Selenium HQ is used by our organization to automate test scripts for our applications as well as to automate or regression tests carried out during software development.
Software QA Lead at Ajman Municipality
Good community support, is scalable, and stable but the GUI needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "The grids, as well as the selectors, are the most valuable features."
- "It would be very helpful to be able to write scripts in a GUI, rather than depend so heavily on the command line."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The grids, as well as the selectors, are the most valuable features.
The ease of use for the whole tool.
What needs improvement?
I would like more usability and ease of use.
The graphical interface could be improved. It would be very helpful to be able to write scripts in a GUI, rather than depend so heavily on the command line.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Selenium HQ in my department for three years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Selenium HQ is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is easy to scale Selenium HQ.
We have five members in our Quality Assurance team, and three are dedicated to Selenium.
We have plans to increase our usage in Selenium but the issue is time.
How are customer service and support?
We have not contacted technical support. In a Google search, you can find the help you need. It's an open community.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We worked with other solutions previously and changed to Selenium because of the cost of the license.
We are also using Microsoft Team Foundation (TFS), which is now known as Azure DevOps. We are upgrading to DevOps.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
It took half a day to deploy.
One person is enough to maintain this solution.
What about the implementation team?
We completed the installation and deployment internally.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost of the license is better than other solutions. Selenium is a free tool. It's open-source.
To date, we have not paid any additional fees.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend using Selenium with Python, it will be helpful.
I would rate Selenium HQ a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
CEO, Founder at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Great for working on multiple browsers and platforms
Pros and Cons
- "Has a good Workday application that enables us to handle some of the custom controls."
- "The stop control needs to be improved with a configuration tool to enable desktop support."
What is our primary use case?
I'm the company's managing director and we are customers of Selenium.
What is most valuable?
It enables us to handle some of the custom controls of Ajax calls to Selenium and Selenium Grid for parallel execution on different versions of the application and on different platform.
What needs improvement?
The Selenium stop control has been a challenge. We use auto IT for handling some of the small controls, small scenarios on the desktop, it needs to be improved with a configuration tool where it can handle desktop support as well as Ajax controls. Basically, there needs to be an improvement in handling the Ajax custom controls because the inbuilt method is not very helpful in that respect.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for almost five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable and reliable solution for web applications, there is no doubt since it's an open-source tool, it's recommended for any web application. We used GitHub and Jenkins for continuous integration and everything is available online, we have experience working with the Jenkins version controls and configuration tools.
How are customer service and technical support?
We use Google or blogs for any problems. There are sometimes delays and if we are moving into a new Chrome version or a new Firefox version, there can be delays of up to a couple of days to figure out the plugins and there's no immediate support available. We need to wait till something turns up on the internet.
How was the initial setup?
We've been using Selenium for a long time and haven't had many issues; we knew how to configure it. It's not completely straightforward and implementation takes time but everything was available on the internet and the blogs. There's a lot of documentation available regarding deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We're using the open source version. We don't have any support from Selenium HQ.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. If working on multiple browsers and on multiple platforms is the goal, then Selenium is definitely the right tool because it works on Windows as well as on Linux. It also supports multiple browsers.
I rate the solution eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Selenium HQ
June 2025

Learn what your peers think about Selenium HQ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
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Lead QA Engineer at Xgen Business Systems
Plenty of documentation online, reliable, and stable
Pros and Cons
- "The stability of the solution has been good, it is reliable we have not had any bugs."
- "The installation could be simplified, it is a bit difficult to install."
What is our primary use case?
We are using selenium in our organization for Unit Testing, Smoke Testing, Sanity Testing and Regression Testing.
How has it helped my organization?
Reduces Manpower, Testing is become much faster which is helpful for faster Project delivery.
What is most valuable?
Selenium supports a range of languages, including Java, Perl, Python, C#, Ruby, Groovy, JavaScript, and more. It has its own script, but it is not limited by that language. It can work with various languages – whatever the developers/testers are comfortable with.
Selenium provides support across multiple browsers, namely, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. This becomes highly resourceful while executing tests and testing it across various browsers simultaneously.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the solution has been good, it is reliable we have not had any bugs till now.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not connected their technical support. However, there is a lot of community support for Selenium HQ online. If you look on internet you can find plenty of solutions for challenges you are facing.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is little complicated the installation could be simplified.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Systems Analyst at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Good API and we are happy with the UI, but we have to spend a lot of time on maintenance
Pros and Cons
- "In general, I would say that the API set is the most valuable feature."
- "Whenever an object is changed or something is changed in the UI, then we have to refactor the code."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Selenium for web application automation and mobile automation.
What is most valuable?
In general, I would say that the API set is the most valuable feature.
We use sticker boards and we are happy with the UI.
What needs improvement?
Whenever an object is changed or something is changed in the UI, then we have to refactor the code. This means that we have to spend a lot of time on maintenance.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Selenium HQ for the past two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability has been a problem during my testing. I have run the same code several times and faced issues for no apparent reason. Problems were identified, though the objects are all in place and no changes have happened in the UI, the test failed unwantedly. Then, we run the test case for the second time, the result will be true. This means that there is instability in the tests.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We only have a small number of test cases and haven't faced any problem with scalability. However, I am not sure what will happen when we try bulk testing.
There are three different teams for automation in my organization, and each has a single point of contact, so there are three different people.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not been in contact with technical support. When we did have a problem, we were able to resolve it by finding the solution online.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using another set of tools for quite some time before we switched to Selenium HQ.
We are also using Appium, which has native support for Android and iOS devices.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was complex and it took us approximately five days to complete.
What about the implementation team?
Our in-house team handled the deployment.
One person is responsible for maintenance, although this is one of the problems that we faced. There is no separate team for maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This is an open-source product so there is no cost other than manpower.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We conducted a PoC using UiPath for RPA. We are planning to try using Tricentis Tosca for codeless automation. We are continuing with our evaluation and ultimately, want to find the best tool.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is considering Selenium HQ is that if there is a timeframe that is separate from the automation then it is suitable. However, if there is no timeframe and the issue does not fit into the automation, and it needs to be adapted manually, then this product is not a good choice.
I would rate this solution a six out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Software Test Engineer at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Open source and compatible with multiple languages, but lacks support for Windows desktop applications
Pros and Cons
- "It is compatible with and supports multiple languages, such as Java and Python. It is open source, and it is widely used."
- "It is not a licensed tool. The problem with that is that it won't be able to support Windows desktop applications. There is no support for Windows desktop applications. They can do something about it. Its user interface can also be improved, which is not great compared to the other latest tools. Anybody who has been working on functional testing or manual testing cannot directly work on Selenium HQ without learning programming skills, which is a disadvantage."
What is most valuable?
It is compatible with and supports multiple languages, such as Java and Python. It is open source, and it is widely used.
What needs improvement?
It is not a licensed tool. The problem with that is that it won't be able to support Windows desktop applications. There is no support for Windows desktop applications. They can do something about it.
Its user interface can also be improved, which is not great compared to the other latest tools.
Anybody who has been working on functional testing or manual testing cannot directly work on Selenium HQ without learning programming skills, which is a disadvantage.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Selenium HQ for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has good stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is good. They are improving on that.
How are customer service and technical support?
I haven't directly interacted with anyone. For most of the questions that I have, I search online, and I am able to find the answers in the community.
How was the initial setup?
It is complex, but they have detailed documentation, which is helpful.
What other advice do I have?
You need a person who knows one programming language thoroughly. It is not like anybody can pick and work on this solution. You should be thorough enough on the language and the framework that you are choosing. Only then Selenium HQ is the way to go.
I would rate Selenium HQ a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Automation Test Lead at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Integrates well with Visual Studio, but it does not support desktop application testing
Pros and Cons
- "The testing solution produces the best web applications."
- "Selenium uses a layer-based approach that is somewhat slower than Eggplant when it comes to executing code."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Selenium HQ as a plugin within Visual studio and we develop in C#. We use the Visual Studio IDE and Selenium is our solution for automation testing.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is that it is open-source.
The testing solution produces the best web applications.
What needs improvement?
Selenium uses a layer-based approach that is somewhat slower than Eggplant when it comes to executing code. The performance is something in need of improvement.
There is no direct option for image validation and this would be a useful addition in the future. In our application, we have a graphical representation that needs to be validated, and it can be done by validating all of the images. However, we can't do that with Selenium so we don't cover these scenarios in our test cases.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Selenium for more than six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have not faced any issues in terms of stability.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not needed to contact technical support specifically for Selenium because there is a lot of information available on the internet. If we have problems then we can gather the solution ourselves.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are satisfied with the pricing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have just completed a PoC with Eggplant and we prefer it because they have support for testing desktop applications.
What other advice do I have?
In summary, this is a good product. If it is a web application that you are testing then this is the best option.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Director Technology at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
Gives a lot of freedom to code anything, there is no restriction on the type of function you can do
Pros and Cons
- "What I like the most about this product is that it gives us a lot of freedom to code anything, there is no restriction on the type of function you can do."
- "Selenium is good when the team is really technical because Selenium does less built-in methods. If it came with more built-in and pre-built methods it would be even easier for less technical people to work with it. That's where I think the improvement can be."
What is our primary use case?
We work for a client who does HRM solutions. They wanted us to develop their scripts using Selenium HQ. Typically, we develop UI, API and database scripts. These are the three combinations we have used for them. So their test cases are typically where we initially do some operations on the various applications they have. Then, once the operation is done, we initiate a few API calls and then we validate the data in the database. This whole process of trying to enter into, listen into, and close is done using Selenium HQ. This is what we are doing. We have close to 8,000 test cases in the last three years.
What is most valuable?
What I like the most about this product is that it gives us a lot of freedom to code anything, there is no restriction on the type of function you can do. Typically, we use Java with it, and Java has a lot of libraries available online, and whatever you need you can just write the Java code for that part of the work and then you can do it. This includes, multi-technology, the UI database, API image based testing - it lets us do everything.
What needs improvement?
Selenium is good when the team is really technical because Selenium does less built-in methods. If it came with more built-in and pre-built methods it would be even easier for less technical people to work with it. That's where I think the improvement can be.
I would also like to see a good method for image based automation. That's what I believe is a very upcoming thing and is something that Selenium really lacks. The imagery is kind of an automation. It's more of an object decipher, so that's something I really want to see because most of the tools are moving in that direction.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Selenium HQ for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable, but one issue I see is that whenever there's a new version coming in, every three months or so, the current version changes and the new version of Selenium is not stable and then we have to wait for a week or so to get a patch for that.
We use Selenium HQ on a regular basis.
Overall there are around 20 people working on this just in my area, who are also responsible for delivery as well as maintenance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
On a similar previous project, we scaled it. We went ahead and integrated the continuous integration and Jenkins Pipeline with QA. It was pretty scalable. We were able to connect it to CID and we were able to connect it to JIRA.
How are customer service and technical support?
In terms of customer support, it is more of a community support. There's a lot of small communities for Selenium HQ. I don't think Selenium HQ has official support. But there are a lot of communities. So typically we go to Stack Overflow and that kind of community where we just look for the support if we get stuck.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was pretty easy. There is lot of online documentation and online help. Even if you get stuck somewhere it just takes a few searches to figure out the issue because there is good community support.
What about the implementation team?
We were able to deploy and install this product all by ourselves without any extra help.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We tried MicroFocus UFT and we also evaluated Tosca. These are the two tools we evaluated along with HQ but we felt Selenium HQ was better for us.
The overall need for this project was that we were supposed to integrate across multiple technologies. When we started this project two years back we had to use API and a UI database. We were not allowed to use a lot of technologies. So we realized it would not be easy with other tools to combine three technologies in the same place since it's a different structure. This was not possible with UFT or Tosca. So that was one of the biggest reasons we chose Selenium HQ, because the whole project depended on that kind of a flow.
Additionally, there was the licensing issue. It was pretty costly at Tosca and MicroFocus UFT, whereas Selenium HQ is all open source and has a very good community support. So I think these are the two reasons we chose it.
What other advice do I have?
My personal advice is that it is such an amazing tool to work on. The best thing about the tool is the community support. I don't think any other tool has that kind of a community support. You just post a question on any popular community, like Stack Overflow, and you get answers in like 20 minutes. There are so many people using it which makes life really easy. At the same time, you get a lot of free hands to work on. Meaning because it's based on Java which has so many open source libraries, you can use any library to do any kind of functionality you want. That's a pretty powerful tool. My advice if you get stuck somewhere, is to just put it on community and then you get your answer.
On a scale of one to ten I would rate Selenium HQ an eight.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Automation Lead - Robotic Process Automation at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
There is a lot of community support available but it needs standardized frameworks to build automation
Pros and Cons
- "I like that it is a robust and free open source. There is a lot of community support available, and there are a lot of developers using them. There's good community support."
- "There should be standardized frameworks to build automation."
What is most valuable?
I like that it is a robust and free open source. There is a lot of community support available, and there are a lot of developers using them. There's good community support.
What needs improvement?
In terms of improvement, there should be standardized frameworks, which do not exist. Currently, you have to first sit down and look inward. This function is provided by some tools like Katalon.
There should be standardized frameworks to build automation.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Selenium for five to six years.
We also use Sauce Labs. We do testing on various versions of browsers, and various operating systems for Android and Apple. So Sauce Labs provided that capability, where we can easily scale up our testing to test on various versions.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability and stability are quite good. It is easily scalable. With a few pieces of code, it's scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have interacted on the Selenium forums a couple of times but never contacted the technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also use Sauce Labs.
How was the initial setup?
We set up the entire framework around how the tests would be and different class structures. Then we evaluated how to construct labs and how to title execution and stuff like that. It took us good four to five months of two or three people working on it, to set up a robust framework.
What other advice do I have?
If you are using it for the automation test, automation is generally good. If you have an experienced developer, it will be really good to deploy the open-source frameworks for Selenium.
I would rate it a seven out of ten.
Not a ten because they don't come loaded with the frameworks or different framework options. You have to build it from scratch. The build-in comes with a lot of networks and libraries and stuff. You still need to build that framework before you start writing the code
They try to come up with new features. I think they're in a very good space.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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I like your article because it is well written. I noticed you said your team uses Java. What is the advantage of using Java over JavaScript?