Hire app testers on real phones, in hours
Emulators do not show you what happens when a real person on a three-year-old Android phone opens your app for the first time. On Tasklify you can hire app testers from a crowd of real people, choose the countries and devices you care about, and pay only for tests that come back with the proof you asked for.
Who this app testing service is for
- Indie developers and small studios without a device lab who need to see their app on phones they do not own.
- Product teams before a release who want a quick smoke test in several markets at once.
- Agencies handing over a client app and wanting independent confirmation that installs and sign-ups work.
- Growth teams checking that onboarding and paywalls make sense to people who have never heard of the product.
What you can use app testers for
The strongest results come from short, scripted jobs where the tester follows your path and reports what happened:
- Install and first launch: does it download, open and reach the home screen on this device and OS version?
- Onboarding walkthrough: where do new users hesitate, and which permission prompts make them nervous?
- Single-feature check: can someone add a card, book a slot or export a file without help?
- Localisation spot check: are strings in German, French or Portuguese truncated or untranslated?
- Crash hunting across devices: a large batch of quick installs with the phone model and OS version as a text answer.
Mobile app testing on real devices this way is not a replacement for automated tests or a dedicated QA team. It fills the gap between them: fast, broad, human feedback.
How to write an app test that gets good results
Testers only see your brief, so it has to stand on its own. Aim for one goal per task, five to eight numbered steps, and proof that shows each important moment. An example:
Title: Install our budgeting app and set up your first budget (Android, 10 min)
Steps: 1. Install “Pocketwise” from the Google Play link below. 2. Open it and sign up with any email you control. 3. Skip the bank connection. 4. Create a monthly budget with two categories. 5. Add one expense. 6. Close the app and reopen it.
Proof: Screenshot of the budget screen showing your two categories and the expense after reopening. Text answer: phone model, Android version, and one thing that confused you (or “nothing”).
Why it works: the reward matches the estimated time (the platform suggests about $0.70 for ten minutes), the proof can be checked in seconds, and the open question gives you real feedback instead of “all good”. Avoid vague asks like “test everything and tell us what you think”; you will get vague answers.
Targeting the right testers
Every task has eligibility settings. Workers who do not match simply never see it.
| Setting | Options | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Countries | All, Tier 1, or specific countries (US, GB, CA, AU, DE, FR, IN, BR, ID, PH, NG, PK) | Store availability, language, launch markets |
| Device | Any, Android, iOS, Desktop | Always set it for app tests |
| Minimum approval rate | Any, 80%, 90%, 95% | Raise it for longer tests with written feedback |
| Minimum completed tasks | Any, 10, 50, 200 | Prefer experienced workers for complex flows |
| Repeat | Once, once a day, unlimited | “Once” for one install per person |
| Plus-only | On or off | A smaller, more active pool |
| Time limit | 30 min, 1 h, 6 h, 24 h | How long a reserved slot is held |
| Review window | 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 7 days | How long you have to review each submission |
| Scheduled start | Date and time | Line the test up with a release |
What it costs to hire app testers
Say you want 100 people to install your app and send a screenshot plus one line of feedback, at $0.50 each:
| Line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Reward budget | 100 testers × $0.50 | $50 |
| Service fee | 12% of the reward budget | $6 |
| Pre-funded when you publish | Budget + fee | $56 |
| Optional Boost | +20% of the reward budget | +$10 |
| Total with Boost | Budget + fee + Boost | $66 |
The 12% fee is charged on the reward budget when you publish. Boost is optional and pins the task to the top of the feed, which helps when you are targeting a narrow audience. If this is your first top-up and you deposit $56, you get a 10% first-deposit bonus of $5 (capped at $5) to spend on tasks. The minimum deposit is $10. Any slots nobody takes are refunded to your balance when the task closes. Details are on the pricing page.
Reviewing app tests and controlling quality
- Pick proof you can verify quickly: screenshots, a screen recording (MP4 up to 20 MB or a link), a text answer, or the username the tester registered with so you can match your logs.
- Choose a review window from 24 hours to 7 days. With auto-approve on, anything you have not reviewed by the deadline is approved automatically, so testers are not left waiting.
- Approve individually or bulk-approve a batch that looks right.
- Reject with a written reason tied to your instructions, or request changes once when a screenshot is missing.
- Watch the fraud flags: Tasklify marks submissions whose file or text duplicates another one.
- Block workers who submit fabricated proof; they will not see your tasks again.
- Disputes go to Tasklify, which normally decides within 48 hours after both sides have had their say.
What not to post
Paid app testing must stay honest. Tasks that ask testers to rate or review your app in the store, to create accounts under invented identities, to download an app repeatedly to inflate install numbers, or to click ads inside it will be removed. The same goes for buying followers or likes for the app’s social accounts. See the Acceptable Use Policy for the full list.
Frequently asked questions
How fast can I get app testers?
A well-targeted task usually starts receiving submissions within minutes of publishing, because it appears straight away in the feed of every eligible worker. Narrow targeting, such as iOS only in one country with a high minimum approval rate, fills more slowly than an Any device task open worldwide.
Are the testers professional QA engineers?
No. They are ordinary people using their own phones. That makes them good at showing you first-run problems, confusing onboarding and device-specific crashes, but you should not expect formal test plans, regression suites or detailed technical bug reports.
Can I test an app that is not on the store yet?
Yes, through the official pre-release channels: Apple TestFlight public links and Google Play open or closed testing tracks. Do not ask testers to sideload APK files from unknown sources. For multi-day pre-release programmes, see our page on recruiting beta testers.
Can I ask testers to leave a store review?
Not as part of a paid task. Paying for store ratings or reviews presented as genuine breaks Google Play and App Store rules and our Acceptable Use Policy. Ask for private feedback in the proof instead; it is more useful to you anyway.
What if a tester submits a fake screenshot?
Reject it with a written reason and, if it is clearly fabricated, block the worker. Submissions that reuse a file already sent by someone else are flagged automatically. Workers can dispute a rejection, and Tasklify decides, normally within 48 hours.