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WebdriverIO vs Jest comparison of testing frameworks
What are the differences between WebdriverIO and Jest?

WebdriverIO

https://webdriver.io/

Jest

https://jestjs.io
Programming language

JavaScript

JavaScript

Category

Browser Automation, Unit Testing, Functional Testing

Unit Testing

General info

WebdriverIO is the next-gen WebDriver test framework for Node.js made upon Selenium

WebdriverIO is written in JavaScript and uses Selenium under the hood. It also comes with its own inbuilt test runner and supports other testing frameworks like Jasmine, Cucumber, and Mocha

A Unit Testing framework focused on simplicity

This is a Unit test framwork especially designed for the React.JS, Babel, TypeScript, Node, React, Angular and Vue projects. It usually worked with Enzyme(Integration testing)
xUnit
Set of frameworks originating from SUnit (Smalltalk's testing framework). They share similar structure and functionality.

Yes

No

Client-side
Allows testing code execution on the client, such as a web browser

Yes

WebdriverIO allows the use of advanced CSS selectors and makes it easy to find elements for front-end testing

Yes

You can easily test methods, properties, UI element actions and other front-end functionalities
Server-side
Allows testing the bahovior of a server-side code

Yes

It can be used to test server side behaviour and functionality

Yes

Back-end server behaviour also can be tested with Jest much in the same way as the front-end tests.
Fixtures
Allows defining a fixed, specific states of data (fixtures) that are test-local. This ensures specific environment for a single test

Yes

WebdriverIO supports the creation of fixtures

Yes

Fixtures are supported, Jest has many helper functions such as: BeforeEach and afterEach If you have some work you need to do repeatedly for many tests, beforeAll and afterAll if you only need to do setup once, at the beginning of a file.
Group fixtures
Allows defining a fixed, specific states of data for a group of tests (group-fixtures). This ensures specific environment for a given group of tests.

Yes

WebdriverIO supports the creation of group fixtures

Yes

Jest supports group fixtures
Generators
Supports data generators for tests. Data generators generate input data for test. The test is then run for each input data produced in this way.

N/A

N/A

Licence
Licence type governing the use and redistribution of the software

MIT License

MIT License

Mocks
Mocks are objects that simulate the behavior of real objects. Using mocks allows testing some part of the code in isolation (with other parts mocked when needed)

Yes

It contains a mocking service called 'wdio-wiremock-service'

Jest uses a custom resolver for imports in your tests making it simple to mock any object outside of your test’s scope. You can use mocked imports with the rich Mock Functions API to spy on function calls with readable test syntax.
Grouping
Allows organizing tests in groups

Yes

WebdriverIO allows one to build test suites, you can run these test in parallel and organize them by adjusting the 'maxInstances' property in your config file

Yes

You can declare as many test suites as you want. Grouping of tests together is done using a describe block
Other
Other useful information about the testing framework