Firebase App Distribution
Firebase App Distribution is a mobile app distribution platform that allows developers to distribute pre-release versions of their apps to testers.
What is Firebase App Distribution?
Firebase App Distribution is a mobile app distribution platform that allows developers to distribute pre-release versions of their apps to testers. It provides a user interface for testers to download builds and view app versions. Firebase App Distribution is part of the Firebase suite of app development tools and services, offering integration with other Firebase products such as Crashlytics for crash reporting and analytics.
Top Alternatives to Firebase
Appcircle
- Comprehensive mobile app distribution platform.
- Supports self-hosted deployment and cloud options.
- Provides Testing Distribution and Enterprise App Store modules.
- Ideal for enterprises with complex security and distribution requirements.
- IAM & SSO (OpenID & SAML) support for secure access.
- In-app updates.
- Public links for easy distribution.
- Apple Device Registration & Management [Ad Hoc].
- Enterprise App Store for in-house app distribution.
Others
Applivery
Applivery is integrated with its own ecosystem, requires an Applivery account for access, and supports in-app and forced updates. However, public link distribution is not available, which may limit flexibility for some teams.
FAQs
Appcircle vs. Firebase App Distribution
Looking for the right mobile app distribution platform? See how Appcircle compares to Firebase App Distribution and what makes it the leading choice.
Build
Appcircle’s robust infrastructure and clean build architecture deliver consistently fast, reliable builds. Advanced caching and up-to-date stack management significantly reduce build times and save developer hours. With customizable workflows, 100+ ready integrations and seamless Git connections, teams accelerate mobile app delivery with no YAML complexity.
Learn more about Build
Signing Identities
Centralize all app signing identity management in one secure dashboard with no need to switch to the Apple Developer Portal. Easily generate, renew, and track Certificates, Identifiers, Profiles, Keystores, and Apple device registrations automatically. Proactive expiration alerts, auto renewal, and detailed activity logs keep your mobile CI/CD workflows secure and uninterrupted.
Learn more about Signing Identities
Testing Distribution
Effortlessly distribute iOS and Android binaries, manage testers, and automate your entire app test distribution process. It offers native plugins for CI/CD tools like Fastlane, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and Visual Studio, along with CLI and API support. An intuitive tester portal, multi-channel delivery, SSO/LDAP authentication, and detailed reporting ensure a smooth testing experience.
Learn more about Testing Distribution
Re-sign Binary
Appcircle lets you re-sign iOS and Android binaries manually or automatically. You can update your app’s certificate or keystore, change the app name, icon, version info, entitlements, provisioning profiles, and embedded certificates. This keeps your apps secure and up-to-date without a full rebuild, even when transferring app ownership to a new developer account or updating an existing application, while maintaining full traceability and compliance.
Learn more about Re-sign Binary
Publish to Stores
Automate app store releases and manage submissions to App Store, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, Microsoft Intune, and TestFlight from a single dashboard—no need to switch between different store platforms like App Store Connect or Google Play Console. Customize publish flows with drag-and-drop design and custom script support. Automate metadata updates and re-signing, keeping everything transparent with detailed activity logs and access controls.
Learn more about Publish to Stores
CodePush
Deliver secure, seamless OTA updates for your React Native apps with Appcircle CodePush. Integrate with your CI/CD pipeline, push real-time changes to users without requiring app store resubmission, manage controlled rollouts, instantly roll back updates, and enhance security with code signing, package diff, code obfuscation, self-hosted options, and enterprise-grade reporting.
Learn more about CodePush
Enterprise App Store
Distribute internal iOS and Android apps securely through your own branded store, without MDM. Support in-app (over-the-air) updates for seamless user experiences. Integrate natively with CI/CD tools like Fastlane, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and Visual Studio. Manage access with SSO/LDAP, use custom domains, and track installs with detailed reports for a secure app delivery experience.
Learn more about Enterprise App Store
Publish to Microsoft Intune
Easily publish your mobile applications directly to Microsoft Intune within your automated release workflow. Register your app with the Microsoft Identity Platform and provide your credentials for secure publishing. Keep your business apps up-to-date by submitting new builds and updating app metadata on Intune, all managed seamlessly through Appcircle’s Publish module.
Learn more about Intune integration
Multi-tenancy
Segment teams into independent sub-organizations to improve security and operational efficiency. Advanced role management lets you assign module-specific permissions to every user, making it easy to control access, manage responsibilities, and maintain security across multiple teams and projects, even as your organization scales.
Learn more about Multi-tenancy
SSO/LDAP Support
Appcircle offers enterprise-grade security with seamless integration to identity providers like Okta, Azure AD, and OneLogin using standard protocols such as OpenID Connect, SAML, and LDAP. The platform enables dynamic role and permission assignments based on identity provider groups, supporting fine-grained access control through role mapping via SSO and LDAP.
Learn more about SSO/LDAP Support
Deployment Options
Every enterprise has unique needs. Appcircle supports Public Cloud, Private Cloud, Hybrid, and on-premise deployments. Its portable, container-based architecture lets you deploy on GCP, AWS, Azure, or within your own Kubernetes, OpenShift, Podman, or Docker environment. Choose the deployment setup that best fits your business requirements.
Learn more about Self-Hosted Appcircle
Ready to use CI Plugins
Seamless integration with your existing DevOps tools is easy with Appcircle. Take advantage of ready-to-use plugins for Azure DevOps, GitHub, Fastlane, Jenkins, and more. With full API and CLI support, you can easily connect Appcircle’s distribution modules to your workflows, automate the entire process, and ensure reliable, scalable app delivery.
Learn more about CI Plugins
Activity Log & Reports
Track every action across all modules with detailed activity logs and enterprise-grade reporting. Appcircle provides full visibility into build, signing, testing, enterprise distribution, and publishing operations, helping you meet security and compliance requirements. Keep your workflows secure, auditable, and fully transparent at every stage.
Appcircle Testing Distribution Platform
Firebase App Distribution Platform
Yes
No
Yes
No
Supports resigning iOS and Android binaries with new certificates or keystores, simplifying the process of updating or publishing under a different developer account.
No
Streamlined UDID registration with configuration profiles; automatic addition to provisioning profiles.
No
Separate distribution screen for easy downloading; supports multiple languages, viewing app version details, managing shared app profiles, and providing publisher info, contact email, privacy policy URL, and terms of service URL.
Provides a user-friendly interface for testers to download builds and view app versions.
Easy management of testers and groups, including IAM/SSO (OpenID & SAML) groups; flexible sharing options without email requirements. Provides a feature to create, manage, and group testers based on various criteria like OS versions, features, devices, or organizational needs.
Manage testers via email invitations, groups, and onboarding process, requires Google account. You can create manual groups or import testing groups from Google Play integration.
No email limitations, supports any email address, distribution link sharing with optional username/password protection.
Mandatory Google account for testers.
Supports IAM/SSO (OpenID & SAML) for flexible user authentication.
Mandatory Google account for user management.
Allows sharing app with a distribution link; no account needed for testers to access and test the app.
Requires login with Google account even when using a link to share the app.
Supports both iOS and Android app distributions, with additional features for managing provisioning profiles and UDIDs.
Manage both iOS and Android pre-release distributions from the same place.
Efficient distribution process with easy tester management and auto distribution settings.
Fast onboarding, no SDK required, and instant app delivery.
Roadmap
Enables in-app feedback from testers.
Scalable solution with no stringent limitations on the number of testers; flexible group management for organized testing.
Limited by Firebase's constraints.
Allows seamless re-engagement of unsubscribed users; automatic removal from unsubscribed list upon re-sharing the app, confirmed by a prominent warning message.
Unsubscription can be done through the email settings. To resubscribe, one must return to the same page and opt back in.
It offers the ability to publish applications to marketplaces such as Google Play, App Store, and Huawei App Gallery, while also enabling seamless management of the release process with flexible and customizable publish flows. Additionally, it supports distribution through platforms like TestFlight and Microsoft Intune.
Only Google Play is supported.
Allows creating an Enterprise App Store for internal distribution. Supports custom branding, IAM/SSO (OpenID & SAML) or static login, and In-App Update.
No
Public Cloud, Private Cloud,
On-premise, AWS (Amazon Web Services), GCP (Google Cloud Platform), Microsoft Azure
Public Cloud (GCP)
Fully integrated with the build module, enabling Auto Distribute settings for seamless uploads to test groups. Supports CLI, Testing and Enterprise portal integrations, GitHub, Fastlane, Jenkins, and Azure.
Distribute builds using the Firebase console, CLI, fastlane, or Gradle. Integrates into CI workflows.
Rich API for downloading artifacts, adding testers to groups, and consuming APIs via command line application.
Limited public API, no easy way to download artifacts or automatically add testers to groups.
Supports IAM/SSO (OpenID & SAML) for flexible user authentication.
No
Supports LDAP group/role mapping, enabling seamless integration with your organization's directory services for effective and automated tester group management.
No
Supports custom email templates in on-premise deployments; public cloud support is planned (roadmap).
No
No
Works with Crashlytics to get stability insights on test distributions, and supports crash reporting, analytics, push notifications, and A/B testing.
Provides detailed reports, including an App Sharing Report listing app versions sent to testers and the number of testers for each operation, and an App Versions Report containing the list of binaries deployed to a distribution profile, including details for both manual and automatic deployments.
No aggregate report; only indicates who has downloaded the app.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the authors. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors is of their opinion and are not intended to malign any organization, company, individual or anyone or anything. This comparison is based on their review of the product for market research purposes
Switching to another Mobile App Distribution Platform can be a complex decision. Switching to Appcircle is easy,however we've prepared this comparison to help you decide easier.
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