How SauceLabs and LambdaTest Work with Playwright
Modern applications must run flawlessly across browsers, devices, and OS combinations. Playwright is already a powerful automation framework, but how do you extend it for cross-browser, cross-platform, real device testing without maintaining your own infrastructure?
This is where SauceLabs and LambdaTest come in. Both platforms provide cloud-based browsers, devices, parallel execution, analytics, and integrations that make Playwright testing easier and more scalable.
In this blog, you will learn:
- What SauceLabs and LambdaTest offer for Playwright
- How Playwright integrates with each platform
- Key features, benefits, and use cases
- Sample configurations
- Which platform suits your testing needs
- Best practices for cloud-based Playwright automation
Let’s begin.
What Is Playwright and Why Use It with Cloud Testing Platforms?
Playwright is a modern automation framework developed by Microsoft. It supports:
- Chromium, WebKit, and Firefox
- UI automation for web apps
- API testing
- Mobile emulation
- Parallel test execution
- Auto-wait and robust locators
However, real testing requires real browsers and devices. Local infrastructure is limited, slow, and difficult to maintain.
Using SauceLabs or LambdaTest with Playwright helps teams test:
- On real browsers
- On real mobile devices
- On multiple OS versions
- In parallel
- With detailed logs, videos, and reports
This results in faster releases and higher product quality.
Playwright with SauceLabs
Why Choose SauceLabs?
- Real device cloud (iOS & Android)
- 900+ browser/OS combinations
- Secure test environments
- Rich debugging tools
- CI/CD integrations
Key Features for Playwright
- Parallel test execution
- Video, logs, network capture
- Playwright test support through
playwright.config - Global distribution of browsers
- Enterprise-grade security
Basic Setup Example (Playwright + SauceLabs)
// Install CLI
npm install @saucelabs/playwright
// playwright.config.js snippet for connecting to SauceLabs
use: {
baseURL: "https://yourapp.com",
trace: "on",
video: "retain-on-failure",
screenshot: "on",
channel: "chrome",
connectOptions: {
wsEndpoint: `wss://api.us-west-1.saucelabs.com/playwright/v1?token=YOUR_TOKEN`
}
}
// Execute tests:
npx playwright test
SauceLabs immediately records your sessions for review.
Playwright with LambdaTest
Why Choose LambdaTest?
- 3000+ browsers and devices
- Real device cloud
- Playwright testing grid
- Smart UI insights
- Parallel test scaling
- Integrations for CI/CD and test management
Key Features for Playwright
- Geolocation testing
- Smart wait
- High-performance global test grid
- Detailed performance metrics
- APIs for managing test sessions
Basic Setup Example (Playwright + LambdaTest)
// Install Dependencies
npm i @playwright/test
// playwright.config.js snippet for connecting to LambdaTest
use: {
browserName: "chromium",
channel: "chrome",
screenshot: "on",
video: "retain-on-failure",
connectOptions: {
wsEndpoint: `wss://cdp.lambdatest.com/playwright?capabilities=${encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify({
browserName: "Chrome",
browserVersion: "latest",
platform: "Windows 11",
user: "LT_USERNAME",
accessKey: "LT_ACCESS_KEY"
}))}`
}
}
// Run tests:
npx playwright test
Your tests execute in the cloud with real-time dashboards.
SauceLabs vs LambdaTest for Playwright: Which One Should You Choose?
| Feature | SauceLabs | LambdaTest |
|---|---|---|
| Real Mobile Devices | Yes (strong coverage) | Yes (large global coverage) |
| Browser Coverage | Very high | Extremely high |
| Performance | Reliable | Faster grid execution |
| Analytics | Strong | Advanced UI & performance metrics |
| Pricing | Premium | Flexible & affordable |
| Best For | Enterprise teams | Startups, mid-level, and enterprise |
Conclusion:
Both are excellent. SauceLabs excels in secure enterprise environments, while LambdaTest offers speed, affordability, and modern features—ideal for most development teams.
Best Practices for Playwright Testing on Cloud Platforms
- Use parallel execution to reduce test duration
- Enable trace, video, logs for better debugging
- Use environment-specific configs
- Implement retries for flaky tests
- Integrate with CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab)
- Keep tests atomic and independent
- Use tagged test suites for faster pipelines
Final Thoughts
Using SauceLabs and LambdaTest with Playwright elevates your entire automation strategy. You get scalability, real-device coverage, debugging tools, reliability, and faster releases—without dealing with maintenance or infrastructure complexity.
If you want modern, future-ready test automation, combining Playwright with these cloud platforms is the way forward.