Amiya Acharya - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Automation Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
An open-source and language-independent product with support for many plugins
Pros and Cons
  • "It supports many external plugins, and because it's a Java-based platform, it's language-independent. You can use Java, C#, Python, etc."
  • "If they can integrate more recording features, like UFT, it would be helpful for automation, but it's not necessary. They can also add a few more reporting features for advanced reporting."

What is our primary use case?

We do UI-based functional testing in Selenium. We have prioritized some of the use cases that are most likely to be affected, and we have added those to our regression suite. Each week or each month, we trigger the regression suite to check that nothing is broken.

What is most valuable?

It supports many external plugins, and because it's a Java-based platform, it's language-independent. You can use Java, C#, Python, etc. It's open to different platforms, but you have to be really good at coding to work with this.

What needs improvement?

If they can integrate more recording features, like UFT, it would be helpful for automation, but it's not necessary. They can also add a few more reporting features for advanced reporting.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for the last four years. 

Buyer's Guide
Selenium HQ
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Selenium HQ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable. If you have a Jenkins setup and you are running on the grid, it's robust and smooth.

We have about 300 users, and it's used on a daily basis.

How are customer service and support?

We have mostly used online support. Whatever you're looking for, the answers are already available on the web. If any technical issues are there, our own internal IT team is also able to fix them. I don't remember any instance of connecting with their support. So, it has been really smooth.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup is a little tough. It could take around six hours, but if you are experienced enough, you can do it within an hour. If you are a complete beginner, it will be a little difficult.

You have to be really good with the POM dependencies, and you have to be used to working on different IDEs, such as IntelliJ or Eclipse ID. Based on the different setups, you have to consider the POM file and also integrate those dependencies. These things take up some time initially, but once they are done, it works well. I would rate it a 4 out of 5 in terms of the setup.

It doesn't require much maintenance. If you are upgrading to a new version, the basic changes will be needed, but not that much maintenance is needed. It's really easy. They do a release every six or seven months.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Selenium is an open-source product. It is free.

What other advice do I have?

It's one of the best tools I have worked on. It's a strong tool and a winner in functional testing and automation testing. It's open source, and it also supports mobile testing. Other tools, such as UFT, are quite expensive. 

I would rate it a 9 out of 10.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Harold Rios - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Finding Technology Company
Real User
Top 10
Good documentation, with the ability to optimize resources and lower the cost of regression tests
Pros and Cons
  • "The main characteristic that is useful is that the tool is completely free."
  • "If the test scenarios are not subdivided correctly, it is very likely that maintenance will become very expensive and re-use is unlikely."

What is our primary use case?

I have led regression testing projects involving CRM, employee registration, and eCommerce. In each of these test cases, we have used the automation tool which has brought us benefits in time savings, shortening schedules, or recovering lost time - all of this leading to money savings. 

It's very useful when there are constant changes in the back-end. If the changes are constant in the source end it is not a good idea to use it. It is very important to previously evaluate the use of the tool depending on the characteristics.

How has it helped my organization?

The main improvement is the lower cost of regression tests. It will probably be more expensive in the first iteration (more or less 30%), however, we can save up to 40% or 50% in the next runs. 

Another benefit is that, once the test scripts have been built, it is not necessary for the person executing the test processes to be an expert, allowing resources and costs to be optimized with lower costs in human talent. 

In addition, the barrier of functional knowledge is eliminated; specialization is not necessary during the life cycle of the tests.

What is most valuable?

The main characteristic that is useful is that the tool is completely free.

Additionally, currently, you can find resources that handle the characteristics of the tool very well. 

The range of web platforms it supports is also wide, including the operating system platforms. It is possible to reuse the test scenarios that have been built in iterations after the first one or in the improvements of the systems that are part of the normal maintenance and updating that must be done periodically and that imply an investment in tests.

What needs improvement?

A great improvement could be in the user experience which is necessary as it does not have much. The use is too technical; it is not designed for the end-user. The best way to maintain the test scenarios over time should be considered. If the test scenarios are not subdivided correctly, it is very likely that maintenance will become very expensive and re-use is unlikely. This would ultimately mean that it would reflect the possible benefits in the projects and, on the contrary, the use of the solution ends up being more expensive.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Selenium for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The latest version should always be treated with care. Being open-source it can be unstable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability will depend on where the tool is installed.

How are customer service and support?

Until now, I have not used the support service. Everything has been done using the documentation that is registered in the forums.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

In the past, I used a very good solution. However, it had a high cost and had to be used by more than one resource.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup can be very complex.

What about the implementation team?

In my case, the initial setup was done internally.

What was our ROI?

The ROI can be between 20% to 50% in the testing process in the medium and long term. In the short term, it can be 10% or less.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

As for the license, there is not much to say. It is free, however, the configuration must be done correctly or it can be very expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Other options that I evaluated were TestComplete, Kathalon, and IBM.

What other advice do I have?

It must be evaluated very well before being used. In my case, we implemented a front-end that facilitates the use. If you want to use it in the future I can give you some access.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Selenium HQ
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Selenium HQ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
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Kapil Tarka - PeerSpot reviewer
Test Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 5
Automated UI tests, reliable, and highly configurable
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of Selenium HQ are the automation of all UI tests, its open-source, reliability, and is supported by Google."
  • "Selenium HQ can improve by creating an enterprise version where it can provide the infrastructure for running the tests. Currently, we need to run the test in our infrastructure because it's a free tool. If Google can start an enterprise subscription and they can provide us with the infrastructure, such as Google Cloud infrastructure where we can configure it, and we can run the test there, it would be highly beneficial."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Selenium HQ for automated UI testing of web applications.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of Selenium HQ are the automation of all UI tests, its open-source, reliability, and is supported by Google.

What needs improvement?

Selenium HQ can improve by creating an enterprise version where it can provide the infrastructure for running the tests. Currently, we need to run the test in our infrastructure because it's a free tool. If Google can start an enterprise subscription and they can provide us with the infrastructure, such as Google Cloud infrastructure where we can configure it, and we can run the test there, it would be highly beneficial.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Selenium HQ for approximately nine years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Selenium HQ is highly stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Selenium HQ is good.

We have approximately 10 testers that are using this solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Selenium HQ is very difficult. You need different configurations on your system, such as Java and you need to configure it. Additionally, you need to have some IDEs such as Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA on your system. Selenium is supported in many languages, such as .NET, Java, Python, JavaScript, and C#. So, at least you must be knowing any one of these languages, then only you can use Selenium.

The solution requires coding experience to be able to implement.

The deployment does not take a lot of time. You can create a continuous integration pipeline with TeamCity or Jenkins, and then you can run tests.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Selenium HQ is a free and open-source solution and is supported by Google.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Tricentis Tosca and it was expensive and Selenium HQ is free. This is why we choose Selenium HQ.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to others is the first step to using Selenium HQ is to learn a programing language.

I rate Selenium HQ a nine out of ten.

It's a very stable tool and it's open-source, and there are new versions available. The new versions come quickly and frequently, you receive a successor version with bug fixes very easily. The tool is easy to use and highly configurable.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Juan PabloBoada - PeerSpot reviewer
RPA Solutions Analyst at NEWDATA S. A.
Real User
Top 20
Great for testing, robust, and has a helpful user community
Pros and Cons
  • "There is a supportive community around it."
  • "It would be awesome if there was a standalone implementation of Selenium for non-developer users."

What is our primary use case?

I'm currently working on automation testing using Selenium and Cucumber. 

I am using it with Java, not with as a standalone implementation. It's Selenium with Cucumber and with TestNG.

It's a dependency that I am using from SeleniumHQ. It's a couple of components.

We primarily use it for automation testing. 

What is most valuable?

The standard features are good, and I use them a lot. The framework for testing is robust with Selenium.

The integration with TestNG and Gherkin with Cucumber is great. Gherkin is a language for using for testing.

The solution is stable.

You can scale the product.

There is a supportive community around it. 

What needs improvement?

It would be awesome if there was a standalone implementation of Selenium for non-developer users. For example, for business users. If a business wants to test something and doesn't have the knowledge of coding and programming, they should still be able to.

They should offer a single setup. By that, I mean software that you don't need to set up component by component. They should make up a setup file that puts all software together in the place that it should be and it works.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for six months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Selenium is a mature and stable software. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Selenium is not so scalable. It's not like other software. There are a couple of dependencies where you can make it grow or shrink depending on your needs. In general, it's okay.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't used support a lot. I have researched a couple of posts in the community. I've done no more than that.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was not quite so complex and also not simple. I tried it in Eclipse, and it didn't work quite well, and then I tried it in IntelliJ. I need to look further into it if either can be used with Selenium. I didn't use it with Eclipse. I used it with IntelliJ. With IntelliJ, the implementation was pretty straightforward, pretty simple. However, with Eclipse, it's not.

What other advice do I have?

We are customers. 

I'd advise users to take advantage of community posts. If the person finds any trouble, Google it. Probably someone already has found the same issue and also has found the solution or the workaround for it.

In general, I have no complaints about this product. I would rate it nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PrithvirajPatil - PeerSpot reviewer
Application Developer & Senior Analyst at MOURI Tech
Real User
Top 10
Supports diverse web technologies, but they could add more customization features for reporting
Pros and Cons
  • "Selenium's open-source nature is a key advantage. Its extensive support for diverse web technologies."
  • "They should leverage the tools for supporting Windows apps."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product for mobile and API testing purposes.

What is most valuable?

Selenium's open-source nature is a key advantage. Its extensive support for diverse web technologies. We can combine it with APM for mobile, API, and web testing.

What needs improvement?

They should leverage the tools for supporting Windows apps. Additionally, they could add more customization features for reporting.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Selenium HQ as partners for nine years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable. However, it is impacted by the changes in UI. I rate the stability a seven out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We manage Selenium HQ for 20 customers. It is a scalable product and suitable for small to medium enterprises. It needs improvement in terms of supporting Windows devices.

I rate the scalability a seven or eight.

How are customer service and support?

It is an open-source solution, and thus, we do not receive direct support services. We refer to relevant documentation and community articles to resolve most issues.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup for mobile app testing, especially when installing simulators, is complicated. Configuring simulators for Android and iOS platforms is time-consuming due to trial and error. Setting it up for mobile automation takes approximately one to two weeks. However, for web automation, the process is comparatively straightforward. It takes less than an hour to complete.

I rate the process a seven out of ten.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is an open-source solution.

What other advice do I have?

It's crucial for technicians to thoroughly evaluate whether the solution aligns with the end-to-end application needs, especially considering the complexity of enterprise applications. For leveraging features like ERP integration or mobile testing, it is better to understand the compatibility and support for specific devices.

I rate Selenium HQ a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
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Gunaseelan Ramalingam - PeerSpot reviewer
QA Lead at Bahwan CyberTek
Real User
Top 10
Good functionality and helps us maintain a certain quality of work
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a scalable solution."
  • "They should add more functionality to the solution."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution to perform tests and robotic process automation.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution helps us improve and maintain a specific set of work quality. Also, it saves a lot of time for us.

What is most valuable?

The solution's core functionality is excellent.

What needs improvement?

They should add more functionality to the solution. Also, they should provide technical support services.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution's stability a ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution. I rate its scalability a ten. It is easy to deploy on any device.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I used Micro Focus UFT One earlier.

How was the initial setup?

The solution's initial setup takes time. I rate the process as one. We require a specialist to download and install it manually. Later, we need to create a framework and set it for an automation process. The entire process is quite complicated for new users.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is an open-source tool.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend the solution to others. Its learning curve is very high for Java and comparatively less for Python. Apart from this, it is highly stable. A lot of documentation is available for it in case of any queries. I rate the solution a nine.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
QA Team Lead at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Open-source with good documentation and good reliability
Pros and Cons
  • "It is very stable."
  • "The initial setup was difficult."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for normal regression tests.

What is most valuable?

I like most of it. It is possible to get a lot of help and find help on the internet since Selenium is so widespread and established. The documentation is great.  There is  a lot of help on websites like Stack Overflow.

It is very stable.

The product is open-source. 

What needs improvement?

We are thinking about codeless automation, like what ACCELQ offers. They could maybe release a similar product that would be a codeless product.

The initial setup was difficult. 

It would be nice to have it on the cloud, like ACCELQ. That way, we don't need to set up it ourselves and don't need hardware for that. That would also allow for many people at many subsidiaries or locations to work simultaneously with it.

I'd like the possibility of automatically checking the installed browser version and automatically downloading the Selenium driver that suits the installed browser. Otherwise, you have to download and set up it manually, and if you get a new browser version, you have to do it every time, and it's time-consuming.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for one year. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

Of course, you need a lot of time to optimize your scripts so that they run stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is not really scalable. 

If you consider load tests or multi-thread testing, you need very powerful hardware to start several browsers. That's why in this aspect, not very scalable if you run tests in parallel.

We just have two people leveraging the solution right now. They use it regularly, on a daily basis. 

How are customer service and support?

There is a lot of documentation and general product knowledge online. We don't have direct support contact as it is an open-source solution. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did previously use Eggplant. It's not open-source. It's actually pretty expensive. 

One benefit of Eggplant was testing mobile apps. Also, you don't find so much information on Stack Overflow or on the internet about Eggplant; they have good support.

How was the initial setup?

It was not very easy to set up. 

We needed to add a lot of plugins like TestNG and Maven. The whole configuration was not very easy. I am not sure if it is the Selenium setup or just the whole system setup.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is open-source and free to use. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm an end-user. 

The solution is okay, however, you need to use it together with the TestNG and with Maven and use different plugins that improve it.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Software engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Open-source solution is faster than most but lacks some features
Pros and Cons
  • "Selenium is the fastest tool compared to other competitors. It can run on any language, like Java, Python, C++, and .NET. So we can test any application on Selenium, whether it's mobile or desktop."
  • "For now, I guess Selenium could add some other features like object communications for easy expansion."

What is our primary use case?

Depending upon the functionality, I use Selenium to prepare the scenarios I'm doing. I start by writing automation scripts in Java. From there, we execute the scripts if there are any changes in the product. Then we upgrade this overnight along with Jenkins to make sure our application is running as expected. They feature continuous deployment and continuous integration with the help of our teams, so our product will be applied to more users once it's adequately tested.

What is most valuable?

Selenium is the fastest tool compared to other competitors. It can run on any language, like Java, Python, C++, and .NET. So we can test any application on Selenium, whether it's mobile or desktop. And if I build some framework on Selenium, I can give it to someone else. Then they can use it and start going further. One more thing is that you can implement any framework on it, like TestNG, Cucumber, JUnit, etc.

What needs improvement?

Selenium should implement more islands for a desktop feature. My laptop and desktop have a calibrator or some other desktop applications. We can automate those things through Selenium, so they should be adding them in the subsequent versions. For now, I guess Selenium could add some other features like object communications for easy expansion. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Selenium HQ for about five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So performance-wise, Selenium is the best tool so far. It has the fastest automating tools.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We run scenarios at midnight or around that time and split this application into virtual machines. So during that time, the application is executed in panel mode. Let's say I have 10 vital missions in the Google Cloud Platform. These things will be triggered automatically and executed in each of the machines. And it has a balancing load concept, so if one machine is at capacity, it will automatically move to a second machine for the other scenarios. So there is never an issue with scalability. We have more than 1,000 employees in the company using it every day to develop scripts. 

How are customer service and support?

Because Selenium HQ is open source, we don't have a customer service team or technical support, so we have to search on our own for answers. When I've had problems in the past,I've had to Google to see if it's an application issue or a Selenium issue. Without any help from vendors, it's difficult to automate some things like CAPTCHA. But still, we have a framework that is ready for this. So with the help of this framework and importing those library files, we can make our own way. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

At my previous company, we used a UFT tool called Micro Focus UFT. We used this because it was a different kind of use case where we had to transfer our publications back and forth between the mainframe and the mobile application. So we have to format that, which is why we used the UFT.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up SeleniumHQ isn't that complex. We like to develop our application in Pega and have a point cloud that we deploy on Google Cloud. It is developed and tested with Jenkins, which is a continuous integration tool. Once the code is specific to Jenkins, we trigger Selenium and execute the scenarios. After this finishes, we move everything to cloud. 

Along with this docker, there is a deployment phase in Google Cloud, where the images of our application are moved to pre-production. Pre-production is something like a replica of production that allows the users to work on it. So once it is transferred to pre-production, the users will work for one week or one or two. If they are satisfied, we move on to production.

Deployment usually requires about eight to ten people. Most of the work is done by technicians who are akin to database administrators. They take this on for one month a year every year. Their job is mostly to minimize the weight of the application. In the next phase, DevOps engineers deploy the enviornment. The time for deployment depends on the teams and the tasks. If there is a small change, it may have taken between half an hour and an hour. On the other hand, if there is a significant upgrade of the application, it may take eight to ten hours. Generally, we don't need any maintenance unless a UR application has changed.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Selenium is free. Anyone can use it without paying anything.

What other advice do I have?

I rate SeleniumHQ seven out of 10. When you're choosing a solution, it depends upon the type of applications you are using in your project. If you have only have desktop and mobile, go for Selenium. However, if you have multiple applications like Windows-based applications, a virtual machine-based application, or a mainframe .NET application, I suggest going with another tool, like Tosca UFT.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Google
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Selenium HQ Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Selenium HQ Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.