Beta Family vs BrowserStack Live

Beta Family is a crowdtesting service where developers can ask real people to test iOS and Android apps. Developers can find and filter testers by criteria such as age, gender, nationality, device, and operating system, then run private or public tests. Selected testers receive a link to install the app over the air. Reports gather feedback on graphics, sound, usability, bugs, and errors, and can be read online or downloaded as CSV. iOS tests sync directly with TestFlight. Supported testing platforms include iOS, Android, and wearables; tests can use App Store or Google Play apps, uploaded Ad hoc or Enterprise files, or internal or external TestFlight distribution. Test duration ranges from 3 to 21 days, with 7 days recommended. The free Starter plan covers one app and own or unrated testers, while Growing costs $49 a month and Studio costs $399 a month. Beta Family is available on web, Android, and iOS, and is based in Stockholm, Sweden.

BrowserStack Live is a cloud-based manual testing platform for interactively testing and debugging websites and web apps on real devices and browsers. It supports new and older versions of Edge, Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox, with access to real Windows, macOS, Android and iOS devices. Teams can test internal development or staging sites, including sites behind firewalls, without setup or configuration.

Live lists real-time debugging with pre-installed developer tools and multi-device testing on up to four real devices. A session can use two real mobile devices simultaneously, or users can run two sessions in separate browser tabs. BrowserStack says physical devices and desktop virtual machines are wiped after each session. It lists integrations including Jenkins, Cypress, Selenium and Jira for its testing products, and states it is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and encrypts communications with HTTPS/TLS. The free trial is limited to 30 minutes and has limited browser access. Annual paid plans include Freelancer at $12.50 a month, Desktop at $29 a month and Desktop & Mobile at $39 a month.