Testem vs uvu
Testem
github.comuvu
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Testem | uvu |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · JavaScript Testing Frameworks | 7.7 (#10) | 7.6 (#11) |
| Integrations | The README describes use with GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and TeamCity. | The README demonstrates using `uvu` with Node.js and shows `esm` as a preload for legacy Node.js versions. |
| License | The repository identifies the project as MIT licensed. | The repository identifies uvu as MIT licensed. |
| Purpose | Testem runs JavaScript tests in real desktop browsers, Node, Chrome, or a configured launcher. | uvu is a fast, lightweight test runner for Node.js and the browser. |
Plans
In their own words
Testem
Testem is a JavaScript test runner for running tests in Node.js, real desktop browsers, or a launcher you configure. It supports Jasmine, QUnit, Mocha, and custom framework adapters, and can be used for unit, integration, end-to-end-style, or custom test setups. Browser runs can use Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge, including a Headless Chrome launcher. In development mode, a terminal interface watches project files and reruns tests after relevant changes; CI mode can run tests in available browsers in parallel. Testem includes CI reporters for TAP, dot, xunit, and TeamCity, with custom reporters available. Listed preprocessing support includes Babel, TypeScript, Browserify, ESLint, JSHint, JSLint, and CoffeeScript. Its API provides startDev, startCI, and startServer modes, and coverage reporting is supported. It works with GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and TeamCity. Testem is free and open source under the MIT license, and runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It requires a supported Node.js runtime: ^22.17.0, ^24.0.0, or >=26.0.0.
uvu
uvu is a free, lightweight test runner for Node.js and browser projects. It supports individually executable test files, asynchronous tests that may return Promises, native ES modules and a familiar API. Tests can be grouped into named suites or registered through a simpler test interface, and snapshot testing is supported. Each file is self-contained and can also be run directly with Node.js. The optional CLI collects and executes suites, with options to stop after the first failure, ignore patterns, preload modules, set a working directory and colorize output. When a directory is specified, file matching takes a regular-expression pattern rather than relying on glob patterns. The optional assertion module works in browsers and can be swapped for another library, including Node.js’s native assert. Installation uses `npm install --save-dev uvu`. Package metadata specifies Node.js version `>=8`; the repository identifies the project as MIT licensed and credits Luke Edwards.