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A headless browser is a type of browser that doesn’t have a graphical user interface (GUI). When and why such a browser may be handy and what the best options are – read the article below to learn more.
Headless browser: general overview
Even without GUI, headless browsers interact with web pages like standard browsers do – they request target websites, download and upload pages, etc. The difference is that all of these actions happen in the backend without visual display. Developers control headless browsers via a command line or network communication means. Unlike usual browsers, where you use graphical elements like icons or buttons, you use text commands to run headless browsers. However, how is it good?
Advantages of headless browsers
- Speed
Headless browsers don’t have to draw visual content, so they load much faster than regular ones.
- Resource efficiency
Such browsers consume fewer system resources and don’t slow down other apps. You can use them to run multiple testing or scraping tasks simultaneously and save time.
- Automation
Headless browsers can be controlled via scripts, so they are good for automating repetitive tasks.
- Consistent environment
Developers can automate tests across different platforms without worrying about variations caused by graphic elements.
- Headless execution
That type of browser can run on servers or cloud environments that don’t support GUI, so it is suitable for remote testing.
- JavaScript-friendliness
There are headless browsers that can render JavaScript-heavy websites. It is handy if you need to scrape data that isn’t available in static HTML.
- Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD)
Headless browsers easily integrate into CI/CD pipelines and improve the testing process. They also give immediate feedback on app performance, helping fix problems quickly.
With that impressive list of advantages, you may want to try using a headless browser right now. However, there are still several cons that you should know about before you start.
Disadvantages of headless browsers
- Limited test cases
With headless browsers, you can only test automation-related tasks like filling out forms or clicking buttons, but user experience testing is impossible.
- Complexity of setup
Such browsers are more complicated to configure, as you may need to integrate with frameworks and carefully manage settings and dependencies. They may also behave differently depending on the environment.
- JavaScript limitations
Not all headless browsers execute JavaScript features and frameworks correctly. If a website relies heavily on this technology, testing or scraping it with a headless browser is a bad idea, as the latter won’t catch all the dynamic interactions. You have to pay attention to what headless browser you choose if you will deal with JavaScript.
- Debugging difficulties
Debugging can be more complex, as developers can’t see changes directly. Error messages could also be less valuable without a visual context. Headless browsers can’t mimic GUI-based browser user behavior with 100% accuracy. A website can function differently or unexpectedly, and some bugs may not show themselves at all.
- Compatibility issues
Headless browsers may not match the latest versions of their GUI counterparts, which can lead to incorrect work and unreliable testing results.
Headless browsers: use cases
As you may have guessed, web scraping and testing are the primary use cases for headless browsers. End-to-end testing, regression testing, cross-browser testing, load testing, page speed analysis, single-page applications testing, layout review, network monitoring, handling Ajax calls, and capturing screenshots of pages – all calls for headless browsers. Web scraping also benefits from utilizing headless browsers. As they are fast, competitor analysis, content aggregation, SEO auditing, and other time-sensitive scraping-related tasks rely heavily on headless browsers. However, depending on the type of testing and content you’re dealing with, it’s best to combine headless and regular browsers to have accurate results. Also, you need to choose headless browsers carefully. So, what are the best options so far?
Best headless browsers of 2025
The tool helps control headless Chrome, Chromium, and Firefox (experimental) via an API with the assistance of DevTools Protocol. It’s a Node.js library that executes browsers in headless mode; however, you can configure it to run in GUI mode. It supports JavaScript – one of the most widely used languages. Puppeteer features include:
- Page-to-screenshot and page-to-PDF options
- Simulating form submission, UI testing, mouse-clicking, and more
- Chrome extension testing
- Auto downloading of compatible versions of Chrome for Testing
Pay attention to the fact that Puppeteer doesn’t support WebKit and isn’t a cross-language tool. Yet, it’s good for web scraping and supports integrating other tools, such as proxies, so it’s worth a try. You can find a step-by-step tutorial on how to use Puppeteer here.
Headless Chrome, a Rust library itself, was designed as a Rust port of Puppeteer; however, it’s less maintained than the original project. Though it doesn’t provide all the features you can have with Puppeteer, it’s still good for numerous reasons:
- Interception of network requests for testing
- Chrome and Chromium binaries automatically download for Windows, Linux, and macOS
- Scraping API
However, remember several limitations of Headless Chrome:
- Lack of support for HTTP Basic Auth
- Missing such features as touchscreen interaction simulation, iframe support, and others
In its nature, Selenium is an umbrella project that offers a lot of libraries and tools. Due to the fact that it supports numerous programming languages, including Java, Python, JavaScript, C#, and Ruby (and many others in unofficial ports), it’s one of the most popular instruments. It is also a cross-browser and supports Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers, Safari, and other WebKit-based browsers, as well as Mozilla Firefox. Selenium’s strengths are:
- Infrastructure for W3C WebDriver specification
- API for UI testing and scraping
- Cross-platform
Still, some downsides are present:
- Lack of advanced features such as auto waiting
- Relatively slow
If you’re interested in trying Selenium, we have detailed tutorials on configuring Selenium in Python and handling CAPTCHA in web scraping using Selenium and Python. Feel free to visit them and elaborate on the topic.
Though not really new technology, it’s still widely used to simulate user actions like form-filling the way they’d do in a regular browser. HTMLUnit leverages the Rhino JavaScript engine and works with AJAX. You can configure it to simulate Chrome and Firefox. Funny fact: it still supports Internet Explorer, which has been out of action for years now.
HTMLUnit pros:
- Trustworthy with many years in development
- Extensive documentation present
However, there are some drawbacks:
- Features and API are limited compared to modern tools
Cypress stands out as it isn’t a general-purpose headless browser but a dedicated tool designed specifically for testers and developers. It pairs well with modern browsers and apps. The list of what it can do is impressive:
- Provides API for E2E testing
- Supports various kinds of tests like end-to-end, uni, integration, and component
- Offers a lot of debugging features
- Helps control network traffic
- Integrates with Cypress Cloud
- Allows for easy CI/CD integration
- Works with Firefox and Chromium-based browsers
However, when used for other purposes, it comes with several limitations. For example, it’s not the best choice for scraping. It also only supports JavaScript. However, Cypress is a front-end testing tool, so it’s hardly a problem.
There are many other headless tools that work with different languages and browsers. Choose one depending on your particular use case and the features you need. Also, you should pay attention to third-party tools that can help you get more out of your headless browser, and a proxy is one of them.
Proxies for headless browsers
Whether you test your app or need to scrape the web, proxies have your back. For testing, they help you simulate real user behavior, load, and attacks to see how the system handles all that. In the case of scraping, proxies are your allies in avoiding IP bans and getting over geo-based restrictions. You can follow this link to read more about website testing with proxies, visit this page to know why proxies are useful for debugging, and learn here about all the web scraping pitfalls proxies help you avoid.
Needless to say, you have to use high-quality proxies to get all the advantages. Start with choosing a reliable provider. For example, at DataImpulse, you not only have legally sourced IPs but also 24/7 human support, a high-speed connection, and more than 15 million addresses from 195 countries. On top of that, you pay as you go and can have residential, data center, and mobile proxies all in one place. Also, with our extensive library of tutorials on various topics and apps, you can easily integrate proxies with different tools.
Closure
Headless browsers offer numerous handy features, so you should definitely consider using one. Make your choice based on your use case and add other tools like proxies to enjoy more accurate outcomes of your testing or scraping events. At DataImpulse, we are ready to help you with our 10 million address pool, all required via ethical means and 24/7 human assistance. Start with us by writing to [email protected] or clicking the “Try now” button at the top-right corner of the screen.
