Mobile app crash reporting tools have evolved to become more developer-friendly over time. We’ve seen them become easier to integrate and offer new features. There are a lot of options out there today.We have found that there’s a crash reporting tool for every occasion. All of the options included in this analysis we either use regularly now or have in the past
1. Crashlytics
Cost:(Free, crashlytics.com)
This is still one of the most useful crash reporters out there. It goes beyond stack traces to analyze every thread and assign impact levels so you know how to proceed. It helps you prioritize, work down from the most critical crash reports and know what you have to do next. Many developers say the best part is the design because it is so straightforward and intuitive.
2. Parse
Cost:(Free with Core or Push package)
One of the newer entries in the field, Parse Crash Reporting arrived at the end of 2014 and has been growing by leaps and bounds. It will help both find and fix crashes for iOS with simple console logs and alerts. With the funding of Facebook behind it, expect Parse to add on more features rapidly. It’s already added a dashboard for analytics, cloud modules for integrations with third-party services, and a code library called Parse Bolts.
3. Xcode
Cost:(Free, developer.apple.com)
At time of publishing, the Xcode 7.2 beta 4 is in pre-release. The strengths of this new version come from its built-in integration and bundled symbolization features. The problem with relying on Apple is that users need to opt into data sharing with Apple itself. As a result, there will be a much smaller sampling of all crashes occurring in your app.
4. Crittercism
Crittercism is still going strong and staying independent with investments from companies like Google Ventures. Their revenue doubled in 2015 and they just passed 1 billion installs. Although they are still focused on crash reporting, this year they partnered with Adobe Analytics to bolster the data end with metrics like user engagement.
5. Instabug
Cost:($0-$129/month)
The creative contribution of this tool, launched in 2013 and still in beta, is all the metadata it gives you to debug faster. When the user shakes the devices, Instabug will take a screenshot that can be annotated. You can see specific actions that the user took up to the point of the crash. A variety of other feedback and diagnostics are automatically included in the crash data. It’s also probably the only crash reporter from Egypt.
6. HockeyApp
Cost:($10-$500/month)
Everyone seems to love HockeyApp, especially those who were fans of the pre-Apple version of TestFlight. This tool puts everything is one place, from crash reports to analytics and feedback. Microsoft integrated HockeyApp into their Application Insights service. It’s got basic crash reporting tools with advanced crash analytics.
For a meta-crash report sponsored by HockeyApp check out CrashProbe.
7. AppBlade
Cost:$1 to $4 per device per month
This is a total mobile device management (MDM) platform. Enhanced security is the main reason to get this crash tester. You can better secure your app beta, encrypt user data and at the end to the test you can completely wipe the tester’s device. Some of the biggest names in tech, such as eBay, PayPal and HubSpot have gone this route.
