Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

PhantomJS

1.7K
430
+ 1
18
Playwright

450
528
+ 1
76
Add tool

PhantomJS vs Playwright: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will explore the key differences between PhantomJS and Playwright. Both PhantomJS and Playwright are tools used for web automation and testing. However, there are several distinct differences between them that set them apart.

  1. Execution Speed: One of the significant differences between PhantomJS and Playwright is their execution speed. PhantomJS is based on an older technology, and its execution speed can be slower compared to Playwright. Playwright, on the other hand, is built using more modern and efficient technologies, resulting in faster execution times.

  2. Cross-Browser Support: Playwright provides cross-browser support, allowing developers to perform automated tests on different browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. In contrast, PhantomJS is primarily focused on headless browsing and lacks comprehensive support for multiple browsers.

  3. API Documentation: Playwright offers extensive and well-documented APIs, making it easier for developers to understand and utilize its capabilities. PhantomJS, while being a powerful tool, has slightly less comprehensive and organized documentation, which can make it more challenging for developers, especially those new to the tool.

  4. Maintenance and Support: Playwright is an actively maintained and supported project, with regular updates and bug fixes. It has a vibrant community and strong backing from Microsoft. On the other hand, PhantomJS has been discontinued and is no longer actively maintained. This lack of ongoing support can lead to compatibility issues with newer browser versions and potential security vulnerabilities.

  5. WebSocket Support: Playwright has built-in support for WebSocket communication, making it easier to automate scenarios involving real-time communication protocols. PhantomJS, while capable of handling WebSocket communication, may require additional workarounds or custom implementations.

  6. Programming Language Support: Playwright supports a wide range of programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, and C#. This flexibility allows developers to choose the language they are most comfortable with. In contrast, PhantomJS primarily focuses on JavaScript and may not have the same level of support for other languages.

In summary, Playwright offers faster execution, cross-browser support, comprehensive documentation, ongoing maintenance, WebSocket support, and broader language support compared to PhantomJS.

Advice on PhantomJS and Playwright
Ankur Loriya
Needs advice
on
PhantomJSPhantomJS
and
PuppeteerPuppeteer

I am using Node 12 for server scripting and have a function to generate PDF and send it to a browser. Currently, we are using PhantomJS to generate a PDF. Some web post shows that we can achieve PDF generation using Puppeteer. I was a bit confused. Should we move to puppeteerJS? Which one is better with NodeJS for generating PDF?

See more
Replies (2)
Recommends
on
PuppeteerPuppeteer

You better go with puppeteer. It is basically chrome automation tool, written in nodejs. So what you get is PDF, generated by chrome itself. I guess there is hardly better PDF generation tool for the web. Phantomjs is already more or less outdated as technology. It uses some old webkit port that's quite behind in terms of standards and features. It can be replaced with puppeteer for every single task.

See more
Recommends
on
PuppeteerPuppeteer

I suggest puppeteer to go for. It is simple and easy to set up. Only limitaiton is it can be used only for chrome browser and currently they are looking into expanding into FF. The next thing is Playwright which is just a scale up of Puppeteer. It supports cross browsers.

See more
Get Advice from developers at your company using StackShare Enterprise. Sign up for StackShare Enterprise.
Learn More
Pros of PhantomJS
Pros of Playwright
  • 13
    Scriptable web browser
  • 3
    Depends on QT
  • 2
    No ECMAScript 6
  • 13
    Cross browser
  • 10
    Open source
  • 9
    Test Runner with Playwright/test
  • 7
    Promise based
  • 7
    Well documented
  • 5
    Integrate your POMs as extensible fixtures
  • 5
    Execute tests in parallel
  • 5
    API Testing
  • 4
    Python Support
  • 4
    Capture videos, screenshots and other artifacts on fail
  • 3
    Inbuild reporters html,line,dot,json
  • 3
    Context isolation
  • 1
    Fastest

Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

Cons of PhantomJS
Cons of Playwright
    Be the first to leave a con
    • 12
      Less help
    • 3
      Node based
    • 2
      Does not execute outside of browser

    Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

    What is PhantomJS?

    PhantomJS is a headless WebKit scriptable with JavaScript. It is used by hundreds of developers and dozens of organizations for web-related development workflow.

    What is Playwright?

    It is a Node library to automate the Chromium, WebKit and Firefox browsers with a single API. It enables cross-browser web automation that is ever-green, capable, reliable and fast.

    Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

    Jobs that mention PhantomJS and Playwright as a desired skillset
    What companies use PhantomJS?
    What companies use Playwright?
    See which teams inside your own company are using PhantomJS or Playwright.
    Sign up for StackShare EnterpriseLearn More

    Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions

    What tools integrate with PhantomJS?
    What tools integrate with Playwright?

    Sign up to get full access to all the tool integrationsMake informed product decisions

    Blog Posts

    What are some alternatives to PhantomJS and Playwright?
    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. Boring web-based administration tasks can (and should!) also be automated as well.
    Electron
    With Electron, creating a desktop application for your company or idea is easy. Initially developed for GitHub's Atom editor, Electron has since been used to create applications by companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Slack, and Docker. The Electron framework lets you write cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. It is based on io.js and Chromium and is used in the Atom editor.
    Protractor
    Protractor is an end-to-end test framework for Angular and AngularJS applications. Protractor runs tests against your application running in a real browser, interacting with it as a user would.
    wkhtmltopdf
    wkhtmltopdf and wkhtmltoimage are command line tools to render HTML into PDF and various image formats using the QT Webkit rendering engine. These run entirely "headless" and do not require a display or display service.
    SlimerJS
    It allows you to manipulate a web page with an external Javascript script: opening a webpage, clicking on links, modifying the content... It is useful to do functional tests, page automation, network monitoring, screen capture etc.
    See all alternatives