What is The Difference Between Manual and Automated Mobile App Testing?

With smartphones becoming the go-to shopping tool for many consumers, mobile apps have become more important than ever. A recent Forbes article revealed that 76% of U.S. adults now shop using their smartphones, and by the end of 2024, 187.5 million people in the U.S. will have made at least one purchase through their mobile device. But it's not just about having an app – consumers want high-performing, quality apps. In fact, 50% of mobile users won't even consider an app with a three-star rating. As more shoppers turn to their phones for more than just browsing and buying, having a well-designed, high-quality mobile app is crucial for businesses to thrive.

According to a Tricentis survey of 1,000 IT professionals and app developers, high-quality mobile apps can significantly boost a company’s competitiveness, improve user experience, and drive sales. Around 42% of respondents agreed that well-designed apps are crucial for staying ahead in the market, while 39% pointed out their impact on customer retention and acquisition. However, poor-quality apps come with a hefty price tag—senior IT leaders and developers estimate that they could cost businesses up to $2.49 million in lost revenue. 

Ensuring a smooth and functional app is key to both customer satisfaction and a company’s bottom line. While testing mobile apps can be challenging, it is essential for a successful app release. The key question is whether to use manual or automated testing. So, let’s break down the main differences between manual app testing and automated app testing, and when to choose either approach.

What is mobile app testing and why does it matter?

Mobile app testing ensures that an app meets its technical and business requirements before launch. It helps identify bugs, functionality issues, and design flaws while optimizing performance for users. 

Thorough testing of mobile apps is essential for ensuring a smooth user experience, intuitive design, and overall satisfaction, preventing issues like unresponsive buttons or crashes. Performance testing helps identify bottlenecks, ensuring the app runs efficiently across various devices and operating systems with optimal battery usage or slowing down the phone. Security testing protects sensitive user data from potential breaches, safeguarding the app’s reputation and avoiding legal consequences. Early bug detection and resolution allow the app to quickly enter the market, even with minor issues, improving its position against competitors. Additionally, testing ensures the app meets legal and regulatory requirements, avoiding fines, reputation damage, and in some cases, potential legal action.

The two main approaches to mobile app testing are manual testing and automated testing. Each has its pros and cons, and understanding the differences between the two is essential for making the right choice for your project.

Understanding manual mobile app testing

Manual testing is a simpler approach to testing, where a human tester handles everything from start to finish, without relying on any automated tools, extensions, or scripts. 

Sure, manual testing can be time-consuming and, let's face it, a bit monotonous. But it’s something you can’t skip. Before diving into automation, every app needs to undergo manual testing. The silver lining here is that unlike automated testing, which often requires bringing in an automation engineer, manual testing can be handled by your existing team of testers.

In recent years, manual testing has started taking a backseat as automated testing gains momentum for being quicker and more efficient. But don’t count it out just yet – manual testing still holds its own with some unique benefits.

Manual testing use cases

Ad-hoc testing. Manual testing is effective for spontaneous, unplanned testing, where testers rely on their intuition, experience, and domain expertise to guide their approach.Edge case testing. Manual testing plays a critical role in identifying and evaluating edge cases—rare scenarios that require human judgment and creativity for thorough testing.Exploratory testing. Manual testing is ideal for exploratory testing, where testers freely interact with the application to uncover unexpected behaviors, usability issues, and edge cases.Exploratory testing on new features. Manual testing is particularly useful for exploring newly developed features or functionalities that may not yet be ready for automated testing.Usability testing. Human testers can offer valuable insights into the user interface (UI), user experience (UX), and overall usability of an application, areas where automation might fall short.User acceptance testing. User acceptance testing (UAT) involves end-users evaluating the application to ensure it meets their needs and expectations. Manual testing allows users to assess the software from their unique perspective.User interaction testing. Scenarios involving complex user interactions, such as workflows, feedback mechanisms, or accessibility features, are often best tested manually.

The pros of manual testing for mobile apps

Manual mobile app testing has unique advantages that can complement the development process. 

1. It’s accurate and precise 

One of the key benefits is increased accuracy and precision. When testers perform manual checks, they get a firsthand experience of how the end user will interact with the app. This allows them to feel the app’s flow—how intuitive it is to scroll, tap, and navigate. While automated testing shines in technical precision, manual testing offers deeper insights into the user experience, which can spark fresh ideas or highlight potential improvements.

2. Simulates real-user experiences 

Another reason manual testing is so valuable is that it’s often a better fit for multi-layered scenarios. Some test cases, especially those involving complex interactions, are simply too intricate or expensive to automate. Think about video games, for instance. Gaming apps require a variety of gestures—tapping, swiping, tilting the device, and so on. Automating all of these actions would be a major investment, and sometimes it’s just more practical to go with manual testing. In cases like this, manual testing allows testers to simulate the real-world user experience much more effectively.

3. Helps testers understand the defect 

Lastly, manual testing provides a much better understanding of bugs and crashes. When testers go through the app themselves, they don’t just spot a technical glitch—they can get to the root of the problem. This hands-on approach helps testers think outside the box and understand the issue conceptually, which is crucial for redesigning the app or fixing critical issues before they escalate. In cases where the system needs to be reworked to avoid major crashes or errors, manual testing plays a pivotal role in preventing those fatal issues from slipping through the cracks.

The cons of manual testing for mobile apps

As with anything, manual mobile app testing certainly has its drawbacks and challenges.

1. Risk of human error 

Even the most skilled testers are susceptible to mistakes, especially when performing repetitive tasks. That’s one of the main reasons many teams choose automation—it helps eliminate those errors. However, it’s important to note that automation isn’t perfect either, as automated scripts are still written by humans and can fail due to oversight or misconfiguration. But when it comes to manual testing, the pressure on testers is much higher. They need to maintain a high level of focus throughout each session, which can lead to fatigue and mistakes over time, especially with complex apps.

2. Challenging for smaller teams 

Another significant downside is the demand for human resources. To properly test a mobile app, especially one that handles a lot of traffic, a team of QA engineers is usually needed to run tests simultaneously. This can be a challenge for smaller companies that don’t have a large enough team to carry out these tests effectively. 

3. Lack of efficiency 

Lastly, manual testing is not the most efficient use of a QA tester’s time. Instead of focusing on more strategic tasks, like writing test plans or analyzing reports, testers often find themselves spending hours, if not days, manually verifying basic workflows. While these tasks are necessary, they can feel tedious and take away from more valuable, high-level work. This can ultimately lower the productivity of the team and delay the testing process.

Understanding automated mobile app testing

Automated testing is all about using tools to track down defects and measure a product's performance. QA engineers use specialized software—such as Jenkins, CircleCI, Travis CI, GitLab CI/CD, GitHub Actions, Bamboo, and Azure Pipelines—to automate testing tasks. These tests can be done without human oversight, but the tools you choose can limit what you can do. Automation can be the perfect solution for testing lots of processes, especially for things like regression testing, thanks to its speed, efficiency, and ability to run without supervision—but it does have some downsides to keep in mind.

You may be interested in: 10 Things to Consider When Choosing a Test Automation Tool.

Automated testing use cases

Cross-browser and cross-platform testing. Automation allows for testing across different browsers, operating systems, and devices, ensuring consistent behavior across diverse environments.Data-driven testing. Automation can efficiently handle tests that require multiple data sets, iterating through various inputs and expected outcomes.Integration testing. Automation is great for integration testing, as it can simulate interactions between various components of a system, verifying that they work together as expected.Load and performance testing. Automated tools are perfect for load testing as they can simulate a large number of users accessing the system simultaneously, identifying performance bottlenecks and scalability issues.Regression testing. Automation is ideal for repetitive tests that need to be executed frequently, such as regression testing. Automated tests ensure that existing functionality remains intact after code changes, following best practices.Smoke testing. Automated smoke tests can quickly validate the basic functionality of an application after each build or deployment, helping catch critical issues early.

Pros of automated testing for mobile apps

Automated app testing is especially useful for checking features that need to handle a lot of tests at once or involve large amounts of data. Test automation can streamline these processes—one skilled tester can set up automated scripts to perform multiple tests at the same time, saving time and resources. Here’s a list of the main advantages of automated testing for mobile apps.

1. Around-the-clock testing 

Automated testing is ideal for tests that need to run continuously for 24 hours. Imagine trying to organize a team of testers to work in shifts just to monitor these tests—it’s a huge logistical challenge! But with automation, all it takes is a well-crafted script. Once it’s set up, a QA tester can go home, get a good night's sleep, and come back the next day with the tests already completed and ready for analysis. Test automation handles the heavy lifting, freeing up time and reducing the need for constant supervision.

2. Improved ROI

Sure, building automated tests can take more time and skill upfront than running a set of manual tests. But once in place, these tests can be run every time the code changes, ensuring the app works flawlessly without having to repeat manual steps. In the long run, automated testing saves resources by catching issues faster and reducing the need for repetitive, manual testing. It’s a smart investment that keeps delivering value with every test run.

3. Reusable test scripts 

One of the best perks of automation? Reusability. Once a test script is created, it can be run again and again whenever the code is updated. Plus, these scripts can often be adapted for other projects, allowing teams to save time and get products to market faster. Instead of reinventing the wheel each time, developers can leverage these reusable tests to maintain consistent quality.

4. Quicker bug detection in early development stages 

Detecting bugs early—especially complex ones like memory leaks—is much easier with automation. Automated tests can quickly check multiple scenarios simultaneously, which speeds up the entire bug-finding process. By running various tests automatically, QAs can cover more ground and developers can catch issues early on, allowing them to focus on fine-tuning the product as it develops. Plus, the same scripts can be reused in later stages, eliminating the need to create new ones for each development cycle.

5. Enhanced reliability 

Automation adds reliability to testing. Every time the test runs, it follows the same steps, eliminating human error and variability. This repeatability ensures consistent results, so QA testers can be confident that each test checks the same conditions every time.

6. Simultaneous tests for efficiency 

One of the biggest advantages of automation is the ability to run multiple tests across various systems at once. Automated testing makes it possible to conduct dozens of tests in parallel, something that would be nearly impossible to do manually. This simultaneous testing ensures that different parts of the application are validated on different platforms and configurations without any manual intervention, giving QA teams more insights in less time.

Cons of automated testing for mobile apps

While it can streamline many processes, automated testing isn’t always the best choice, especially in cases that require flexibility, cost-effectiveness, or an authentic user experience. Here are some downsides that come with automated testing for mobile applications:

1. Costly and time-consuming maintenance 

Automated tests require constant updating, especially if your product is evolving rapidly. Every new version or feature tweak might mean revisiting, editing, or even rebuilding the entire suite of automated tests. This can eat up both time and budget, making it a significant ongoing investment.

2. Limited in capturing the full user experience 

Automated tests struggle when it comes to simulating real-world, complex user interactions. If you’re trying to assess a long, multi-step user journey, creating an automated script for it can be both costly and prone to frequent breakdowns. These types of tests are better handled manually, where you can see the whole flow as a user would.

3. Less flexibility due to tool reliance

Automated testing depends on specific tools and software. If your team can’t afford high-end testing suites, you may find yourself hitting limitations in what your automated tests can do. This lack of flexibility can restrict the depth of testing, especially if you’re on a tight budget.

4. Inefficient for testing small features 

For smaller features or quick fixes, automated testing can feel like overkill. Writing a full-blown script to assess a minor change can waste valuable time and resources. Manual testing, on the other hand, is often faster and more efficient for these smaller, one-off checks, making it the better choice for quick assessments.

You may be interested in: 5 Test Automation Anti-Patterns (And How to Avoid Them).

When should you choose manual testing for mobile apps?

When it comes to choosing between manual and automated testing, project managers often face a tough decision. There are so many factors to weigh: the project's scale and scope, the deadline, the size and expertise of the team, just to name a few. With so much at play, how do you know which approach is best?

To make things a bit easier, let’s look at some typical cases where QA testers lean towards manual testing.

Small projects

Smaller projects typically have limited budgets, and manual testing can be more affordable since it doesn’t require the initial setup of automation tools or the hiring of specialized automation engineers. On top of that, manual testing allows for quick execution without the need to invest time in developing and maintaining automated test scripts. This is particularly beneficial when timelines are tight.

Apps with complex user interactions

If your app includes a multi-layered, highly interactive user experience—think dynamic interfaces or workflows that mimic real user behavior—automated testing can struggle to capture the nuances. This is where manual mobile testing shines, as human testers can adapt to the fluid nature of these interactions more effectively than a pre-written script.

Teams with limited automation skills

If your team doesn’t currently include a test automation expert, jumping straight into automated testing may lead to frustration and missed deadlines. Manual testing can be a suitable alternative until you find the right candidate to lead your automation efforts.

Scenarios that aren’t suitable for automation

Some test scenarios are best left to manual testing, especially exploratory testing and tests that focus on user experience (UX), user interface (UI), and API interactions. These areas often require human intuition and adaptability that automation simply can’t replicate.

By identifying these scenarios, you can streamline your testing approach, choosing the method that best fits your project’s needs and your team’s strengths.

You may be interested in: How We Built a Robot for Automated Manual Mobile Testing.

When should you choose automated testing for mobile apps?

Now that you know what are the best cases to choose manual testing, let’s take a look at when automated testing might be the right choice for your app.

For apps that need to scale fast

If your app’s architecture is complex and you’re juggling loads of test cases, automated testing can be a lifesaver. Imagine needing to run hundreds (or even thousands) of tests at once or handling a ton of user data. Doing this manually would take ages. With automated testing, you get the efficiency and speed needed to manage high volumes without pulling in extra manpower. It’s like having an extra team member working around the clock.

For small teams with limited resources

Working with a small team and strapped for resources? Automated testing can be your secret weapon. Instead of assigning someone to manually repeat tests, you can write scripts that run independently. This frees up your team for tasks that truly need human intuition and creativity—like tackling challenging bugs or designing new features.

For testing on multiple devices

Got an app that needs to work on a range of devices? Automated testing can handle this kind of parallel testing effortlessly. While it’s possible to test on different devices manually, automated testing makes this process faster and more accurate—especially useful if you have limited testers on hand.

For projects with tight deadlines

If you’re racing against the clock to meet a release date, automated testing can help you keep pace. Automated tests can run anytime, day or night, across various test cases, which helps cover more ground in less time. This is a game-changer when there’s pressure to push updates quickly and stay on schedule.

The bottom line

In the end, choosing between manual and automated testing for your mobile app isn’t a matter of one being better than the other—it’s about finding the right fit for your app’s needs and your team’s resources. Manual testing offers a hands-on approach that’s invaluable for user experience insights, especially in complex, interactive scenarios. Automated testing, on the other hand, brings speed, efficiency, and consistency, particularly when you’re working on a large-scale app or need to meet a tight release deadline.

Many QA teams find that a blend of both approaches works best. Automated tests can handle repetitive, high-volume tasks, while manual tests can dive into the details and adapt as they go. The key is knowing when to leverage each one to maximize both quality and efficiency. So, whether you’re aiming to scale fast or fine-tune your user experience, having a strategic testing mix will help you build an app that performs well, keeps users engaged, and stands out in today’s competitive market.

Do you have an app and need end-to-end testing to make sure it works as intended? Get in touch to learn about our manual and automated testing services for mobile apps.