Not a data centre.
Not a script. Real people on real phones.
Device clouds and test automation both have a place — but neither tells you whether your app works for a real customer on a budget Android with an app-killing skin. 99tests does. Here's how the three compare, plainly.
Upload your cases, pay, and testers are on it within the hour. From ₹9,999, verified report in 3 business days.
A device cloud is still you, remotely
You rent a hosted device and drive the session yourself, on stock or rooted Android in a data centre. You still have to find the bug, reproduce it and write it up. We send real people who do all of that on their own phones.
Automation checks scripts, not experience
A passing suite tells you the script still passes. It can't tell you the UPI hand-off dies on a flaky connection, or the popup is blocked on Safari. A person on the device can.
We're not a replacement for automation
Keep your automated regression for stable flows. Use us for the real-device, real-network, real-human release check that automation and emulators can't give you.
Verified, not just captured
Every finding is deduped, graded against a published rubric and delivered with a screen recording — not a raw session log you have to triage yourself.
99tests vs device clouds vs test automation.
| 99tests | Device clouds | Test automation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | Real people on their own phones & laptops | You, remotely, on hosted devices | A script, unattended |
| Devices | Budget Androids on MIUI/ColorOS, real iPhones, real laptops | Data-centre devices, often stock or rooted | Emulators or a fixed farm |
| Network | Real Jio / Airtel / Vi 4G | Data-centre connectivity | Mocked or stubbed |
| Finds UX & real-world bugs | Yes — exploratory around your cases | Only what you reproduce yourself | Only what the script asserts |
| Findings | Deduped, severity-graded, with recordings | You triage the raw session yourself | Pass / fail on assertions |
| Setup effort | Upload cases and pay — about two minutes | Provision devices, drive each session | Write and maintain the suite |
| What you get | Coverage table + PDF in 3 business days | Your own notes and captures | CI logs |
| Best for | Real-device release checks in India | Quick manual repro across many devices | Regression on stable, scripted flows |
Different questions, different tools.
Test automation answers "does the script still pass". A device cloud answers "can I reproduce this on device X right now, myself". 99tests answers "does this actually work for the customer" — on the phones, networks and browsers your users own, checked by a person, with the evidence to prove it.
You don't have to choose forever. Most teams keep automated regression for stable flows and rent a device cloud for the odd manual repro. What neither gives them is an outside human on a real ₹9,000 Android, on real 4G, following the exact cases their AI generated and writing down what happened.
That's the gap we fill — and the one that ships bugs to production when it's missing.
From payment to report.
Pay
Choose a package and pay by card. Invoice issued at checkout — GST for Indian customers.
Submit
Paste or upload your test cases, add the build link or web URL, and pick device and browser targets.
Plan
Your cases are parsed into sessions by device. You see exactly what will run before it does.
Dispatch
Offers go to testers who own your target phones, laptops and browsers. First to accept takes the session.
Sessions
Timed 45- or 90-minute sessions on real devices. Findings recorded live with screen recordings.
Verify and deliver
Findings checked, duplicates merged, severity graded against a rubric. Report emailed as page and PDF.
Before you pay.
How is 99tests different from a device cloud like BrowserStack or Sauce Labs?
A device cloud rents you a remote device that you operate yourself — you still find, reproduce and write up every bug, usually on stock Android in a data centre. 99tests sends real people who own real phones and laptops to execute your test cases on real networks, then delivers verified, deduped, severity-graded findings with screen recordings. You do nothing after upload.
Does 99tests replace my test automation?
No, and we don't pretend to. Automation is great for fast regression on stable, scripted flows. We cover what it can't: real people on real devices and networks finding experience and edge-case bugs, on the exact cases you already have.
Can't I just use an emulator or a device farm?
Emulators and stock-Android farms miss the things that actually break Indian releases — MIUI and ColorOS killing backgrounded apps, a UPI hand-off dying on flaky 4G, Safari blocking a popup. Those only show up on real, tester-owned devices on real networks.
Do I still need to drive the sessions myself?
No. That's the difference from a device cloud. You upload your test cases and pay; testers who own your target devices run timed sessions and record what they see. You receive a finished, verified report.
When should I use a device cloud instead?
When you already know the bug and just need to reproduce it quickly across many device/OS combinations yourself, a device cloud is a fine tool. When you need an outside human to tell you what's broken for real users before release, use us.
How fast is it and how much does it cost?
Fixed price from ₹9,999, with a verified report in three business days. Testers are on your build within the hour of submission — no account, no sales call, GST invoice at checkout for Indian customers.
Run your cases where your users are.
Pay, upload your test cases, and testers are on it within the hour. Report in three business days.