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Selenium VS Google Chrome Developer Tools

Compare Selenium VS Google Chrome Developer Tools and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Selenium logo Selenium

Selenium automates browsers. That's it! What you do with that power is entirely up to you. Primarily, it is for automating web applications for testing purposes, but is certainly not limited to just that.

Google Chrome Developer Tools logo Google Chrome Developer Tools

Get started with Google Chrome's built-in web developer tools.
  • Selenium Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-08-22
  • Google Chrome Developer Tools Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-08

Selenium features and specs

  • Open Source
    Selenium is an open-source tool, which means it is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. This makes it a cost-effective choice for companies of all sizes.
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility
    Selenium supports multiple browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. This allows testers to ensure that web applications work seamlessly across different browsers.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Selenium can run on various operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This provides flexibility to test on multiple platforms to ensure consistent user experience.
  • Supports Multiple Programming Languages
    Selenium supports multiple programming languages such as Java, C#, Python, and JavaScript. This allows testers to write their scripts in the language they are most comfortable with.
  • Rich Community and Documentation
    Being a widely-used tool, Selenium has extensive community support and a wealth of documentation and tutorials available. This makes it easier for new users to get started and find solutions to problems.
  • Integration with Other Tools
    Selenium integrates well with various testing frameworks and tools like TestNG, JUnit, and Maven, as well as CI/CD tools like Jenkins and Docker. This makes it a versatile and comprehensive automation solution.

Possible disadvantages of Selenium

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Selenium requires knowledge of programming to create and maintain test scripts. For those new to automation or coding, the learning curve can be quite steep.
  • No Built-in Reporting
    Selenium does not come with built-in reporting features. Testers must rely on third-party tools or build custom reporting solutions to generate test reports.
  • Limited Support for Desktop Applications
    Selenium is designed primarily for web application testing and offers limited support for desktop applications. This limits its use in scenarios where desktop application testing is needed.
  • Manual Effort for Maintenance
    Test scripts require regular maintenance to accommodate changes in the web application, such as updates to the UI or changes in element identifiers. This can lead to significant manual effort.
  • Performance Issues
    Selenium can be slower compared to other automation tools, especially when running extensive test suites. This can affect the speed of the overall testing process.
  • Browser Compatibility Issues
    Although Selenium supports multiple browsers, each browser's implementation of WebDriver may have unique quirks and bugs. This occasionally leads to test script compatibility issues across different browsers.

Google Chrome Developer Tools features and specs

  • Comprehensive Toolset
    Chrome Developer Tools provide a robust set of features that allow developers to inspect and debug code, optimize performance, and enhance visual styles. This makes it a go-to for both web development and troubleshooting.
  • Integrated Environment
    The tools are seamlessly integrated into the Chrome browser, providing a native environment for debugging and testing web pages without requiring additional software installations.
  • Live Editing
    Developers can make live changes to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and see the results in real-time, facilitating efficient iterative development processes.
  • Performance Profiling
    Chrome Developer Tools include comprehensive profiling tools that help in analyzing the performance of a website or web application, assisting developers in identifying bottlenecks and optimizing resource usage.
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility
    Although the tools are a part of Chrome, they help ensure that websites function correctly across different browsers by allowing simulation of various browsers and devices.

Possible disadvantages of Google Chrome Developer Tools

  • Steep Learning Curve
    The comprehensive nature of Chrome Developer Tools can be overwhelming for beginners, requiring significant time to learn to use all features effectively.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Developer Tools can be resource-intensive, causing performance degradation on systems with lower specifications while debugging large applications.
  • Browser Dependency
    The tools are dependent on the Chrome browser, which might not be ideal in scenarios where development needs to focus primarily on other browsers like Firefox or Safari.
  • Occasional Bugs
    As with any software, Chrome Developer Tools can sometimes have bugs or inconsistencies that might affect their reliability or lead to incorrect reporting.

Selenium videos

What is Selenium | Selenium Explained in 2-minutes | Introduction to Selenium | Intellipaat

Google Chrome Developer Tools videos

No Google Chrome Developer Tools videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Selenium and Google Chrome Developer Tools)
Automated Testing
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Browser Testing
100 100%
0% 0
Security
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Selenium and Google Chrome Developer Tools

Selenium Reviews

Top Selenium Alternatives
Nightwatch.js simplifies the setup and use of Selenium WebDriver, providing an abstraction layer that is easier to work with for JavaScript developers. While it offers the broad compatibility and standardization of Selenium WebDriver, it aims to improve the development experience with its simplified syntax and support for the Page Object pattern, making it a middle ground...
Source: bugbug.io
Top 5 Selenium Alternatives for Less Maintenance
And that’s why code-free test automation is important. Implementing codeless Selenium alternatives can address the challenges posed by traditional Selenium testing. They help testers with various skill sets to contribute to the testing process, enhancing collaboration and accelerating the testing lifecycle. For an in-depth discussion on the significance of codeless Selenium,...
Best Automation Testing Tools (Free and Paid) | July 2022
Automation testing is the process of testing the software using an automation tool to find the defects. In this process, executing the test scripts and generating the results are performed automatically by automation tools. Some most popular tools to do automation testing are HP QTP/UFT, Selenium WebDriver, etc.,
20 BEST Selenium Alternatives in 2021
Selenium is an open-source automated testing tool. It can perform functional, regression, load testing on web applications across different browsers and platforms. Selenium is one of the finest tools, but it does have some drawbacks.
Source: www.guru99.com
Top 10 Best Selenium Alternatives You Should Try
Selenium is a convenient and portable software testing tool specifically used for testing web applications. It acts as an API (Application Program Interface) for browser automation. Selenium is the widely used free and open-source tool used for automation testing of web applications through various browsers and platforms.

Google Chrome Developer Tools Reviews

We have no reviews of Google Chrome Developer Tools yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Selenium should be more popular than Google Chrome Developer Tools. It has been mentiond 8 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Selenium mentions (8)

  • How to write tests in Django for JavaScript fetch
    You won't be able to test the javascript function itself from within python, but you can exercise the front-end code using something like cypress (https://cypress.io) or the older but still respectable selenium (https://selenium.dev). Source: about 2 years ago
  • Having Issues with selenium
    In addition, .find_element_by_class_name is deprecated since selenium 4.3.0 and the replacement is .find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "class"). Check selenium's site for more info. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Issues with Selenium 4.8.0
    This is the code again after checking selenium's official site :. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Having Issues with selenium
    I also tried the following code seen on the selenium.dev website. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Document Object Model Specification
    The following functions are defined within the Selenium project, at revision 1721e627e3b5ab90a06e82df1b088a33a8d11c20. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
View more

Google Chrome Developer Tools mentions (1)

  • Top 10 Web Development Tools For Fullstack Developers
    Download link (https://developer.chrome.com/devtools). - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Selenium and Google Chrome Developer Tools, you can also consider the following products

Cypress.io - Slow, difficult and unreliable testing for anything that runs in a browser. Install Cypress in seconds and take the pain out of front-end testing.

Firefox Developer Tools - Examine, edit, and debug HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on the desktop and on mobile.

Katalon - Built on the top of Selenium and Appium, Katalon Studio is a free and powerful automated testing tool for web testing, mobile testing, and API testing.

Charles Proxy - HTTP proxy / HTTP monitor / Reverse Proxy

BrowserStack - BrowserStack is a software testing platform for developers to comprehensively test websites and mobile applications for quality.

Fiddler - Fiddler is a debugging program for websites.