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App Center

App Center is a Microsoft service that provides tools for mobile app development, including continuous integration, testing, and monitoring, for platforms like iOS and Android.

What is App Center?

App Center is a cloud-based service by Microsoft that supports mobile app development for platforms like iOS, Android, Xamarin, and React Native. It offers tools for continuous integration, automated testing, distribution, and monitoring, including crash analytics and push notifications. App Center provides a set of features aimed at streamlining the development process for building, testing, and releasing mobile apps.

It's important to note that Microsoft has announced the retirement of App Center. For more details, you can visit
the official announcement  

App Center Dashboard
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Appcircle vs App Center

Compare Appcircle with App Center as Mobile CI/CD and DevOps tools and discover how Appcircle stands out.

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Top 5 Reasons Companies Choose Appcircle Over Microsoft App Center for Mobile

Discover why top companies chose Appcircle after Microsoft App Center retired. Learn about the enhanced mobile DevOps solutions Appcircle offers. Read our blog post!

Top Alternatives to App Center

top choice labelTop Choice

Appcircle

  • Enterprise grade all-in-one platform
  • Offers self-hosted deployment options.
  • Supports Enterprise App Store and Testing Distribution
  • Crafted specifically for enterprises with valuable insights.
more  

Others

Bitrise

Bitrise offers a restricted publish flow, lacks a self-hosted option, and does not provide signing identity management, which might impact flexibility and control for some teams.
more  

Codemagic

Codemagic offers more restricted customization options, lacks a self-hosted option, and has limited testing distribution capabilities.
more  

Xcode Cloud

Xcode Cloud offers support just for iOS development, providing a more limited range of pre-built workflow steps compared to alternatives and lacks a self-hosted option
more  

Jenkins

Jenkins requires technical expertise for complex setup, has higher maintenance and hardware requirements, and can be challenging for beginners to learn
more  

FAQ

What is Microsoft (Visual Studio) App Center?

Microsoft (Visual Studio) App Center is a cloud-based mobile CI/CD platform that offers various services for mobile and desktop app development. Microsoft (Visual Studio) App Center, which is soon to be shut down, a cloud-based mobile CI/CD platform offering various services for mobile and desktop app developers, such as build automation, automated UI testing, app distribution, crash reporting, analytics, and push notifications.

It supports multiple operating systems, including iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. While App Center aims to streamline the development lifecycle, it has limitations compared to other mobile CI/CD platforms, such as restrictions on build times, limited integrations, and constraints on the number of apps or users in certain plans.

Should I use Visual Studio App Center Compared to Alternatives?

App Center will soon be shut down anyway, but if you still want to give it a try, App Center can be preferred if you are using Crash Reports, Analytics, and Testing Distribution in your mobile projects. However, it's important to note that the feature set of App Center might not be as comprehensive as other mobile CI/CD platforms, and its pricing can become a concern as your project scales or if you have multiple projects.

In contrast, other dedicated mobile CI/CD platforms such as Appcircle provides a more extensive set of features, including advanced integrations for CI, enterprise-grade features with a sharp enterprise focus, and a transparent pricing model, making it a more robust and cost-effective solution for mobile CI/CD.

What are the key features of Visual Studio App Center?

Microsoft App Center, which will be closed in early 2025, provides key features such as crash reporting, analytics, and testing distribution for mobile apps.

While it offers an easy entry for managing the lifecycle of iOS, Android, and Windows apps, it may lack the customization for build pipelines and scalability found in other mobile CI/CD platforms. On the other hand, mobile CI/CD platforms like Appcircle provides a more comprehensive mobile DevOps solution with advanced features like advanced integrations for CI, enterprise-grade functionalities and custom build and deployment workflow creation with ready-to-use workflow steps, making it a superior choice over App Center for developers seeking a secure and robust DevOps platform.

Does Visual Studio App Center provide a Self-hosted Solution?

App Center does not offer a self-hosted solution; it is a cloud-based platform. The cloud offering will also be discontinued. This means that while it provides convenience and ease of use, it may not meet the needs of organizations with strict data privacy or regulatory requirements that necessitate on-premises hosting.

In contrast, alternative mobile CI/CD platforms like Appcircle offers a wide variety of deployment options such public cloud, private cloud, self-hosted/server, and AWS/Google Cloud marketplace offerings, providing greater flexibility and control over your data and infrastructure, making it a more suitable option over App Center for enterprises with specific mobile CI/CD hosting requirements.

Self-hosted mobile CI/CD offerings also provide a peace of mind in case of surprise decisions of product discontinuation as such is the case with Microsoft App Center.

Does Visual Studio App Center support Flutter?

Microsoft App Center does not provide official support for Flutter as it primarily focuses on crash reporting and analytics than the entire mobile app lifecycle.

In contrast, mobile CI/CD platforms like Appcircle offers full and official support for Flutter, including automated builds, testing distribution, and deployment, along with advanced CI/CD features specifically tailored for Flutter projects. This makes Appcircle a more suitable choice for developers looking for a complete solution for their Flutter app CI/CD needs. Appcircle is also a suitable choice for Flutter developers who are looking for alternative platforms to move to once Microsoft App Center is shut down.

Can Visual Studio App Center help with mobile app testing distribution?

App Center can assist with app testing distribution by offering services like Testing Distribution and Azure Device Farm for real device testing. However, it's important to be aware of daily and hourly limits for Testing Distribution. Additionally, App Center does not support unit and UI test automation. In contrast, mobile CI/CD platforms like Appcircle provides a more comprehensive solution for testing distribution, including support for automated unit and UI tests, without the limitations associated with testing distribution in App Center.

Appcircle provides a better alternative for mobile app testing distribution for soon to be discontinued App Center.

Is Visual Studio App Center free to use?

Microsoft App Center offers a limited free tier, which includes basic features such as build automation, crash reporting, and analytics. However, as your app development needs grow, you may need to upgrade to paid plans to access more advanced features, higher build limits, and additional services. This can lead to increased costs over time.

Mobile CI/CD platforms like Appcircle, on the other hand, provides a transparent and competitive pricing model, ensuring that you have access to a comprehensive set of features without unexpected overages, making it a more cost-effective solution for your mobile app development needs. As well as the lower and predictable costs, you can ensure the continuity of your mobile CI/CD environment with enterprise agreements in Appcircle so that you can avoid risks of surprising platform shut downs like App Center.

How do I contact Visual Studio App Center support?

To contact App Center support, you can visit the App Center Help Center and submit a support request through their online form. Additionally, you can reach out to their support team via email or access community forums for assistance.

However, it's important to note that the response time and level of support may vary depending on your subscription plan. In contrast, Appcircle offers dedicated support with faster response times and personalized assistance even in lower subscription tiers, ensuring that your queries and issues are addressed promptly and effectively, providing a more reliable support experience for your mobile DevOps.

What is the shutdown date for Visual Studio App Center?

After its retirement on March 31, 2025, Visual Studio App Center will no longer be accessible, and users will need to migrate their mobile app pipelines and development lifecycle needs to alternative services.

For developers looking for Microsoft App Center alternatives, Appcircle offers a seamless migration support with its comprehensive suite for mobile CI/CD, ensuring that your development process remains uninterrupted while becoming even more efficient and flexible. For more details on App Center's retirement, you can visit the Microsoft App Center retirement announcement page. For a viable Microsoft (Visual Studio) App Center alternative, you can check out Appcircle at appcircle.io.

What is the best Visual Studio App Center alternative?

Appcircle can be your first option as an alternative to Microsoft Visual Studio App Center which will be retiring soon. Appcircle is a competent, enterprise-focused mobile DevOps platform that offers an extensive set of features to manage the entire mobile CI/CD flows with alternatives for many App Center features such as automated builds and mobile app testing distribution.

How does Appcircle serve as an alternative to Visual Studio App Center?

Appcircle serves as a comprehensive alternative to App Center by offering a complete mobile CI/CD suite with support for multiple platforms, advanced build configurations, and enterprise features like self-hosted deployment option and in-depth security features. The User-friendly interface and extensive integration options of Appcircle provide a more efficient and streamlined workflow for mobile app development as a great alternative to Microsoft Visual Studio App Center.

What should be considered when migrating from Visual Studio App Center to an alternative mobile CI/CD platform?

When migrating from App Center to a more comprehensive platform like Appcircle, consider compatibility with existing environments, as well as the replication or adaptation of build, test, and release configurations.

For migration form App Center to an alternative platform, plan for the migration of mobile app build configuration while ensuring seamless integration with existing tools and services. For this reason, you can select an App Center alternative which can support integrations with a wide range of services such as Appcircle.

For enterprises moving from App Center to an alternative, it is also crucial to plan the migration of environment variables, user access, and permissions.

To avoid App Center migration pitfalls and ensure a hassle-free transition, prioritize platforms like Appcircle that provide seamless migration support through expert Customer Success Teams for a smooth transition to a more feature-rich and efficient CI/CD environment for mobile app development with competitive pricing.

Appcircle vs App Center

Compare Appcircle with Appcenter as Mobile CI/CD and DevOps tools and discover how Appcircle stands out.

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Flexible Deployment Options

Every enterprise is unique and may require different deployment options, such as Public Cloud, Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, or on-premise solutions. Appcircle addresses these needs with a portable, container-based architecture that aligns with your specific deployment requirements while also preventing cloud vendor lock-in. Whether you choose to deploy on GCP Public Cloud, on-premise, or privately via the AWS Marketplace, Appcircle meets your requirements.

Distribution Speed & Security

Multi-region secure CDNs ensure your app builds are globally accessible with optimized performance, even in regions with unique internet regulations. With encryption at rest and in transit, your packages are distributed securely.

Built for Purpose

Distribution platforms serve different purposes, such as Testing Distribution or deploying in-house apps to internal users via an Enterprise App Store. Appcircle offers dedicated modules tailored for each of these use cases.

IAM/SSO Integration

Comprehensive security with IAM/SSO integration, including Identity Providers such as Okta, Azure AD, and OneLogin, along with support for authentication protocols like LDAP, OpenID and SAML The platform also supports IAM role mapping (through LDAP and SSO), enabling seamless role and permission assignments based on identity provider groups for enhanced access control.

Apple Ad-Hoc Device Registration

Streamlined UDID registration for Apple devices with configuration profiles. The platform automatically adds device UDIDs to provisioning profiles, simplifying device management for app distribution and testing.

Re-signing Binaries for iOS and Android Apps

Support for re-signing iOS and Android binaries allows developers to re-sign apps with new certificates (iOS) or keystores (Android), ensuring app integrity and security.

CI Integration

Seamless integration with existing CI/CD tools is supported. With ready-to-use plugins for Azure DevOps, GitHub, Fastlane, Jenkins and more, plus API/CLI support, you can easily integrate Appcircle Distribution into your existing CI workflow.

End-to-End Platform

Many distribution tools offer only limited functionality for tasks such as building and publishing to app stores. If you plan to leverage these features, ensure the platform provides robust, comprehensive modules for Build , Signing Identity Management , and Publishing to Stores to fully address your needs.

Get more detail about Enterprise Grade features.

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Find out the similarities and differences between Appcircle and VS App Center and discover alternatives to VS App Center.

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AppcircleApp Center
Java/Kotlin Android Builds
Obj-C/Swift iOS Builds
React Native Builds
Flutter Builds
.Net MAUI Builds
Xamarin Builds
Unity Builds
Git Providers SupportedAzure DevOps Services Cloud, Azure DevOps Server, GitHub, Bitbucket, Bitbucket (Self-Hosted), GitLab, GitLab (Self-Hosted)GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab, GitLab (Self-Hosted) (For Organization Accounts Only)
External Custom Git Repository Support
Simple, Easy-to-Use Build Configuration Interface
Automated Builds with Git Push
Automated Builds with Git Tag
Advanced Build Configuration with Workflows
Continuous Integration PipelinePartially supported with Azure DevOps integration
Selective Workflows on Pull/Merge Requests
Workflow Components Marketplace
Build Configuration with YAML/JSON
Custom Build ScriptsOnly for 3 events (post-clone, pre-build, post-build)
Centralized Environment Variables
Unit and UI Test Support
Selectable Xcode Version
Latest Xcode Version Added within 24hrs
Android Multiple Flavor Dimension Support
Signing Identities Management(Not Centralized)
Online iOS Certificate Creation Interface
Online Keystore Creation Interface
Automated Test CloudUtilizes AWS Device Farm and Firebase Test Lab30 day trial for Azure Device Farm
App Testing Distribution
Testing Group Support
Tester Authentication with Email
Tester Authentication with Static Credentials
Tester Authentication with Enterprise Identity
Publish to Store Automation
Distribute to Apple App Store and TestFlight
Distribute to Google Play
Distribute to Huawei AppGallery
Publish Flow Customization
Distribute In-House with Enterprise App Store
Team Management
Fine-Grained User Roles and Permissions
SSO LoginOpenID & SAML
LDAP Group/Role MappingSupports LDAP group/role mapping, enabling seamless integration with your organization's directory services for effective and automated tester group management.
2FA Support
Enterprise-Grade Logs/Reports
App Analytics and Crash Reporting
Deployment OptionsPublic Cloud, Private Cloud,
On-premise, AWS (Amazon Web Services), GCP (Google Cloud Platform), Azure
Public Cloud (Azure)

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