This special video shows the differences between QF‑Test and Selenium

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Comparing features of Selenium and QF-Test

RequirementSeleniumQF-Test
Setup and ProgrammingSelenium requires software development skills to configure Selenium IDE and the Selenium server.Testers usually don't have the technical expertise to set up development environments. This is different at QF-Test: Non-developers can work with the tool, easily and quickly.
Supported technologiesSelenium only works with web applications.QF-Test supports Java, Web, Windows, Android and even hybrid applications.
Target groupSelenium requires programming skills and is primary meant for developers. Selenium doesn't have an intuitive design.The target group of QF-Test are testers as well as developers
Capture and replaySelenium just captures actions and checks via Firefox plugin, however, the editing of captured steps is limited. Moreover Selenium IDE is just developed further reluctantly.QF-Test can impress with regard to capture and replay: The capture of actions and checks and the direct editing of the captured steps belong to the basic functionalities of QF-Test.
Object identificationThere is a big disadvantage of Selenium compared to QF-Test in object recognition: GUI-objects must be administered on code level and can only be administered centrally by the consistent use of special programming patterns.QF-Test recognizes components through fixed IDs of the GUI objects or a multi-level and customizable detection algorithm that is tolerant to element changes in the hierarchy.
Test run analysis, 
Reporting &
Data driven testing
Selenium does not support these featuresTest run analysis, reporting, debugging and data driven testing are built into QF-Test.
ReusabilityReusing Selenium tests requires knowledge in object oriented programming.A modular and extensible design pattern is built in to QF-Test.
Extensive documentation,
Support,
Training & Consulting
Selenium does not offer this.QF-Test comes with extensive documentation in English and German. The professional support, training and consulting comes directly from the authors.
Popularity &
Backwarts compatibility
Selenium is very popular among developers. Employees and solutions can be found easily due to the great community. However, there are often releases at Selenium that require the adaption of test code, since backwards compatibility is not part of the main objectives of Selenium.QF-Test is in use at 1,400 companies in more than 60 countries worldwide and it focuses on backwards compatibility of older versions.
Modular stuctureYou can work with Selenium very modularly and integrate unit tests.QF-Test contains a sophisticated component management in addition to modular and an integrion of unit tests, while an individual solution must be developed when using Selenium.

"After two mayor versions we abandoned Selenium due to this high maintenance effort."
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Attila Enez, Tester

Hamburger Pensionsverwaltung, Hamburg, Deutschland

"I find it is a shame that my technical peers never experienced the productivity gains we experienced using your product (QF-Test). Many have difficulties envisioning a painless Test Automation experience.

They 'know' that Test Automation is extremely hard and expensive since all they ever used were Selenium and other wrapper tools around Selenium that require some programming knowledge. Your product could be a game changer in so many organizations."

Liviu-Aurelian Rau-Neascu, Senior Technical Analyst

Bucharest, Romania

Which one fits to my team and our requirements best?

  • Instead of an either-or-question we recommend using the benefits of both tools. With Selenium (or the extension Selenium IDE) you can you can, for example, work when dialogues play a minor role in the system test. However, QF-Test is better suited for dialogues.
  • Also you can only use Web tests with Selenium in Firefox or Chrome (playback is also possible in more browsers). QF-Test supports additional browsers for web tests (Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Microsoft Edge (Chromium based) and Internet Explorer; also 64bit) as well as the headless browser versions of Chrome, Firefox and Edge (Chromium based) and is easier to handle for testers.
  • You can even integrate your existing Java based Selenium tests in QF-Test and since QF-Test version 4.1 develop combined Selenium/QF-Test tests. Whenever bugs occur testers and developers can communicate quickly and have a common basis for the same target of a high quality software.

Why should I pay for a commercial tool instead of using a freeware tool?

The tool price is only a small part of the test project costs. The main part is the personnel costs, i.e. the effectiveness with which tests can be implemented and maintained is the most decisive factor. This is not taken into account in the pure tool price consideration. In addition, the test tool pays for itself after approximately 3 test cycles. Further information on testautomation and ROI