Free InstallOnAir alternative for iOS and Android test builds
· 9 min read
InstallOnAir is a free way to turn an .ipa or .apk into a link and a QR code. You do not need an account, and for a quick share it does the job. People look for an alternative when the job grows: a build that has to stay private, a client who should not see ads, an Android App Bundle, or an upload from CI. This guide is not a feature by feature comparison (that lives at AppForShare vs InstallOnAir). It answers a narrower question: which free tool fits which job, and when paying for one starts to make sense.
A note on sources. InstallOnAir details are as read on their site in November 2026, mainly their pricing page, features page and FAQ. Their free tier has changed several times this year, so check those pages before you decide. AppForShare is the tool we make, so read our parts with that in mind.
Where InstallOnAir fits well
InstallOnAir is good at one thing: a fast, one off share. As read on their site in November 2026:
- Upload works without an account. Guest links last 3 days, links on a free account last 7 days.
- Files up to 200 MB are free on both tiers. A free account can buy a $2 upload credit for one upload up to 1 GB.
- Uploads are not limited in number, and no install limit is stated.
- You can email the link to testers at upload time, for free.
- The free dashboard shows build history, installs, page views and expiry.
- Paid extensions keep a link alive longer: +1 month for $1.89, +6 months for $4.99, +1 year for $9.99, per build, with no subscription.
Those are real strengths. If you need to send one build under 200 MB to a few people this week, InstallOnAir is a reasonable choice, and its free file size is bigger than ours.
Where it stops
The gaps show up once a build is for a client, a team or a pipeline. As read on their site in November 2026:
- No password listed. Links are described as private and unlisted, but we found no password option on the home, features, pricing, FAQ or terms pages.
- No API. There is no API, CLI, CI plugin or webhook. Uploads are by hand in the browser.
- Ads on install pages. Google AdSense and sponsor slots appear on the install page, the upload success screen and the dashboard (see their advertise page).
- No .aab. The site lists .ipa and .apk only.
- No team. No team accounts or roles are listed.
None of this is a flaw for a one off share. It matters when the person opening the link is a paying client, or when you upload a new build every day.
Free tiers side by side
Here are the free options people usually weigh. InstallOnAir figures are as read on their site in November 2026. Diawi figures are from its features page as read in November 2026 (see Diawi limits). Loadly figures are what its home page advertised when we last checked; it lists no paid plan.
| InstallOnAir guest | InstallOnAir free account | Diawi free account | Loadly | AppForShare guest | AppForShare Free | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largest file | 200 MB | 200 MB, 1 GB with a $2 credit | 20 MB | 2 GB (advertised) | 50 MB | 150 MB |
| Link life | 3 days from upload | 7 days from upload | 1 day from the last install | Advertised as never expiring | 3 days | 7 days |
| Installs | No limit stated | No limit stated | 2 per app | Advertised as unlimited | 20 per link, 4 per day | 10 GB of downloads a month |
| Password per build | Not listed | Not listed | Yes, an upload option | Not stated | No | Yes |
| Android .aab | No | No | No | Not listed | No | Yes, turned into one APK |
| Upload API on the free tier | No API | No API | No, from Starter | HTTP upload API | No | No |
Read the table by job, not by row. For the biggest free file, InstallOnAir and Loadly win. For a link that should outlive a weekend, InstallOnAir's paid extensions or Loadly's long links are the cheap options. For a password, an .aab, or help when the install fails, AppForShare Free is the one that covers it. If you are choosing between InstallOnAir and Diawi only, InstallOnAir vs Diawi goes deeper on those two.
Which free tool when
A build for your own phone, today
Any of them. Use whatever is already open in your browser. If the file is over 150 MB and you do not want to pay, InstallOnAir takes up to 200 MB for free.
A test round of a week with a few testers
InstallOnAir's free account and AppForShare Free both give 7 days. Pick AppForShare if you want a password on the link, or if testers on iPhone keep failing to install, because the install page tells them why (more on that below). Pick InstallOnAir if you want to email the link for free from the upload screen.
A build for a client
Here the install page is part of your delivery. Look at it from the client's side: ads, branding, a password, and who runs the service. Our checklist is it safe to share test builds through a free link service walks through those points for any tool.
An Android App Bundle
InstallOnAir and Diawi do not take .aab files. On AppForShare Free, an .aab becomes one universal APK your testers can install, signed with your workspace's test key. A test key APK cannot update the Play version of the app, so testers uninstall that one first; the install page says so. See .aab upload.
Uploads from CI
None of the free tiers here, ours included, gives you a CI upload token. InstallOnAir has no API at all. On AppForShare, the CLI, GitHub Action, fastlane plugin and a Diawi compatible upload API need Pro or Team.
What you get by staying free on AppForShare
A Free account costs nothing and has no card on file. Besides 150 MB files and 7 day links, it includes:
- A password per build. Set it on the build page. Testers enter it before they see the install button.
- Install help on the install page. Before the tester taps Install, the page warns when the iPhone runs an iOS version that is too old, when an iPad only build is opened on an iPhone, when the profile has ended, or when the build is App Store signed and cannot install from a link. It also lists fixes for common failures. This works on guest builds too. See install help.
- Remember my iPhone. After one visit to the UDID finder, a tester can tap Remember this device. From then on, every iOS install page on appforshare.io says whether that iPhone is in the build, before the tap. See Remember my iPhone.
- Tester feedback. Testers send a bug or idea with up to 5 screenshots from the install page, with no SDK in the app. See tester feedback.
- Install pages in 7 languages. English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Indonesian, Spanish and Arabic, picked from the tester's browser. See install page languages.
- No third party ads. Free and guest install pages show one small card about AppForShare itself (“Testing an app of your own?”). Pro and Team pages never show it.
What Free does not include, said plainly: emailing the link to testers and install analytics are on Pro and Team. InstallOnAir gives both on its free account.
When to pay, and what to pay for
There are two paid paths on AppForShare, and they solve different problems.
Keep one link: $2 once
On Free, you can pay $2 once from the build page and that one build's link stays live for 60 days from the payment. Paying again adds 60 days, up to 120 days ahead. It is one extended link per account at a time, and it is not a subscription. It even works on a link that has just expired, while its file is still kept (7 days after expiry). This suits a single client review that runs a few weeks.
Be fair about the price. If you want to keep many builds alive, or one build for a whole year, InstallOnAir's extensions are cheaper: $9.99 keeps one build for a year, and you can extend as many builds as you like. Ours is narrower by design.
Every link, for as long as you subscribe: Pro
Pro is $12 a month or $120 a year. Links stay live while you are subscribed, files go up to 2 GB, and you get release notes, install analytics, emailing the link (up to 5 addresses per build), CI uploads and channels. A first Pro subscription can start with a 7 day free trial. Team, at $39 a month, adds roles, private projects for invited testers, a custom domain and a white label install page. Full limits are on pricing.
A simple rule: if you share one or two builds a month, stay on Free and use the $2 option when a review runs long. If you upload every week, or a client needs one link that always opens the newest build, Pro is the cheaper path in time.
Switch in about ten minutes
There is little to move, because InstallOnAir has no projects, API or settings to export.
- Re-upload the builds still in testing. Drop each .ipa or .apk on the upload box. Old InstallOnAir links do not move; they keep working until they expire there.
- Set a password if the old link was shared widely.
- Send the new link. Paste it into the same chat or email thread your testers already use.
- For repeat builds, use a channel (Pro). A channel such as Beta has one stable link that always opens the newest build you put into it, so testers stop getting a new link every time. See Beta and Live channels.
- For iPhone testers, send them the UDID finder once and ask them to tap Remember this device.
The step by step version is in Move from InstallOnAir, and the longer checklist with UDIDs and tester lists is in moving off InstallOnAir. If your build is over 150 MB, read sharing an IPA or APK over 200 MB first.
Common questions
Is there a free InstallOnAir alternative?
Yes, several. AppForShare Free gives 150 MB files, 7 day links, a password per build and .aab uploads at no cost. Diawi and Loadly also have free options with different limits, shown in the table above.
Can I keep an AppForShare link longer without a subscription?
Yes, one at a time: $2 once keeps one Free build live for 60 days. InstallOnAir sells per build extensions from $1.89 for a month, as read on their site in November 2026.
Does AppForShare show ads on install pages?
No third party ads. Free and guest install pages show one small card about AppForShare; Pro and Team pages do not.
Why does my iPhone tester still fail to install?
Usually the iPhone is not in the build's provisioning profile. That is true on every link service. See online IPA installer for which builds can install from a link at all.
