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Firebase Test Lab alternative for iOS: Mobster vs Test Lab

Google shuts Firebase Test Lab down on 30 September 2027. Mobster checks your iOS app on your own iPhone and on simulators, with a verdict from assertions.

Facts about Firebase Test Lab read on , from the sources at the end.

Pick Mobster if you build iOS apps on a Mac and want your app checked on the iPhone on your desk, with checks your coding agent writes.

Pick Test Lab if you need Android devices today, or you want to run an XCTest suite on hosted devices before it closes.

We make Mobster. Every Firebase Test Lab fact here comes from Firebase’s own documentation, listed under Sources, read on 17 October 2026.

Mobster and Firebase Test Lab compared for iOS. Test Lab read on 17 October 2026 from its pricing, migration and iOS pages (sources below).
FeatureMobsterFirebase Test Lab
Status✓ AvailableDeprecated; shuts down 30 September 2027
iOS tests it runs✓ Plain-English checks with assertions, XCUITest left as it isXCTest (a zip you upload), Game Loop (your IPA) and Robo tests
Your own iPhone✓ Plugged into your Mac, your app and dataHosted devices you choose
Who writes the test✓ Your coding agent or Mobster's agentYou, in XCTest
Replaying a passed check✓ 10.3 s median on an iPhone, no model call, $0Your suite runs again on a hosted device
Price$12 a month, $99 a year, or $149 once; every phone included$5 per physical device-hour and $1 per virtual device-hour on Blaze, billed per minute, rounded up
Free quota7 free days, then paid✓ Spark: 15 runs a day. Blaze: 30 physical and 60 virtual minutes a day
Nothing to set up on a device– 5 min 26 s on a never-used iPhone 16, 17 Oct 2026✓ Upload a build
Android–✓ Instrumentation and Robo tests, plus Android Device Streaming

What the shutdown changes

Google’s docs state that Firebase Test Lab is deprecated and will be fully shut down on 30 September 2027. Until then runs keep working. After it, a CI job that calls Test Lab fails, so every pipeline that uses it needs a new target.

Google names the Developer Device Platform on Google Cloud as the successor, and the migration page describes it as a preview. It says Android Device Streaming continues. It doesn’t say what iOS support looks like there, so if you test iOS on Test Lab, plan for a move that Google hasn’t described yet.

Three reasons to pick Mobster

1. It checks the app on your iPhone, where you build it

Mobster drives the iPhone you own over USB and iOS simulators it manages. A check is plain-English steps plus what must be true, and the verdict comes from assertions on the accessibility tree, never from a model. mobster verify --device runs against an app already installed on your phone, without clearing its data.

2. A passed check replays for free

After a check passes, Mobster replays its recorded steps with no model call. On an iPhone 15 Pro over USB, a two-step check replayed in a median 10.3 s with 0 model calls and $0 (10 of 10, 17 October 2026).

After its free quota, Test Lab bills $5 per physical device-hour by the minute, rounded up. A billed run on a physical device costs at least $0.083.

3. Your coding agent writes the check

Mobster’s MCP server gives Claude Code, Codex or Cursor the tools to open the app, tap, read the screen and ask for a verdict against assertions it fixed before it started. On 17 October 2026 a coding agent wrote a passing Mobster check in a median 55.5 s (n = 3). Coding agents lists every tool.

Where Test Lab is the better pick

  • Android. Test Lab runs Instrumentation and Robo tests and offers Android Device Streaming. Mobster drives iOS only.
  • Nothing to set up. You upload a zip. Mobster’s setup took 5 min 26 s on a never-used iPhone 16.
  • A free daily quota. The Spark plan allows 15 runs a day, 10 virtual and 5 physical. Mobster has 7 free days.
  • No Mac to run. Test Lab runs your tests on Google’s devices, with no Mac of yours in CI.

Using both until September 2027

Keep your XCTest suite and its Test Lab job while it lasts. Run Mobster beside it on your iPhone and simulators so the checks that matter already exist when the job goes away. Mobster keeps its checks in .mobster/checks and never touches your XCTest files.

Try Mobster on your app

Download Mobster for Mac. It prepares its own simulator for the first check, and for a real iPhone it walks you through the phone’s setup, for $12 a month, $99 a year, or $149 once.

Getting started with verify adds steps and saved checks, and Maestro vs XCUITest vs Mobster brings Apple’s own framework into the picture.

Questions

  • When does Firebase Test Lab shut down?

    Google's docs say Firebase Test Lab is deprecated and will be fully shut down on 30 September 2027. Test runs keep working until then. Google points to its Developer Device Platform on Google Cloud, which the migration page calls a preview.

  • What replaces Firebase Test Lab for iOS?

    Google's migration page names the Developer Device Platform and only describes Android Device Streaming as continuing. It doesn't say what iOS support looks like there. Mobster is a different kind of replacement: your coding agent writes checks that run on your own iPhone and on simulators, and a passed check replays with no model.

  • Can Mobster run my XCTest suite?

    No. Mobster runs its own checks, written in plain English with assertions. Keep your XCTest suite for Xcode and CI, and use Mobster beside it. The two never touch each other's files.

  • How much does Firebase Test Lab cost?

    On 17 October 2026 its docs list $5 per physical device-hour and $1 per virtual device-hour on the Blaze plan, billed per minute rounded up, after a free daily quota. The Spark plan allows 15 runs a day, 10 virtual and 5 physical.

Sources

Every fact about the other tool comes from its own site, docs or repository, read on 17 October 2026. Reviewed by Mobster team on . Corrections are welcome at the GitHub repo.

Mobster isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Firebase Test Lab.

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