BrowserStack Live vs DeviceFarmer
BrowserStack Live
browserstack.comDeviceFarmer
devicefarmer.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | BrowserStack Live | DeviceFarmer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $12.50/mo | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 0 |
| Spec score · Device Farm Software | 8.4 (#6) | 7.8 (#15) |
| Audience | BrowserStack presents Live for QA teams, developers, and company-wide testing teams. | The README describes the system as built for environments where users are trusted and devices are test devices using test accounts. |
| Integrations | BrowserStack lists integrations including Jenkins, Cypress, Selenium, and Jira for its testing products. | The README lists Android Studio and Chrome remote debugging support, while its API documentation describes using the API with Appium. |
| Security | BrowserStack states that it is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and is regularly audited for data security and privacy. | The README says internal process communication is insecure and unencrypted, devices are not fully reset between uses, and multiuser deployments may expose sensitive data. |
Plans
BrowserStack Live
- Freelancer$12.50 a month
- Desktop$29 a month
- Desktop & Mobile$39 a month
- Team$150 a month
- Team Pro$249 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
BrowserStack Live
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.
DeviceFarmer
DeviceFarmer is a free, self-hosted web application for remotely debugging real smartphones, smartwatches, and other devices through a browser. It provides real-time screen viewing, rotation, keyboard input, copy and paste, multitouch, drag-and-drop APK installation, shell commands, logs, file browsing, and remote ADB connections. With adb connect, users can run local ADB commands or work in Android Studio and other IDEs while viewing the device online. Inventory tools show connection status, availability, hardware specifications, battery health, searchable attributes, and current users. Administrators can assign device sets to projects or organizations indefinitely, or book devices for users for limited periods. DeviceFarmer includes a REST API with OAuth 2.0 authentication, Prometheus metrics, Appium support, and Chrome remote debugging. Listed support covers Android 2.3.3 through 15, Wear 5.1, Fire OS, CyanogenMod, and other Android-based distributions. Installation uses NPM or Docker; Linux or BSD is suggested for production.