What are the differences between Cypress and Playwright?

General Discussions
, ,
1

I’ve been using Cypress for a while and consider it the standard now (alongside Selenium). But recently, I’ve been seeing a lot of praise for Playwright and wanted to get your input.

What do you think about Playwright? And overall, which tool would you say is the better option - Cypress or Playwright?

I’d really appreciate insights from anyone who has worked with both!

2

I’ve worked quite a bit with both tools in different projects - mostly UI-heavy web apps. I think Playwright is incredibly powerful, especially when you’re aiming for advanced features like multi-browser support, or when you need to test in multiple tabs or browser contexts. It just feels like a more modern E2E automation framework, built with flexibility in mind.

That said, Cypress still wins in terms of developer experience and community support. If you’re testing something simple and UI-focused, Cypress gets you up and running super fast. But for anything more complex, especially involving cross-browser testing - Playwright is the better option.

3

Totally agree with Richaa here. I’ve used both on real-world projects and honestly, Playwright is the better option when you’re dealing with more advanced use cases — like downloads, iframes, or complex API mocking. One thing I love is how effortlessly Playwright handles flaky elements and waits.

But I still default to Cypress when I need fast dev feedback or I’m working on smaller UI components — especially with component-level testing. It’s like Cypress is built for rapid prototyping, while Playwright is more robust for full-stack E2E testing.

4

Yeah, same experience on my side. I’ve been doing automation for about 5 years now, and when I first used Playwright, it honestly felt like a level-up from Cypress. The fact that it supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit out of the box is huge, especially when cross-browser behavior matters.

But even now, I still find Cypress easier to set up in some environments, and it’s way faster to debug thanks to its visual runner. If your team needs a powerful, scalable automation suite Playwright is the better option. But if you’re prioritizing dev speed and feedback, Cypress might still be your best bet.