Puppeteer vs Playwright (PDF)(2026)
Puppeteer is better for teams that need free and open source. Playwright (PDF) is the stronger choice if better maintained than puppeteer. Puppeteer is open-source (from $0) and Playwright (PDF) is open-source (from $0).
Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.
By Bikram Nath
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Puppeteer
Puppeteer is Google's Node.js library to control Chrome/Chromium — widely used to generate pixel-perfect PDFs from HTML by launching a headless browser with page.pdf().
Starting at $0
Visit PuppeteerPlaywright (PDF)
Playwright by Microsoft supports PDF generation via page.pdf() in Chromium — with better multi-browser support, more reliable test infra, and active maintenance compared to Puppeteer.
Starting at $0
Visit Playwright (PDF)How Do Puppeteer and Playwright (PDF) Compare on Features?
| Feature | Puppeteer | Playwright (PDF) |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | open-source | open-source |
| Starting price | $0 | $0 |
| HTML to PDF | ✓ | — |
| Screenshot capture | ✓ | — |
| Full Chrome control | ✓ | — |
| Headless mode | ✓ | — |
| PDF format options (margin, paper size) | ✓ | — |
| Network interception | ✓ | — |
| CDP protocol | ✓ | — |
| PDF export (Chromium) | — | ✓ |
| Cross-browser (Chromium/Firefox/WebKit) | — | ✓ |
| Auto-wait | — | ✓ |
| Network mocking | — | ✓ |
| Page.pdf() API | — | ✓ |
| Headless + headed modes | — | ✓ |
| CI/CD optimized | — | ✓ |
Puppeteer Pros and Cons vs Playwright (PDF)
Puppeteer
Playwright (PDF)
Should You Use Puppeteer or Playwright (PDF)?
For most teams, Puppeteer is the better default: it offers free and open source and is open-source (from $0). Choose Playwright (PDF) instead if better maintained than puppeteer matters more than requires node.js server. There is no universal winner — the right pick depends on your budget, team size, and whether you value free and open source or better maintained than puppeteer more.
Choose Puppeteer if…
- •Free and open source
- •Pixel-perfect output
- •Full Chrome rendering
Choose Playwright (PDF) if…
- •Better maintained than Puppeteer
- •Cross-browser testing bonus
- •Reliable auto-wait