Intern vs QUnit
Intern
theintern.io
QUnit
qunitjs.comSide by side
| Figure | Intern | QUnit |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · JavaScript Testing Frameworks | 7.9 (#7) | 8.5 (#2) |
| Compatibility limit | The project README says Intern does not support Internet Explorer 9. | The compatibility guide lists Node.js 18+ for QUnit 3’s ESM version. |
| Extensibility | Intern supports custom test interfaces and reporters. | Its APIs support custom assertions, test runners, and reporters. |
| Purpose | Intern is a JavaScript testing framework for websites and applications. | QUnit is a JavaScript testing framework originally developed for jQuery and now used by JavaScript libraries and applications. |
| Support | The homepage says free community support is available through Stack Overflow, Gitter, and IRC. | The project directs users to GitHub issues, Stack Overflow, and its Matrix chat room for questions and help. |
Plans
In their own words
Intern
Intern is a free, open-source test system for JavaScript libraries and applications. It supports unit and functional testing, with tests written in JavaScript or TypeScript using TDD or BDD styles. Tests can run in Node.js, web browsers, or across multiple browsers and platforms through the Intern runner, with parallel execution and code coverage reporting. The project can target web pages and native or hybrid iOS and Android applications. For browser automation, it supports WebDriver-compatible tools and services, including Selenium, Appium, and Selendroid. Listed cloud options include Sauce Labs, BrowserStack, TestingBot, and a user’s own Selenium Grid. Continuous-integration integrations include Travis CI, Jenkins, and TeamCity. Intern’s extensible architecture allows custom test interfaces, executors, and reporters. It runs on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, self-hosted environments, the web, and Windows. Installation is provided through npm, and the project uses the New BSD license.
QUnit
QUnit is a free JavaScript testing framework first developed for the jQuery project. It runs in web browsers, Node.js, SpiderMonkey and Web Worker threads, so developers can test code in different runtime environments. Its APIs allow custom assertions, test runners and reporters. Browser releases have no runtime dependencies, and the project describes Node.js setup as requiring zero configuration and browser setup as minimal. For DOM tests, QUnit resets fixture markup after each test. Its browser reporter presents results and can include expected and actual values, assertion details and failure stack traces. Developers can rerun selected tests or modules and prioritize previously failing tests. Guides cover modules, asynchronous tests, callbacks and assertions, while plugins can add or modify capabilities such as DOM assertions, themes and JUnit XML reports. QUnit integrates with browser automation tools including Karma, Web Test Runner, Testem and WebdriverIO’s QUnit service. QUnit 3.0 is distributed through the jQuery CDN and npm, and is also installable with Yarn. For its ESM version, the compatibility guide lists Node.js 18+ and specified browser versions.