Best Cypress Alternatives in 2026
Looking for alternatives to Cypress? Here are the top options compared.
Why Consider Cypress Alternatives?
- β οΈChromium-only for most features (limited Firefox/WebKit)
- β οΈJavaScript/TypeScript only
- β οΈNo native multi-tab support
- β οΈSlower parallel execution (requires paid Cloud)
Top 3 Alternatives to Cypress
#1
Playwright
Playwright is a modern end-to-end testing framework by Microsoft that supports multiple browsers, languages, and platforms. It's known for its reliability, auto-waiting, and powerful trace viewer.
Free
Free tier availableβ Pros
- β’ True cross-browser testing (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit)
- β’ Multi-language support (JS, Python, Java, C#)
- β’ Auto-waiting reduces flaky tests
β Cons
- β’ Steeper initial learning curve
- β’ Smaller community than Cypress
- β’ No interactive test runner like Cypress
#2
Jest
Jest is the most popular JavaScript testing framework, created by Facebook. It provides a zero-config testing experience with built-in mocking, code coverage, and snapshot testing.
Free
Free tier availableβ Pros
- β’ Industry standard with massive adoption
- β’ Zero-config for most projects
- β’ Built-in mocking and assertions
β Cons
- β’ Slow for large test suites
- β’ ESM support still evolving
- β’ Heavy dependency footprint
#3
Vitest
Vitest is a blazing-fast unit testing framework powered by Vite. It offers Jest-compatible APIs with native ESM support, TypeScript integration, and significantly faster execution.
Free
Free tier availableβ Pros
- β’ Blazing fast execution with Vite
- β’ Native ESM and TypeScript support
- β’ Jest-compatible API (easy migration)
β Cons
- β’ Smaller community than Jest
- β’ Newer with less battle-testing
- β’ Some Jest plugins not compatible
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Price | Free Tier | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cypress | Free / Cloud from $67/month | β | Testing |
| Playwright | Free | β | Testing |
| Jest | Free | β | Testing |
| Vitest | Free | β | Testing |