Software Development Updates

Testing is a crucial aspect of any software development process. It ensures that you have a reliable and high-quality product. If your business lacks the resources or testing capabilities, then you can outsource the project to a reputable software testing company. They conduct a comprehensive check on your applications using both manual and automated testing methods. Many test automation frameworks are available in the market, but Cypress and Selenium are the two most popular names, especially for testing web applications. This article on Cypress vs Selenium is a detailed comparison between both automation testing frameworks. The information below will help you decide which option is suitable for your upcoming project. 

1. Cypress Overview

Cypress is a JavaScript-based testing tool known for its speed, reliability, and ease of use. Built on a NodeJS server, Cypress executes tests in the same run loop as the application. This approach enables accurate simulations of user events, giving precise test results. The GUI test runner provided by Cypress allows QA engineers to debug failing tests effectively. 

This software testing framework is compatible with most browsers and supports unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end testing of web applications. Cypress offers a wide range of robust features, including real-time reloading, a retry mechanism, automatic waiting, and more.

It also uses a combination of Chai and Mocha to automate the tests, making it a preferred option for web developers.

Here is what a Twitter user says about Cypress.

1.1 Advantages of Cypress

Here are a few reasons why you should select Cypress for software testing.

Direct Access

Cypress runs directly in a browser environment which is not the case for other software testing tools that use APIs similar to Selenium. Because it works on the same run-loop where the app is tested, Cypress allows native access to each DOM element. This helps make test execution faster and the test itself more reliable. 

Faster Test Implementation

Since Cypress runs all the tests in the browser, the execution speed is significantly faster than that of conventional software testing frameworks. This increased speed enhances test efficiency and supports quick feedback loops, especially in a CI/CD pipeline.

Cross-Browser Testing

Developers can test their web apps on different browsers such as Edge, Firefox, and Chrome, to ensure that their app performs as expected on all of them, thanks to Cypress. 

For Test Execution and Debugging

Cypress is a user-friendly tool for experienced QA analysts because of its domain-specific language, which is easy to read and understand. With Cypress, it becomes easy to automate software testing. It also allows users to create their functions and methods using the JavaScript programming language and share them across the framework. 

Another advantage of using Cypress is that it makes debugging easy. It simplifies error analysis by providing direct access to each object in the application. While tests are running in a browser, Cypress allows QA experts to debug the app directly using the Chrome development tools. 

In case of a test failure, Cypress provides an error message along with suggestions for modifying the test execution. The testing framework also allows you to take screenshots at any point during a test, which helps us review the commands we executed. 

1.2 Disadvantages of Cypress

Despite its many advantages, Cypress has some limitations when it comes to software testing.

Testing Limitations

Web app testing is very effective with Cypress, but it lacks the capability to test desktop and mobile applications. Other software testing tools that do not have inherent mobile app testing capabilities can find a way around to support it by integrating with a suitable server. However, this isn’t possible with Cypress. 

Doesn’t Support Multiple Tabs or Windows

Cypress performs software testing in a single browser window because it does not support native testing that requires working with multiple tabs or windows which restricts you from testing some apps. 

Doesn’t Support Mobile Testing

Cypress does not include mobile testing capabilities. While third-party plugins can be used to support mobile testing, they aren’t comprehensive enough to cover testing on physical devices. 

App Locator Finder Limitation

Cypress can struggle with identifying locators. It is not able to identify locators in the CSS or when developers designed dynamic locators.

2. Selenium Overview

Selenium is a popular tool for software testing. It is open-source and allows for test automation. The flexible architecture of Selenium supports cross-browser testing and enables developers to write tests in multiple languages, such as JavaScript, Python, C#, and Java. 

Web app testing with Selenium is easy even for applications with complex UIs. Because Selenium simulates user actions by interacting with the web components. Moreover, its parallel testing feature allows you to quickly and efficiently run large test suites. 

By making direct calls to the browser, Selenium provides native support for automation in every browser. Writing and running test scripts is so easy that you would feel like you are in control of the browser. 

You need to have a working knowledge of at least one programming language to learn using Selenium. The large community behind this framework can help you if you encounter any challenges or issues. 

Here is what a Quora user says about selenium.

2.1 Advantages of Selenium

Web developers and businesses get the following benefits by using Selenium for software testing. 

Language and Framework Support

Write your tests in any programming language, and Selenium will immediately convert it into a compatible software testing program. It supports all major languages, including C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and Pearl. 

When it comes to writing test scripts and test automation, Selenium supports multiple programming languages and frameworks. So, you don’t have to worry about learning a specific framework or language to get started with this testing tool.  

CI/CD Integration

One of the best advantages of using Selenium is its integration with CI/CD platforms such as GitLab, Azure DevOps, Travis CI, Jenkins, Bamboo, and CircleCI. This interoperability allows web developers to automate their tests. 

The interface of this framework functions smoothly, providing continuous monitoring and automated deployments. As a result, the productivity of the development team and the speed of the testing process increases significantly. 

Third-Party Integrations

A quality analyst can easily extend the capabilities of this testing tool using third-party integrations. So, you can add any build system, reporting or other tools required for testing Selenium is also compatible with many popular tools like JUnit, Selenium Grid, Extent, and SauceLabs. 

Large Community and Resources

Selenium is supported by a large and active community that has prepared extensive documentation, and tutorials to guide developers and QA engineers in using the tool. You can also ask for help and find solutions to specific problems through online forums. 

2.2 Disadvantages of Selenium

Though many QA engineers prefer this framework for testing, there are certain drawbacks to its use. 

Lack of Reporting Functionality

Any testing tool that runs tests on a software application should be able to generate reports indicating where faults lie. It’s a basic feature required in all testing tools but Selenium lacks the ability to generate reports. These reports are needed to communicate the issues in the application with project managers, stakeholders, developers, and others. 

This limitation can be overcome by integrating various reporting libraries and frameworks. Many QA experts generate comprehensive test reports with Selenium WebDriver using third-party reporting tools such as Allure, and TestNG. 

Test Automation is Isolated

Even though Selenium allows for the integration of third-party tools, it still lacks robust capabilities for integrating with test management and requirement management solutions. This isolates the test automation process, increasing the amount of manual work to keep the processes in sync. 

Limited Support For Desktop Applications

Selenium was created to test web applications. So, its support for testing desktop applications is very limited. When working on a project that requires desktop app testing, you have to seek additional tools or frameworks that can be integrated with Selenium to make this possible. 

High Test Maintenance

Because of the strict element identifiers, Selenium tests often become fragile. So, when any changes are implemented to the app, especially element identifiers, it leads to test failures. This results in a cycle of diagnosis, test fixes, and reruns. 

3. Cypress vs Selenium: Core Differences

Before digging deeper into their differences, take a look at the npm trends of Cypress vs Selenium.

There are significant differences between both frameworks. Cypress is a Javascript-based testing framework, while Selenium is a test automation tool. Let’s discuss their differences in detail. 

3.1 Architecture

Cypress is built on JavaScript and NodeJS. It operates within the same loop as the application being tested so the DOM can be easily manipulated. Because it runs in the browser itself, no communication is required, leading to a faster execution. 

Selenium consists of a Java-based architecture that runs tests in the browser by controlling it remotely. This external interaction is the reason for its increased latency and the occurrence of test failures.

Here is what a Reddit thread says about the difference between cypress and selenium.

Comment
byu/BruceW from discussion
inQualityAssurance

3.2 Ease of Use

Both frameworks have test automation as a part of their objectives. However, Cypress was designed to provide a better developer experience. This is why it comes with a rich set of features for writing and debugging test scripts. It also offers built-in APIs and an interactive dashboard. 

On the other hand, learning to use Selenium is difficult. Setting it up takes time and requires additional configuration. On the bright side, it comes with a large community support with tons of resources at the disposal of the user. 

3.3 Language Support

Only the JavaScript programming language is supported in Cypress, as it is designed specially to handle web app testing. Meanwhile, Selenium supports all the major programming languages. In short, to write test scripts in Cypress, developers need to use JavaScript only but in Selenium they can use any programming language they want. The framework then automatically translates the code into a suitable format for test automation.

3.4 Community Support

Available with an MIT license, Cypress is an open-source testing tool. GitHub reports it has 501 contributors. On top of that, events are conducted across the work for the community to connect and share their knowledge about the framework.

Selenium has been in the market for a while now. So obviously it has garnered more support than Cypress. With over 193k members and 766 contributors, the active community works for the advancement of the framework.

They regularly update the Selenium code and provide answers and guidance to the user community. The Selenium community has also maintained a website and documentation for the same. Users can visit online forums, and blogs to seek answers to their questions and queries. 

3.5 Debugging

Cypress is equipped with one of the best debugging features. In the case of a test failure, it provides error messages that describe the nature of the problem, its cause, and how to debug it. The user interface in Cypress is so rich the user can see all the events happening in the app including page loads, network requests, command execution, and more.

It also allows the user to analyze the web elements using the browser’s inspector. Subscribing to the Cypress cloud will give you further details on the test performance such as error summary, and test suite analytics. 

Unlike Cypress, Selenium doesn’t offer any built-in debugging tools or interfaces. Users can debug their tests using Selenium IDE, a browser extension that allows developers to write test cases and provide features like pausing on exceptions and setting breakpoints for debugging. During the tests, it also records all the user actions performed in the web browser. 

4. Selenium vs Cypress: When to Choose Which For Automation Testing

Cypress and Selenium have a similar purpose of automating the testing process in web browsers. However, the differences between their performance and architecture make them unique to certain scenarios. 

4.1 When to Choose Cypress?

Web developers must choose Cypress in the following scenarios: 

• When you need a single testing framework that covers end-to-end testing, performance testing, API testing, component testing, and more. 
• When you know JavaScript, you can use a single programming language for both front-end development and test automation. 
• When you don’t have time to build everything from scratch, Cypress offers ready-to-use functions. 
• When you require a testing framework that allows you to take screenshots of individual steps and record videos of the entire testing process to identify issues. 
• When testing Single-page applications. 
• For faster execution and test results. 

4.2 When to Choose Selenium?

Picking Selenium over Cypress seems right in the following use cases: 

• When you want to use multiple programming languages to write and debug tests. 
• When you want to run a test case on multiple browsers simultaneously. 
• When testing your app for mobile devices. 
• When you need to customize and handle the test to suit the specific requirements of your projects. 
• When you are looking for a tried and tested software testing framework with a rich set of features. 

Further Reading on: Automating Functional Testing using Selenium

5. Cypress vs Selenium: Comparison at a Glance

After having a detailed discussion on Cypress vs Selenium, it’s time to wrap it up. So given below is a sneak peek at their comparison against common parameters.

	Cypress	Selenium
Language support	Only Javascript	All programming languages including C#, PHP, Java, JavaScript, and Ruby
Browser support	Only Chromium-based browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Electron	All browsers including Chrome, Safari, Edge, Opera, and Firefox
Frameworks	Only Mocha JS	Supports multiple frameworks based on supporting languages
Setup and ease of use	Needs additional downloads for set up and has a steeper learning curve	Needs additional downloads for setup and has a steeper learning curve
Documentation	Decent	Average
Community support	Rapidly growing	A strong and large community across the world
Architecture	Performs tests directly in the browser	Selenium WebDriver interacts with the browser remotely
Speed and performance	Faster test execution	Slower because of network communication
Integrations and plugins	Can be integrated only with JavaScript frameworks but has a rich set of plugins	Integrates well with third-party testing tools, cloud vendors, reporting tools, etc.
Targeted audience	Testers and developers	Testers and automation engineers

6. Conclusion

This article on Cypress vs Selenium covered the overview, advantages, disadvantages, and basic differences between the two tools. Before you start working on a project, it is necessary to weigh your options to decide which one will be more beneficial for your development team and the organization. 

We have also discussed various instances where each framework is more beneficial than another. However, everything ultimately depends on your project requirements. It’s a factor to be considered before making any project-related decision. 

FAQs 

Is Cypress better than Selenium?

Cypress is faster than Selenium in terms of test execution. You can still obtain better performance in Selenium by configuring the setup and implementing best practices. 

Why not use Cypress for API testing?

Cypress is popular for end-to-end testing with faster test execution. Because API testing needs rapid but repeated execution of numerous requests, the overhead would negatively impact the architecture of the framework, causing it to slow down the test execution speed. 

Is Cypress used for UI testing?

Cypress is an open-source automation testing tool that can be used for both front-end and back-end testing. It comes with a Test Runner and a Dashboard Service that allows you to record tests. Cypress makes it easy for developers and QA engineers to test modern web apps.