# Developer Laboratory vs Tester

The clearest difference is price: Tester at Free against Developer Laboratory's $0.99. Tester also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and review sentiment (90% vs 60%). Developer Laboratory's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Tester is free to download; Developer Laboratory costs $0.99 up front. Developer Laboratory sells 8 one-off in-app purchases and Tester sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Developer Laboratory against 4.7 for Tester. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tester has 574 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of Developer Laboratory's written reviews are positive against 90% of Tester's.

Developer Laboratory ships an update monthly, Tester every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Developer Laboratory | Tester |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.7 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/developer-laboratory/id1568656582/reviews) | **[4.7 (574 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tester-ai-worker/id1575521212/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 6 | **574** |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | **89.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 9 MB | 76 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [恒盛 程](https://appshunter.io/developer/1533201832) | [FJEDI](https://appshunter.io/developer/1740595411) |

## What reviewers say

### Developer Laboratory

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/developer-laboratory/id1568656582)

This app provides a collection of example code and UI components for iOS developers. It demonstrates various functionalities like app icon creation, image viewing, web page loading, and custom controls. Access the source code to learn implementation details.

**Highlights:** APP icon creation, Imitation of WeChat Moments, Web page loading, Custom UI components, QR code scanning, Facial tracking, Database operations

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 0 ice cola | $0.99 | one-time |
| 1 ice cola | $0.99 | one-time |
| A sip of iced cola | $0.99 | one-time |
| 一元商品 | $0.99 | one-time |
| 2 ice cola | $1.99 | one-time |
| 3 ice cola | $2.99 | one-time |
| 4.16 ice cola | $3.99 | one-time |
| 16.5 ice cola | $14.99 | one-time |


### Tester

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tester-ai-worker/id1575521212)

Test various APIs directly from your mobile device. Supports REST, GraphQL, WebSockets, and more, with advanced editors and request customization. Share requests easily and manage cookies and history.

**Highlights:** Test REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, SOAP, JSON RPC, XML, HTTP, HTTPS APIs, Powerful GraphQL editor with query, mutation, subscription support, WebSocket testing tool for WS and WSS connections, Flexible request data encoding and transfer types, Import requests from curl, links, or files (Swagger, OpenAPI, Postman), One-tap request sharing via deep link or cURL command, Apple Watch app for sending requests from your wrist

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tester Plus Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Tester Plus Yearly | $24.99 | per year |
| Tester Plus Lifetime | $79.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 User-friendly and modern UI
- 🚀 Comprehensive and intuitive
- 🔓 No in-app purchases
- 🛠️ All-in-one dev tool
- 💡 Shortcuts integration

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and data loss after updates
- 🔍 Lack of cloud backup/sync
- 🔧 Difficult to manage requests/collections
- 🖱️ Editing issues with long keys
- 🌐 No IPv6 support

**Reported bugs**

- Deleting all saved requests after updates
- App launching to a black screen
- Shortcuts integration not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Add support for environment variables
- Implement folders/collections management
- Allow exporting/importing data as JSON
- Provide more Shortcuts actions
- Add ability to change app icon


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Developer Laboratory free?

Developer Laboratory costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Tester free?

Tester is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Developer Laboratory or Tester?

Tester is rated higher. Developer Laboratory averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Tester averages 4.7 from 574 ratings.

### Do Developer Laboratory or Tester have ads?

Neither Developer Laboratory nor Tester shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Developer Laboratory or Tester?

Developer Laboratory ships an update monthly, and Tester every 2 days. Most recently, Developer Laboratory was updated on September 10, 2026 and Tester on September 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*