Playwright Pricing 2026
Plans, hidden costs, and cheaper alternatives compared
Is Playwright worth the price?
Playwright's pricing is exceptionally generous, as it is entirely free and open-source.
All features are available without any cost, which is a significant advantage over many commercial testing solutions. This model is best for organizations of all sizes looking for powerful, free, and self-hosted end-to-end testing.
Pricing Plans
Open Source
Free
- Full cross-browser testing (Chromium, WebKit, Firefox)
- Multi-language APIs (TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, .NET, Java)
- Parallel test execution
- Trace viewer and HTML reporter
- Code generator and inspector
- Mobile emulation
- Network interception
- All features included — no paid tier
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Requires self-hosting infrastructure investment
No managed cloud grid provided
Internal team for maintenance and support
Which Plan Do You Need?
Developers needing free, robust E2E testing
Teams prioritizing open-source solutions
Organizations with self-hosting capabilities
How Playwright Compares to Competitors
Playwright stands out significantly against competitors like Cypress, which offers a free tier but gates advanced features behind paid plans starting around $75/month per user for their Cloud Dashboard. Similarly, commercial tools like TestComplete can cost thousands annually per license. Playwright's completely free model makes it a superior value proposition for core testing capabilities.
Playwright Pricing FAQ
How much does Playwright cost?
Playwright is free to use. No subscription or one-time fee is required for the core product.
Does Playwright have a free plan?
Yes. Playwright offers a free plan called "Open Source". It includes: Full cross-browser testing (Chromium, WebKit, Firefox), Multi-language APIs (TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, .NET, Java), Parallel test execution.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Playwright?
Yes. Popular alternatives to Playwright include Cypress, Selenium, Puppeteer, TestCafe. Free alternatives include Cypress, Selenium, Puppeteer. Compare them side-by-side on Toolradar.
Cheaper alternatives to Playwright
5 of 5 direct competitors below offer a free plan. Per-seat pricing varies up to 60% across this set.