Selenium is perhaps synonymous with browser automation - more than any other framework or tool, it helped develop and popularise automating your browser. It’s been around since 2004, and for a long time, it was the only real game in town.

As of 2022 that’s no longer the case - you’re practically spoilt for choice!

No-code alternative

If you’re looking for a no-code alternative, axiom.ai (opens new window) is a good bet! 😉

Nevertheless, we don’t consider no-code tools like axiom a like-for-like alternative.

Firstly, axiom is Chrome-specific, and you may be using Selenium to automate or test multiple browsers.

Secondly, although axiom allows JavaScript, you may need the power and flexibility of a full programming and scripting environment that Selenium offers.

Consequently, we’re going to focus on the closest coding frameworks to Selenium by featureset, whilst pruning the list to focus on software that’s mature, with a well-supported ecosystem.

Similar framework alternatives

Cross-browser compatible

• Playright
  • Playright is probably the closest framework by featureset - we consider it the more ‘modern’ version of Selenium.
  • ✅ Cross-browser support (Chromium, FireFox, webkit), backed by Microsoft, Most similar to Selenium, Gaining momentum quickly
  • ❌ Relatively new - the ecosystem is not as fully developed as Selenium, or even puppeteer.

Chrome + node.js focused

• Puppeteer
  • The official automation framework for Chrome, backed by Google. Puppeteer has a well-developed ecosystem and benefits from the popularity of Chrome
  • ✅ Backed by Google, Mature Software with popular ecosystem, Integrates well with Chrome’s ecosystem of tooling + the node.js ecosystem
  • ❌ Only supports Chrome. Does not allow automation of extensions.

Testing frameworks

• Cypress
  • A popular batteries-included test automation framework with a simple developer experience.
  • ✅ Simple install + A fully-featured test environment. Dashboard GUI to manage your tests. Debugger integration. Automatically manages waiting. Supports multiple browsers
  • ❌ Freemium product, not free framework. Testing only.
• Testcafe
  • Another popular batteries-included test automation framework with a simple developer experience!
  • ✅ Similar to Cypress - Simple install, fully featured test environment + Dashboard GUI + Supports multiple browsers. A stronger emphasis on the ‘test-recorder’ to record tests without writing code.
  • ❌ Testing only.

More alternatives

Perhaps none of these suggestions are exactly what you’re looking for.

In which case, this GitHub list is a pretty good resource to find other tools and frameworks that might suite you better:

https://github.com/angrykoala/awesome-browser-automation (opens new window)