As a new year begins, we hope more mobile dev teams will distribute beta builds before releasing to the public. If you’re reading this article, chances are you’re looking for the best beta distribution tools and services. This article covers tools for both iOS and Android, but focuses on iOS (and TestFlight alternatives) as it’s a pickier platform for beta testing with more complexity.

This article compares each tool regarding multi-platform support, integrations and APIs offered, ease of use, popularity, setup time, miscellaneous pros and cons, and, of course, pricing. I discuss and compare continuous integration and continuous development adoption and integrations, as well as user feedback and usability. I’ll also cover ease of use and setup time, analyzing the steps necessary to get everything set up and running. Additionally, I’ll mention any well-known customers for each service, as well as any publically available metrics when calculating the popularity factor.

Dealing with UDIDs (Unique Device Identifiers) is one of the things iOS developers struggle with when distributing beta builds. These are part of the provisioning profiles needed to release beta versions. You’ll notice that in most tools presented in this article, iOS developers will have to handle the provisioning profiles manually and submit a new build with the newly generated provisioning profile, but some tools can automate this task. Unless stated otherwise, assume that the service does not handle the provisioning profiles for you, so you’ll have to deal with them manually.

List of TestFlight alternatives reviewed in this article

Name Platforms Pricing TestFairy Android, iOS, Others 10 Apps Free HockeyApp Android, iOS, Others 2 Apps Free HockeyKit Android, iOS Free Crashlytics (Fabric) Android, iOS Free Applivery Android, iOS, Others 2 Apps Free buddybuild Android, iOS, Others 1 Concurrent Build Free AppBlade Android, iOS, Others 25 Devices Free DeployGate Android, iOS Free For Indie Developers Installr Android, iOS 3 Devices Free Ubertesters Android, iOS, Others 2 Projects Free

Popularity: If you’re into the Apple development world, you have probably heard of TestFlight. There are many opinions for and against the use of TestFlight since Apple acquired it back in early 2014, but during its first 3 years of existence before its acquisition, it had already gained much popularity and adoption.

Platforms: Since its acquisition, Apple stopped supporting Android distributions, and it now allows distribution to Apple devices only – iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

API & Integrations: Fastlane, more specifically it’s `pilot` lane, will be your best friend when delivering your app to TestFlight’s beta testers. With a single command line, you’re able to get your app from development to your beta testers’ hands.

Ease Of Use: If you’re not using an automation tool like Fastlane in order to automate your workspace, it’s still pretty straightforward to get your app into beta testing. The whole process is done through the iTunes Connect portal, and you can add either Internal or External Testers. Internal testers are “part” of your development team, thus only the ones that are currently assigned as developers or have developer roles in your iTunes Connect team (like admins). The app distribution sent to internal testers are the fastest since they don’t require a Beta App Review nor comply with the App Store Review Guidelines, like the distribution sent to external testers.

On the other hand, to invite external testers, who is anyone that’s not in your development team, you only need their email address and they’re good to go once they’ve accepted the invitation. Only TestFlight has this Internal and External Tester concept.



TestFlight’s advantage is that it doesn’t require the developer to handle the provisioning profiles for new devices manually, so that improves its ease of use considerably.

Setup Time & Effort: The setup time is mostly creating the app in the iTunes Connect and submitting the app via Xcode, which could take up to a few minutes to get your app approved through Apple’s automated app revision system. You need to explicitly declare some information about the test build you’re submitting, like a description and what needs to be tested, so that might take a little longer than if it didn’t require that info.

Misc Pros: Every tester needs to download Apple’s official TestFlight app in the App Store in order to be able to download and test app distributions. Another great feature is that you can assign notes and details to the app being distributed so the testers can see what needs to be tested.

Basic information about crashes and sessions are stored in TestFlight Data so the developers may track what’s going on with each of the versions that are being tested. Extra feedback may be sent to the developers via email (within TestFlight app) alongside a log with information of the current device.

Misc Cons: What bothers the developers the most is the Beta App Review that is required in order to invite external testers (most times the most important testers are outside of our development team). So that, and the fact that it doesn’t support non-Apple platforms, are the reasons why many people complain about TestFlight. Other than that, it’s a great tool, it was already one of the most popular (if not the most) on the market before Apple bought it, and it definitely became even more popular after its acquisition.

Pricing: Apple’s official solution to beta distribution is completely free to use.

Other: A quick video tutorial is offered by Apple here. Alternatively, a full tutorial is available on Ray Wenderlich website.