Ranorex Vs. Selenium

When companies evaluate test automation tools for web testing they are often facing a similar question: What's the difference between Ranorex and Selenium? Though the larger question is: Why should you pay for a commercial tool instead of using a free one? At first glance, both tools are facing the same challenges when automating a web application, but it is very important to understand further aspects when comparing both tools.

Test Automation Tool Comparison

Setup and Configuration


Testers typically are not familiar with setting up a development environment, but Selenium generally requires a good understanding about software development to configure both the Selenium IDE and the Selenium Server.
Ranorex Studio instead is easy to install through a step-by-step wizard and provides everything you need within a single IDE allowing you to get started within minutes.


Low Entry Barrier


As a tester you're always asked to deliver testing results and reports to management, regardless of whether they are generated from a manual or automated test run. Creating a powerful test automation framework based on reusability on keywords, data driven testing or test maintenance is nothing you can build up within a day with Selenium.
Ranorex Studio and Ranorex Recorder help you to generate quick results by considering these important aspects at the same time from the first day. Learn more about achieving instant productivity in a short time with Ranorex's Test Automation Tools.


Technology Support


While Ranorex supports the testing of Desktop, Web and Mobile Applications, Selenium is limited to just testing web applications only. In addition some web applications include non HTML/HTML5 components like Flash, embedded Java or MS Silverlight controls, which Selenium may not be able to recognize.
Ranorex supports all of these technologies, even when these technologies are mixed with standard HTML pages. Learn more about the Supported Web Technologies.


Object Identification


Having a robust object identification mechanism is essential to be successful with your test automation project. From a technical point of view, both tools use a similar approach to address UI elements on a web page. An Xpath expression is used by Selenium and Ranorex to navigate through an HTML object tree. Within Selenium you can only use the Xpath on the code level with the result that you'd have to maintain your test scripts in case of changes on the UI level of your web application.
Ranorex offers a dedicated UI element repository to arrange and organize all UI elements needed during automation. Additionally, the Ranorex Spy tool simplifies creating and editing Xpath expressions using a dedicated path editor. Although using Xpath on a code level is possible with Ranorex as well, the visual nature of using the Ranorex UI repository elements instead helps to keep your code clean and easy to read. Learn more about the Object Repository.


Dynamic IDs


Another growing challenge for Selenium users is to address UI elements (like input tags) exposed dynamic identifiers, making them difficult to identify and not allowing for good repeatability of recognizing objects. The reason for that is many web developers make use of web development kits instead of developing everything from scratch.
Ranorex faces that challenge by offering different rule sets for all well-known web UI frameworks like GWT, etc. These rules automatically recognize the use of 3rd party frameworks when working with Ranorex Recorder or Ranorex Spy tool. These solutions build robust Xpath expressions that are reliable and repeatable. Learn more about Automated Testing and Dynamic IDs.


Maintainability


What's the main reason for letting testers all around the globe think negatively about record & playback? Test Maintenance is the primary reason. No one is interested in adapting scripts or code every time the application under test changes. This is the case when working with tools like Selenium Recorder generating scripts only.
Ranorex Recorder instead generates a table of actions combined with the Ranorex UI element repository. The object identification is always separated from the automated test steps. The recorded actions can easily be modified or extended without writing any line of code. In addition, the Ranorex Recorder automatically reuses elements from the repository which have already been created during a previous recording session. Learn more about the Test Recorder.


Out-Of-The Box Abstractions - Modularization/Reusability


When you want to design a test automation framework with Selenium you have to implement the same methodologies as developers are constructing on code level. You need strong knowledge of object-oriented programming principles.
Conversely, the Ranorex Studio IDE provides click & go functionality from the very beginning to ensure reusability of test actions and UI elements with a team of different technical skill-levels. Learn more about Easy Test Automation.


Easy to Execute - for Every One


With Selenium it is not as easy as with Ranorex to execute tests, because test suites don't result in an executable file.
With Ranorex it does not matter whether you want to execute a complete suite of tests or just a single test case. Ranorex Studio always generates an executable file allowing everyone (testers, developers, managers, CI-Servers, TM-Tools, Scheduling Tools etc.) the ability not only to execute Ranorex tests, but also to review the results quickly in a separate report file. Learn more about Easy Test Execution.


Professional Support Services


Every test automation project has its individual challenges. Selenium itself does not cost anything to download. Most people do not account for the technical limitations and maintenance costs when implementing this in a production environment.
Since Ranorex focuses on functional test automation only, the Ranorex support team is focused on assisting testers facing these every day automation challenges. In addition to the professional support provided by Ranorex directly, local partners can help you with consulting, training or mentoring on the implementation of your Ranorex test automation project. Learn more about Ranorex's Test Automation Support.

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