying about paying anything upfront.
Of course, just because Selenium itself is free doesn’t mean that there aren’t any costs associated with using it. In order to use Selenium for test automation, you’ll need someone on your team who knows how to code. In addition, if you want to use all of Selenium’s features, then you’ll need to use a third-party solution.
In either case, there will be some cost associated. But they’re worth it if you want to get the most out of Selenium.
Which Automation Testing Tool Should You Use?
In the world of software development, there are constantly new tools and technologies emerging. While this can be exciting, it can also be overwhelming, particularly when it comes to choosing the right tools for your project.
If you’re currently on the search for an automation testing solution, you’ve likely come across several different options. Ultimately, the decision depends on what you need and your preferences. If you need a quick and easy way to test in a single browser, Cypress may be the better option. However, if you need support for multiple browsers or more complex testing scenarios, Selenium would be the better choice.
All things considered, both Selenium and Cypress automated testing solutions can be an excellent value proposition. Whichever tool you choose, you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits of automated testing!