Can you test an iOS app without paying Apple?
On your own iPhone, yes. For anyone else's iPhone, no. A free Apple ID lets Xcode build and run your app on devices you can physically connect to your Mac. The moment you need to send a build to someone at a distance, you need the paid Apple Developer Program at $99 a year.
That line is drawn by Apple, not by the service you distribute with. It applies to BetaDrop, to every competitor, and to TestFlight — which is part of the same paid membership. This page sets out exactly where the line sits, so you can tell which side of it you are on before you spend anything.
What a free Apple ID actually gets you
Sign into Xcode with any Apple ID and you get what Apple calls a Personal Team. It is real code signing, not a simulator-only mode: Xcode issues a development certificate and a provisioning profile, and your app runs on a physical iPhone. For solo development this is genuinely all you need, and a lot of developers ship their first few months this way.
It is a small allowance rather than an unlimited one: 3 devices, 10 App IDs, and 3 apps installed per device. Devices are registered by connecting them to your Mac and running the app from Xcode; after that first pairing Xcode can install over Wi-Fi on the same network, provided IPv6 is enabled on it.
That cable requirement is on its way out. Xcode 27's Device Hub can pair a device running iOS 27 or later wirelessly from the start, so if you are reading this after autumn 2026 the first-pairing step may no longer need one. None of the limits below change with it.
A free profile lasts seven days
On the eighth day the app stops launching. The icon stays on the home screen, tapping it fails, and nothing tells you it is about to happen. Plugging the device back into Xcode and running again resets the clock. A paid membership issues profiles that last a year instead.
What it cannot do: give anyone an install link
Be careful with how this is usually stated. It is not true that a free account cannot export an .ipa: Xcode's Distribute App works for a Personal Team through its Debugging option, which produces a development-signed build you can absolutely put behind a link. The missing piece is narrower and more decisive — a free account is never issued a distribution certificate, so it cannot produce the Release Testing build that ad-hoc distribution runs on.
What that means in practice is that the development-signed route works for you and fails for a tester, for three reasons at once:
- The profile covers 3 devices at most, and each has to be registered to your Personal Team through Xcode.
- It stops working after seven days, on their phone rather than yours.
- iOS 16 and later require Developer Mode to be switched on before a development-signed build installs — and Developer Mode only appears in Settings on a device that has been paired with a Mac. A tester's phone that has never touched your desk may not even show the toggle.
A distribution-signed build avoids all three, which is precisely what you are paying Apple for.
TestFlight is not the free option
This catches people out, because TestFlight itself has no separate price. It runs on App Store Connect, which requires an active paid membership, so it sits behind the same $99. It also adds a review step: the first build you give a tester group goes to App Review, though later builds for that group often do not need a full one. How ad-hoc distribution compares to TestFlight.
What the $99 membership changes
The Apple Developer Program costs $99 a year and unlocks ad-hoc distribution, which is the mechanism every over-the-air testing service is built on. Three things change the day it activates:
- Profiles last a year, not seven days, so a build you share in January still opens in November.
- You can register up to 100 devices per product family per membership year — 100 iPhones, plus 100 iPads, and so on. You can add devices whenever you like, but during the year you can only disable one rather than delete it, and disabling does not free the slot. The option to actually clear devices appears at the start of a new membership year. Registering 11 or more at once can take 24 to 72 hours to process.
- A tester installs from a link, with no cable, no Mac and no Apple ID of their own — as long as their device UDID was in the profile when you signed the build.
That last condition is the one that trips people up after paying: the UDID has to be in the profile before the build is signed. Adding a tester afterwards does not mean recompiling, though — you update the profile and re-export the archive you already have, choosing the updated profile. You can collect testers' UDIDs with a link rather than talking each of them through Finder, and read an existing profile to check which devices it already covers.
The Enterprise Program is not a shortcut
The Apple Developer Enterprise Program removes the 100-device limit, which makes it sound like the answer to a testing problem. It is not, and most teams reading this cannot join it: alongside the $299 a year and a registered legal entity with a D-U-N-S number, Apple requires 100 or more employees. It is licensed for one purpose, distributing apps to your own staff.
Using an enterprise certificate to hand builds to people outside your organisation breaches the agreement, and Apple revokes certificates for it. The revocation is not instant, which makes it worse rather than better: iOS checks enterprise certificates against Apple's servers periodically, so apps keep working until each device next checks in and then stop, days apart, with nothing to tell your testers why. Renting space on someone else's enterprise certificate carries the same risk with none of the control.
Which one do you actually need?
Only one thing decides this: how far the build has to travel.
| What you are doing | Account | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Running your app on your own iPhone while you build it | Free | Connect the phone to your Mac and run from Xcode. Re-run every seven days. |
| A colleague at the same desk, whose phone you can plug into your Mac | Free | Same flow, their device. Their app also stops working after seven days. |
| A tester in another city, or anyone you cannot hand your Mac to | Paid | Needs an install link, which needs a distribution-signed build. |
| A client who wants to try the app before signing off | Paid | Same reason. There is no free path that ends in a working link. |
| Anything on Android | Free | No Apple involved. Google is phasing in developer verification — see the FAQ. |
Apple pricing and limits checked 4 September 2026.
Android installs change on 30 September 2026
Google is introducing developer verification: an app has to come from a verified developer before it can be newly installed on a certified Android device. It starts in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand on 30 September 2026, and goes worldwide during 2027.
This is Google's rule about who signed the app, not a limit on how you share it, so it applies wherever you send a build from — BetaDrop included. If your testers are in those countries, verify your developer identity in the Android Developer Console before then. Otherwise an install will simply be refused on their phone, which looks exactly like a broken link.
Verification is a one-time $25 fee for a full-distribution account, or free with a Limited Distribution account capped at 20 devices. Installs over ADB are exempt. More on what each platform now requires.
Once you have paid, getting the build to a tester
The membership solves signing. It does not solve delivery — Apple gives you a signed .ipa and no way to hand it to anyone. That is the gap BetaDrop fills: upload the signed build and you get a link and a QR code your tester opens on their phone to install it, with no account and no App Store review.
If a build refuses to install after all this, the cause is almost always the provisioning profile rather than the transfer, and the signing guide covers how to read that.
Frequently asked questions
Can I test an iOS app without a paid Apple Developer account?
On your own devices, yes. A free Apple ID gives Xcode a Personal Team that signs and runs your app on real hardware, capped at 3 devices, 10 App IDs and 3 apps installed per device. What a free account cannot do is give a distant tester an install link, because that needs a distribution certificate a free account is never issued. So free covers solo development, and the paid Apple Developer Program covers anyone testing at a distance.
How long does a free Apple ID provisioning profile last?
Seven days. After that the app stops launching on the device and shows a message about the developer being untrusted or the app no longer being available. The certificate is not what expires — the provisioning profile is — so the fix is to rebuild and reinstall from Xcode, which issues a fresh profile and restarts the seven days. Paid memberships issue provisioning profiles that last a year.
Can I send an install link to a tester with a free Apple account?
Not usefully. Xcode's Distribute App does work for a free account through its Debugging option, which exports a development-signed .ipa, so you can put one behind an over-the-air link. Three things stop it being a way to test with other people: the profile covers a maximum of 3 devices registered to your Personal Team, it expires after 7 days, and iOS 16 and later require Developer Mode to be switched on before a development-signed build will install. Developer Mode only appears in Settings on a device that has been paired to a Mac, so a tester's phone that has never touched your desk may not even show the toggle. Distribution-signed builds, which the paid membership unlocks, avoid all three.
Does TestFlight need a paid Apple Developer account?
Yes. TestFlight runs on App Store Connect, which requires an active Apple Developer Program membership, so it is not a way around the fee. It also adds a review step: the first build you add to a tester group goes to App Review, though later builds for that group often do not need a full review. Internal testers, up to 100 App Store Connect users, need no review at all. Ad-hoc distribution through a service like BetaDrop skips the review entirely, but needs the same paid membership to sign the build.
How many devices can I install on with a paid account?
Ad-hoc distribution covers up to 100 devices per product family per membership year — 100 iPhones, and separately 100 iPads, and so on across Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch, Mac and iPod touch. Two practical catches: during the year you can only disable a device, not delete it, and disabling does not free up a slot; the option to actually clear devices appears at the start of a new membership year, the first time you sign in to Certificates, Identifiers and Profiles. Registering a batch of 11 or more devices can also take 24 to 72 hours to process, so add testers before the day you need them.
Is the Apple Developer Enterprise Program a cheaper way to test?
No, and most teams cannot join it anyway. It costs more at 299 US dollars a year, and Apple requires a legal entity with a D-U-N-S number and 100 or more employees. It is licensed strictly for distributing apps to your own employees, and Apple revokes certificates used to hand builds to the public. A revocation is not instant, which makes it more dangerous rather than less: iOS validates enterprise certificates against Apple's servers periodically, so apps keep working until each device next checks in and then stop, days apart and without warning. Renting space on someone else's enterprise certificate carries the same risk with no control over when it happens.
Do I need a paid account to test an Android app?
Not to sign one: you generate a keystore yourself at no cost, and the 25 US dollar Google Play Console fee is a one-time charge for publishing to the Play Store, not for sharing a test build. That has been the answer for years, but it is changing. Google's developer verification requires apps to come from a verified developer to be newly installed on certified Android devices, starting 30 September 2026 in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, with a global rollout during 2027. Verification happens in the new Android Developer Console and carries its own one-time 25 US dollar fee for a full-distribution account; a free Limited Distribution account exists for students and hobbyists but caps installs at 20 devices. Installs over ADB stay exempt. Android is still far cheaper and simpler than iOS, but it is no longer true that it costs nothing at all.
What happens to builds I already shared when my free profile expires?
The app stops launching on every device it was installed on, because the profile that authorised it has expired rather than the copy of the app being removed. The app icon stays on the home screen and tapping it fails. Rebuilding and reinstalling from Xcode fixes it for another seven days. This is the clearest practical reason not to build a testing process on free provisioning: it breaks on a timer, on someone else's device, with no warning to you.
