Playwright and Puppeteer are both excellent browser automation tools, and they share a lot of DNA—the Playwright team includes former Puppeteer developers who left Google for Microsoft in 2020. But they've diverged significantly since then.

This guide will help you understand the practical differences and choose the right tool for your specific use case.

The 30-Second Summary

Aspect Playwright Puppeteer
Browsers Chromium, Firefox, WebKit Chromium only
Languages JS, TS, Python, Java, C# JavaScript/TypeScript
Auto-waiting Built-in, automatic Manual waitForSelector
Test runner Built-in (@playwright/test) Bring your own (Jest, Mocha)
Debugging Trace Viewer, Inspector Chrome DevTools
Parallel tests Built-in, optimized Via test runner config
GitHub stars ~64,000 ~87,000
First release 2020 2017

Origins: Same Team, Different Goals

Puppeteer was released by Google in 2017 as a Node.js library to control headless Chrome via the DevTools Protocol. It was designed for a single browser and has stayed focused on that.

Playwright was created by Microsoft in 2020 when several Puppeteer core developers joined Microsoft. They built Playwright to address Puppeteer's limitations: single-browser support, manual waiting, and lack of a built-in test runner.

This shared heritage means the APIs are similar—migration is straightforward—but Playwright has added features that Puppeteer doesn't have.

Key Difference #1: Browser Support

This is often the deciding factor.

Playwright

Tests run on Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit (Safari's engine) out of the box. One test file, three browsers:

Puppeteer

Designed for Chromium. Firefox has experimental support, but many APIs are unimplemented. No WebKit/Safari support at all.

Bottom line: If you need to test Safari or run cross-browser tests, Playwright is your only option.

Key Difference #2: Auto-Waiting

This is where Playwright really shines for test reliability.

Puppeteer: Manual Waiting

You must explicitly wait for elements before interacting with them:

Forgetting a waitForSelector leads to flaky tests that fail intermittently—the bane of E2E testing.

Playwright: Automatic Waiting

Playwright automatically waits for elements to be actionable before interacting with them:

Before any action (click, fill, etc.), Playwright checks that the element is:

  • Attached to the DOM
  • Visible
  • Stable (not animating)
  • Enabled
  • Not obscured by other elements

Bottom line: Playwright tests are more reliable out of the box. You spend less time debugging timing issues.

Key Difference #3: Locators vs Selectors

Playwright introduced Locators—a more powerful way to find elements.

Puppeteer: CSS/XPath Selectors

Playwright: Locators with Semantic Methods

Locators use accessibility roles and labels, making tests more resilient to DOM changes and more readable.

Key Difference #4: Built-in Test Runner

Puppeteer: Bring Your Own

Puppeteer is a library, not a test framework. You need to pair it with Jest, Mocha, or another test runner:

Playwright: Built-in Test Runner

Playwright Test (@playwright/test) is purpose-built for browser testing:

Playwright Test includes:

  • Fixtures: Automatic page/browser lifecycle management
  • Parallelization: Tests run in parallel by default
  • Retries: Built-in flaky test handling
  • Reporters: HTML, JSON, JUnit out of the box
  • Projects: Run same tests across multiple browsers/configs

Key Difference #5: Debugging Tools

Puppeteer: Chrome DevTools

Puppeteer uses Chrome's built-in DevTools for debugging:

Playwright: Trace Viewer + Inspector

Playwright has dedicated debugging tools:

The Trace Viewer is a game-changer for debugging CI failures:

  • Screenshots at each step
  • DOM snapshots you can inspect
  • Network request/response logs
  • Console messages
  • Timeline of actions

When a test fails in CI, you download the trace and replay exactly what happened. No more "works on my machine."

Performance Comparison

Both tools are fast, but Playwright has a slight edge in benchmarks:

Test Type Playwright Puppeteer
Navigation + actions 4.51s avg 4.78s avg
Memory usage More predictable GC Slightly higher peaks
Parallel execution Optimized worker pool Depends on test runner

The difference is small for individual tests but can add up in large suites.

Code Comparison: Same Task

Here's the same test in both tools—fill a form and verify submission:

Puppeteer

Playwright

The Playwright version is shorter, more readable, and more reliable (no manual waits).

When to Choose Puppeteer

  • Chrome-only tasks: PDF generation, screenshots of Chrome
  • Web scraping: Simpler setup, good stealth plugins available
  • Existing codebase: Already invested in Puppeteer
  • Minimal dependencies: Just need browser automation, not testing
  • Chrome DevTools Protocol: Need low-level CDP access

When to Choose Playwright

  • Cross-browser testing: Need Safari/Firefox coverage
  • E2E test suites: Built-in runner, fixtures, parallelization
  • CI/CD pipelines: Better debugging with Trace Viewer
  • Flaky test reduction: Auto-waiting eliminates timing issues
  • Team projects: Locators are more maintainable than CSS selectors
  • Non-JavaScript teams: Python, Java, C# bindings available

Migration: Puppeteer to Playwright

If you're considering migration, the APIs are similar enough that it's straightforward. Key changes:

There's even an automated migration tool:

Our Approach: Both

For this blog, we use both tools:

  • Puppeteer: Core functionality tests (fast, Chrome-focused)
  • Playwright: Safari/WebKit compatibility tests

This gives us fast feedback in development (Puppeteer) and cross-browser confidence before releases (Playwright).

Final Recommendation

For new projects: Start with Playwright.

The built-in test runner, auto-waiting, and cross-browser support make it the more complete solution. You'll write more reliable tests with less code.

For existing Puppeteer projects: Consider migration if you need cross-browser support or are fighting flaky tests. The migration is manageable, and the Trace Viewer alone is worth it for debugging CI failures.

For simple Chrome automation: Puppeteer is still excellent. Zero-config setup, smaller footprint, great for scripts and scraping.

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