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Marathon Cloud vs Firebase Test Lab

Firebase Test Lab is deprecated: Google shuts it down on September 30, 2027 and points users to Developer Device Platform on Google Cloud. Until then it runs instrumentation tests through gcloud or the Firebase Console: $1 per hour per Android virtual device, $5 per hour for the physical devices that iOS requires, with runs capped at 45 minutes on physical and 60 minutes on virtual devices. Marathon Cloud runs Android emulators and iOS simulators at $2 and $3 per hour billed per second, with no hard cap on total suite duration.

  • Status

    Firebase Test Lab

    Deprecated; the console and API shut down on September 30, 2027. Google recommends migrating to Developer Device Platform.

    source

    Marathon Cloud

    In production; self-serve sign-up with 50 free device hours.

    docs

  • Run timeout

    Firebase Test Lab

    45 minutes on physical devices, 60 minutes on virtual devices.

    source

    Marathon Cloud

    300 seconds per test by default; no hard cap on total suite duration.

    docs

  • Retries

    Firebase Test Lab

    --num-flaky-test-attempts reruns the whole test execution on a device when any test case fails, a fixed number of times.

    source

    Marathon Cloud

    Failed tests rerun on a different device; tests with a flaky history are retried preventively.

    docs

  • Sharding

    Firebase Test Lab

    gcloud beta flags --num-uniform-shards and --test-targets-for-shard.

    source

    Marathon Cloud

    Device pool sized from your suite's history, targeting 15 minutes per run.

    docs

  • Android pricing

    Firebase Test Lab

    $1 per hour per virtual device.

    source

    Marathon Cloud

    $2 per hour per Android device, billed per second.

    docs

  • iOS pricing

    Firebase Test Lab

    $5 per hour; iOS runs on physical devices only.

    source

    Marathon Cloud

    $3 per hour per iOS simulator, billed per second.

    docs

  • Setup

    Firebase Test Lab

    gcloud CLI or Firebase Console; Flank is optional.

    source

    Marathon Cloud

    One CLI command with the app and test bundle.

    docs

  • Getting started

    Firebase Test Lab

    Self-serve through a Google Cloud project; pay-as-you-go with per-project device quotas.

    source

    Marathon Cloud

    Self-serve: sign up, 50 free device hours, no credit card, one CLI command. No parallel count to buy — the pool is sized per run.

    docs

Competitor facts verified 2026-10-04 from the vendor's public pages.

A Firebase Test Lab alternative for teams that run the whole suite on every pull request

Firebase Test Lab caps instrumentation runs at 45 minutes on physical and 60 minutes on virtual devices, and its flaky-test flag reruns the whole execution on a device. Marathon Cloud retries only the failing test, driven by its history, sizes the device pool from your suite’s history to target 15 minutes, and puts no hard cap on total suite duration.

Choose Firebase Test Lab when

  • You only need it until September 2027 and want Android virtual devices at $1 per hour.
  • You want iOS tests on physical devices.
  • You already drive CI with gcloud and want sharding as gcloud flags.

Choose Marathon Cloud when

  • You need a replacement before Firebase Test Lab shuts down on September 30, 2027.
  • You want a flaky test retried on its own, not the whole execution rerun on a device.
  • You want iOS on simulators at $3 per hour instead of physical devices at $5 per hour.
  • You want no run cap of 45 or 60 minutes, with the pool sized to target 15 minutes.

What a run costs on Marathon Cloud

A suite with 120 minutes of total test time runs on 8 devices for about 15 minutes: 2 device-hours, $4.00 on Android or $6.00 on iOS.

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