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WireMock VS Playwright

Compare WireMock VS Playwright 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.

WireMock logo WireMock

WireMock - a web service test double for all occasions.

Playwright logo Playwright

Playwright is automation software for Chromium, Firefox, Webkit using the Node.js library having a single API in place.
  • WireMock Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23
  • Playwright Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-22

WireMock features and specs

  • Flexible API Mocking
    WireMock allows developers to create a wide range of mock APIs, including simulating different behaviors and responses, which helps in testing edge cases and handling different scenarios without needing the actual service.
  • Standalone and Embeddable
    WireMock can be run as a standalone server or embedded into a Java application, providing versatility in how it can be integrated and used within various development environments.
  • Rich Feature Set
    WireMock offers features like request verification, fault injection, and response templating, which make it a powerful tool for replicating real-world service behavior in test environments.
  • Community and Documentation
    WireMock is supported by a large community and comprehensive documentation, making it easier to troubleshoot issues and integrate it effectively into development processes.

Possible disadvantages of WireMock

  • Java-Based Limitation
    WireMock is primarily a Java-based tool, which might not be ideal for teams not using Java, leading to additional setup and integration challenges for non-Java environments.
  • Performance Overhead
    Running WireMock, especially in complex scenarios or with a heavy load, can introduce performance overhead that might not be tolerable in all development environments, particularly in CI/CD pipelines.
  • Learning Curve
    Although WireMock is powerful, it has a steep learning curve for those unfamiliar with its configuration and usage, potentially requiring considerable time to become proficient.
  • Limited Non-Standard Protocols
    WireMock is primarily designed for HTTP-based services, and may not be suitable out-of-the-box for mocking services that use non-standard or proprietary protocols, thus limiting its applicability in some scenarios.

Playwright features and specs

  • Cross-Browser Testing
    Playwright supports testing on Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit, providing comprehensive coverage across different browsers, thus ensuring greater compatibility and a wider test reach.
  • Auto-Wait Mechanism
    Playwright automatically waits for elements to be actionable before performing interactions, reducing the need for explicit wait commands and helping to make tests more reliable and less flaky.
  • Headless Testing
    Playwright supports headless mode for all browsers, which allows for faster test execution and reduced resource consumption, making it ideal for continuous integration systems.
  • Context Isolation
    Playwright introduces the concept of browser contexts, which allows for isolated execution environments within a single browser instance. This enables parallel testing with reduced overhead.
  • Extensive API
    Playwright offers a wide range of APIs that cover user interactions, network interception, and browser automation, providing developers with powerful tools to create robust tests.
  • Network Interception
    Playwright can intercept and modify network requests and responses, allowing for advanced testing scenarios such as mocking APIs and simulating different network conditions.
  • Strong Documentation
    Playwright provides thorough and detailed documentation, making it easier for developers to learn and effectively utilize the framework.
  • Rich Debugging Features
    The framework includes features like verbose logging and debugging capabilities, which facilitate easier troubleshooting and quicker resolution of issues.
  • Support for Multiple Languages
    Playwright supports multiple programming languages, including JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, C#, and Java, offering flexibility to developers based on their preference.
  • Community and Support
    The Playwright project has an active community and regular updates, ensuring continuous improvement and access to support from both the community and the development team.

Possible disadvantages of Playwright

  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive capabilities and API, Playwright might have a steeper learning curve for beginners compared to some simpler testing tools.
  • Performance Overhead
    While Playwright aims to be efficient, its feature-rich nature can sometimes introduce performance overhead, particularly for complex test suites.
  • Evolving Ecosystem
    The relatively rapid development and updates can occasionally lead to breaking changes, requiring teams to frequently update their test scripts.
  • Less Mature Ecosystem
    Compared to more established tools like Selenium, Playwright's ecosystem is still maturing, which may result in fewer third-party plugins and integrations.
  • Limited Browser Versions
    Playwright's focus on modern browsers and web standards might make it difficult to test older browser versions or niche browsers, potentially limiting test coverage for legacy systems.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running multiple browser contexts and handling extensive network interception can be resource-intensive, requiring more powerful hardware or cloud resources for large test suites.

WireMock videos

WireMock stand-alone by Ixchel Ruiz

Playwright videos

Generate tests in VS Code

More videos:

  • Review - Playwright Brittany K. Allen wins 2021 Georgia Engel Comedy Playwriting Prize

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to WireMock and Playwright)
Developer Tools
48 48%
52% 52
Development
0 0%
100% 100
APIs
100 100%
0% 0
Automated Testing
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 WireMock and Playwright

WireMock Reviews

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Playwright Reviews

Top Selenium Alternatives
Playwright offers a modern approach with auto-wait APIs and more native support for modern web features compared to Selenium's more manual and broad approach. While Selenium requires explicit waits and has a broader language support, Playwright focuses on simplifying cross-browser testing with its unified API and auto-wait features, which might reduce setup and test...
Source: bugbug.io
Top 5 Selenium Alternatives for Less Maintenance
Appium and Playwright closely resemble Selenium in terms of functionality but offer unique features and advantages. Both of these solutions require coding experience. Leapwork, a commercial vendor, uses Selenium under the hood to power their visual automation approach.
20 Best JavaScript Frameworks For 2023
Playwright, a Node.js library created by Microsoft, is considered one of the best JavaScript frameworks for testing. It automates Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit with a single API. Developers building JavaScript code can use these APIs to build new browser pages, go to URLs, and interact with page elements. Additionally, Playwright can automate Microsoft Edge since it is based...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Playwright seems to be a lot more popular than WireMock. While we know about 281 links to Playwright, we've tracked only 22 mentions of WireMock. 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.

WireMock mentions (22)

  • Self-hostable webhook tester in go
    I'm pretty sure Wiremock (https://wiremock.org) lets you configure both the response body and headers. - Source: Hacker News / 10 days ago
  • The best way for testing outbound API calls
    Mocha is a lib inspired by nock and WireMock. It allows checking if the mock was called or not, which is a nice feature. Like httptest, it also it don't automatically intercept the requests. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Effective Strategies for Writing Unit Tests with External Dependencies like Databases and APIs
    For testing third-party API calls, you can use libraries such as WireMock or Nock. These tools allow you to simulate HTTP requests and responses, helping you test how your application behaves when interacting with an external service. For example, you can mock successful responses, simulate errors, or test timeouts, all without making real HTTP requests. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Best API Mocking Platforms in 2024
    WireMock is a versatile, open-source platform for API mocking, offering powerful simulation features for both HTTP and HTTPS protocols. It’s highly customizable and is especially well-suited for complex use cases, such as testing microservices architectures and handling advanced behaviors. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • 10 Best API Mocking Tools (2024 Review)
    WireMock is a Java-based library for stubbing and mocking web services. It allows conditional response setup, latency simulation, and HTTP traffic recording. WireMock is open-source and free, suitable for developers familiar with Java. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
View more

Playwright mentions (281)

  • Data Broken - Opt out of the data broker nightmare with Privotron and Amazon Q Developer
    Privotron is built on a modern Python stack that leverages several powerful libraries for browser automation and configuration management. At its core, the application uses Playwright, a robust browser automation framework that provides cross-browser support and reliable DOM interaction capabilities. The command-line interface is implemented using Click, which enables sophisticated argument parsing and validation... - Source: dev.to / 11 days ago
  • CI/CD guide: store Playwright test results in AWS S3
    In my job, I've encountered a tool called Playwright for this purpose and was greatly impressed by its capabilities. You can program it to do all the things you do manually -- and run them automatically without needing to open a browser. It's no wonder someone took the time to transform such bloatware as a modern browser into something more automation-friendly. Amazing! - Source: dev.to / 18 days ago
  • Design Pattern for Playwright End-to-End Testing
    This article introduces a design pattern for end-to-end testing using Playwright. This pattern is an extension of the Page Object Model, aimed at improving test code readability and reducing the increase in code volume when adding more test scenarios or test data variations. This pattern is adopted by SVQK. A working implementation example and its test results are available in the following repositories:. - Source: dev.to / 23 days ago
  • Why the Python Standard Library Needs a run_sync()
    I recently updated a small script I wrote to automate file uploads to a website with no API. It uses the excellent Playwright project to drive a browser - making the tedious task of filling out forms painless. - Source: dev.to / 28 days ago
  • No Dockerfile? No problem! Running Node and Python MCPs with ToolHive
    E.g. If you’re interested in running the Playwright MCP, simply do:. - Source: dev.to / 29 days ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing WireMock and Playwright, you can also consider the following products

Beeceptor - Unblock yourself from API dependencies, and build & integrate with APIs fast. Beeceptor helps you build a mock Rest API in a few seconds.

puppeteer - Puppeteer is a Node library which provides a high-level API to control headless Chrome or Chromium...

MockServer - Easy mocking of any system you integrate with via HTTP or HTTPS.

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.

Mockoon - Mockoon is the easiest and quickest way to design and run mock REST APIs. No remote deployment, no account required, free and open-source.

BrowserCat - Easy, fast, and reliable browser automation and headless browser APIs. The web is messy, but your code shouldn't be.