---
title: "Firebase Test Lab alternative for iOS | Mobster"
description: "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."
canonical: "https://mobster.dev/compare/firebase-test-lab"
last-updated: "2026-10-17"
---

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.

# 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 17 October 2026, from the sources at the end.

Mobster for Mac $12 a month, $99 a year, or $149 once, every phone included

Facts about Firebase Test Lab [Read 17 October 2026, from 5 sources](#sources)

Download for Mac

See pricing

On this page

1. [The short answer](#glance)
2. [What the shutdown changes](#what-the-shutdown-changes)
3. [Three reasons to pick Mobster](#three-reasons-to-pick-mobster)
4. [Where Test Lab is the better pick](#where-test-lab-is-the-better-pick)
5. [Using both until September 2027](#using-both-until-september-2027)
6. [Try Mobster on your app](#try-mobster-on-your-app)
7. [Questions](#questions)
8. [Sources](#sources)

**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.

| Feature | Mobster | Firebase Test Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Status | ✓ Available | Deprecated; shuts down 30 September 2027 |
| iOS tests it runs | ✓ Plain-English checks with assertions, XCUITest left as it is | XCTest (a zip you upload), Game Loop (your IPA) and Robo tests |
| Your own iPhone | ✓ Plugged into your Mac, your app and data | Hosted devices you choose |
| Who writes the test | ✓ Your coding agent or Mobster's agent | You, in XCTest |
| Replaying a passed check | ✓ 10.3 s median on an iPhone, no model call, $0 | Your 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 quota | 7 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](https://docs.mobster.dev/mcp-server) 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](https://mobster.dev/download). 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](https://mobster.dev/#pricing).

[Getting started with verify](https://docs.mobster.dev/verify) adds steps and saved checks, and [Maestro vs XCUITest vs Mobster](https://mobster.dev/blog/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 17 October 2026. Corrections are welcome at the [GitHub repo](https://github.com/RadishSoftware/mobster/issues).

- [Firebase docs: Test Lab usage, quotas and pricing](https://firebase.google.com/docs/test-lab/usage-quotas-pricing)
- [Firebase Test Lab overview](https://firebase.google.com/docs/test-lab)
- [Firebase docs: migrate from Test Lab](https://firebase.google.com/docs/test-lab/migrate)
- [Firebase docs: migrate FAQ](https://firebase.google.com/docs/test-lab/migrate-faq)
- [Firebase docs: run an iOS test in the Firebase console](https://firebase.google.com/docs/test-lab/ios/firebase-console)

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

## Related posts

- 17 October 2026 4 min read
  ### [The best BrowserStack alternatives for iOS apps](https://mobster.dev/blog/best-browserstack-alternatives-ios)
  Six alternatives to BrowserStack for iOS apps, with what each costs on 17 October 2026, the job it does best and where BrowserStack still wins.

## More comparisons

- [All tools in one table](https://mobster.dev/compare)
- [Mobster vs TapKit](https://mobster.dev/compare/tapkit)
- [Mobster vs Maestro](https://mobster.dev/compare/maestro)
- [Mobster vs Appium](https://mobster.dev/compare/appium)
- [Mobster vs XCUITest](https://mobster.dev/compare/xcuitest)
- [Mobster vs phone-harness](https://mobster.dev/compare/phone-harness)
- [Mobster vs BrowserStack](https://mobster.dev/compare/browserstack)
- [Mobster vs AWS Device Farm](https://mobster.dev/compare/aws-device-farm)
- [Mobster vs Sauce Labs](https://mobster.dev/compare/sauce-labs)
- [Mobster vs QA Wolf](https://mobster.dev/compare/qa-wolf)