Selenium vs Webdriverio | Top 10 Key Differences

Software testing is not only about verifying your software application manually with a bunch of testers. Test automation has become an important role in the software testing industry since it can save time and money while making the testers’ lives easier. Through this article, we are going to discuss two well-known test automation frameworks named WebDriverIO and Selenium and the tech battle of Selenium vs WebDriverIO using their key differences. At the end of the article, you will get to know what you should consider when making a choice between these two frameworks and what are the alternative solutions for those frameworks.

What is WebDriverIO?

WebDriverIO is an open-source automation testing framework for web application testing. It is written in JavaScript and designed to simplify the automation process of browser interactions. WebDriverIO is built on WebDriver protocol which is a comprehensive way to interact with web browsers. Software testers consider WebDriverIO as a powerful tool for automating web browser interactions.

How does WebDriverIO work? 

WebDriverIO works using WebDriver protocol to automate web browser activities. In WebDriverIO, the test scripts are written using JavaScript for comprehensive automated test execution. It allows users to interact with web elements and simulate user actions. This testing framework provides a powerful facility to automate web application processes with features such as cross-browser support and parallel execution.

Why should I use WebDriverIO? 

Testers use WebDriverIO because of several reasons. First and foremost, this framework simplifies the web browser automation using JavaScript and that makes it accessible for both the developers and testers more familiar with the language. Secondly, WebDriverIO supports cross-browser testing and parallel execution and it ensures compatibility across different web browsers and efficient test suite execution. WebDriverIO can be integrated with various testing frameworks, cloud services, and tools. This flexibility makes it easier to automate web application testing effectively.

What companies use WebDriverIO?

WebDriverIO comes in second place with 25% of JavaScript users choosing it for their test automation needs. WebDriverIO is a very popular and widely used automation testing framework and it is used by a lot of companies across different industries. Alibaba Travels, Affirm, Taxdoo, Salesforce, and Scotiabank can be considered some of the well-known companies that use WebDriverIO for automating testing processes. If we take a close look at these organizations that use WebDriverIO, we can understand that WebDriverIO is not only limited to the software industry but also its involvement can be seen in industries such as e-commerce, banking, etc.

What is Selenium?

Selenium is also an open-source framework for web automation. It provides a bunch of tools and libraries that can be used across various platforms and supports a lot of programming languages such as Java, Python, ASP .Net, C#, Ruby, JavaScript, etc. Selenium can be called the most popular automation framework among web automation testers nowadays. It is commonly used for functional testing of web applications that can be used to script interactions with web elements, simulate user actions, and verify the expected behaviors of web pages.

How does Selenium work? 

The initial functioning of the Selenium framework is based on the interactions with web browsers via its component called Selenium Webdriver. This communicates with the respective browsers using the browser’s native automation support. The test scripts which can be written using a preferred programming language guide the WebDriver to simulate user interactions such as clicks, form submissions, and text inputs. The WebDriver translates those commands into browser-specific actions. Selenium has been one of the most popular choices for automation testers because of its flexibility, cross-browser compatibility, and capability of integration with many programming languages. Especially, its WebDriver component enables direct communication with web browsers during testing. However, there are some differences in each when it comes to Selenium WebDriver vs WebDriverIO.

Why should I use Selenium? 

Most of the automation testers choose Selenium due to various reasons. First, Selenium is a powerful open-source automation framework for web automation that provides cross-browser compatibility and support for a lot of programming languages. It allows the automation of various scenarios while ensuring reliability. Also, Selenium’s active community support, continuous updates, and integration with different testing frameworks make it the first choice of most QA engineers.

What companies use Selenium?

Selenium has a market share of 32.53% in the testing and QA market and it says the rest of the story. Many well-known companies in various industries use Selenium as their web application automation framework. Thousands of tech organizations such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, LinkedIn, and e-commerce platforms like Amazon and eBay use Selenium for their browser automation tasks. The usage of Selenium is not limited to those industries and many other industries get the benefit of it including machine learning, artificial intelligence, banking, entertainment, etc. The best examples that use selenium in those industries are CRED, Accenture, and Netflix.

Selenium vs WebDriverIO: What are Their Differences?

Even though both WebDriverIO and Selenium are open-source web automation frameworks and they have a lot of similarities, there are some key facts that differentiate WebDriverIO from Selenium. Let us have a look at the top 10 differences between Selenium vs WebDriverIO.

WebDriverIO	Selenium
Supports only JavaScript language.	Supports multiple programming languages such as Java, Python, ASP .Net, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript.
The test automation framework is built only on top of the WebDriver protocol.	Has several tools such as Selenium IDE, WebDriver, Grid, and remote control.
Has in-built support for parallel automated test execution.	Requires additional tools like Selenium Grid for parallel automated test execution.
Configuration is easy and flexible with the use of configuration files.	Configuration steps can be different depending on the programming language and the tools used.
Has an active support community and the information is well-documented.	Has a well-established support community with extensive information documentation.
Can be integrated with testing frameworks such as Mocha and Jasmine.	Can be integrated with a lot of testing frameworks such as JUnit, TestNG, NUnit, etc.
Uses fluent and synchronous API and supports asynchronous operations as well.	Primarily uses synchronous API for most programming languages and asynchronous support for some.
Has built-in support for cross-browser testing.	Supports cross-browser testing through WebDriver and Selenium Grid.
Can be integrated with cloud testing services such as Sauce Labs, BrowserStack, etc.	Can be integrated with cloud services for remote test execution.
Easy to install and set up using Node Package Manager for JavaScript projects.	Requires downloading and configuring the Selenium server, which can be a bit complicated.

There are some more differences when it comes to Selenium vs WebDriverIO other than the facts mentioned above. It is the responsibility of the tester to choose the most suitable test automation framework while considering the benefits and differences when it comes to Selenium vs WebDriverIO.

Selenium vs WebDriverIO: How to choose?

Your choice of Selenium vs WebDriverIO frameworks depends on many factors and considering the following facts it will be easier to make your decision.

• Programming language: If your team is an expert in JavaScript, WebDriverIO may be the best fit due to its native support for JavaScript. On the other hand, if your team is comfortable with languages like Java, .Net, Python, C#, or Ruby, Selenium offers more flexibility than WebDriverIO.
  
• Ease of Setup and Configuration: Consider the ease of installation and setup when choosing automation frameworks. It is easy to install and set up WebDriverIO using Node Package Manager for JavaScript projects. Selenium may involve additional steps such as setting up the Selenium server, which could be more complex.
  
• Testing framework integration: When choosing a suitable automation framework, you have to evaluate the compatibility with your preferred testing framework. As mentioned before, WebDriverIO integrates with popular frameworks like Mocha and Jasmine. And Selenium supports integration with various frameworks compared to WebDriverIO but yet, it might require additional configuration based on the chosen programming language.
  
• Community and availability of documentation: Even though there are expert engineers in your team, they might struggle from time to time due to knowledge gaps. So it is very important to have proper community support and proper documentation for your chosen automation framework. WebDriverIO has an active community and it has well-documented information. Selenium also has a strong community which can be helpful when it comes to finding solutions for common issues.
  
• Project requirements and flexibility: No matter what advantages you can earn from various automation frameworks, it should be aligned with your project requirements and needs. If you need more flexibility with a programming language, it is always better to go ahead with Selenium. However, WebDriverIO is more beneficial for JavaScript-based projects.
  
• Parallel execution: If parallel test execution is a critical factor for your test suite, WebDriverIO has built-in support for parallel execution. Selenium can achieve parallelism using tools like Selenium Grid but may require additional setup.
  
• Browser and platform support: If you are going to choose an automation framework for web automation, you might have to think about browser support as well. Both WebDriverIO and Selenium support a wide range of browsers, but WebDriverIO’s native WebDriver protocol support ensures compatibility, especially with modern browsers.
  
• Plugin support: WebDriverIO has a rich set of plugins, which can enhance functionality. On the other hand, Selenium also has a supportive community, but the variety of plugins may not be as big as WebDriverIO’s plugin collection.
  

Ultimately, the choice between Selenium vs WebDriverIO depends on your team’s expertise, project requirements, and preferences. It is very important to perform a proper evaluation based on the above-mentioned facts to make sure that the selected automation framework aligns with your needs and goals.

Alternatives tool for WebdriverIo and Selenium

Let’s keep the battle of Selenium vs WebDriverIO aside and think. Are you looking for an alternative tool that can replace WebDriverIO and Selenium? Testsigma is an AI-driven test automation platform that can be used instead of the choice of Selenium vs WebDriverIO. The main advantage of Testsigma is its no-code test automation which lets the testers create and execute test cases without advanced programming skills. They allow the testers to easily automate the test scenario using visual interfaces.

Other than that specialty, it has features such as using machine learning to execute test cases, the ability to adapt to application changes, and fewer maintenance efforts. 

It is easier to collaborate and perform cross-browser testing with Testsigma. Ultimately, Testsigma provides a user-friendly and good solution for automated testing.

Testsigma lets you create test cases in simple English and also lets you record and play them. With that, the testers do not have to worry about writing complex code to automate a certain test scenario. Also, it is way easier to classify and group those recorded test cases and execute them when needed through some simple mouse clicks. This can be considered an easier way of test automation even for beginners.

Conclusion

Both WebDriverIO and Selenium frameworks are powerful tools for web automation. However, selenium webdriver vs webdriver io have some key differences when it comes to technology and usage. It is important to consider the tech stack, expertise, nature of your project, and requirements when selecting one of them as your web automation framework. Simply, if your team uses JavaScript and its associated frameworks, WebDriverIO can be more supportive. On the other hand, if you need support in multiple programming languages, Selenium might be the better choice. 

Additionally, there are alternative solutions for those two frameworks such as Testsigma which can be more beneficial than them sometimes. At the end of the day, the right choice is yours to make the tester’s life easier.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better: Selenium IDE or WebDriver?

The choice between Selenium IDE and WebDriver depends on the background and requirements of your project. Selenium IDE is a simple record-and-playback tool and it is suitable for creating tests quickly, especially for beginners in test automation. On the other hand, WebDriver provides a more comprehensive solution. It allows advanced test automation scripting and cross-browser testing and also it can be integrated with a lot of programming languages as you prefer. Selenium WebDriver can be used for larger and more complex projects and Selenium IDE is most suitable for quick test executions and simpler test scenarios. Compare selenium webdriver vs webdriver io against their key features, before you decide which tool is most preferable for your project.