A detailed look at crowdsourced testing

The software development landscape is exploding—and so is the need for testing. The global software testing market commanded $57.46 billion in 2025. Practices like vibe coding are just adding to the frenzy.

As a byproduct of “amateur code,” we see vulnerable code bases cropping up and being reported at scale. New threat vectors like AI-based attacks are making the need for testing even more critical. The problem, however, is that there are simply not enough testers available to do all the testing.

This is where an interesting concept called “crowdsourced testing” can help bridge the gap. In 2025, the global crowdsourced testing market was valued at a staggering $1.76 billion and is expected to grow to an impressive $3.6 billion by 2032—a CAGR of 10.8%.

This post will discuss the concept, its importance, process, and benefits in detail.

Crowdsourced testing relies on outsourcing the software testing process to a distributed group of testers

What is crowdsourced testing?

Crowdsourced testing relies on outsourcing the software testing process to a distributed group of testers. Typically, this happens via a platform to execute testing and consolidate results. This means of testing is instrumental for gauging product efficacy.

Testers use a variety of devices, operating systems, and diverse real-world conditions to provide feedback. This kind of feedback would have otherwise been missed if it were being done in a controlled environment.

History and evolution

Over time, crowdsourced testing has evolved from a scrappy concept to a formal testing mechanism, used by giants like Airbnb, PayPal, and Uber. Before the internet went mainstream, testing used to happen largely in-house.

However, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, internet adoption gained momentum. Software was much easier to distribute. This meant that users could now give feedback more readily. The advent of the gig economy aided this. Indie developers and small software houses with low budgets started using dedicated platforms like uTest (renamed to Applause in 2012) to help test their products and services.

A surge in mobile apps in the 2010s prompted the need for even more diverse device testing. Suddenly, Angry Birds wasn’t just limited to your Android phone; it was now being played on iPhones, Windows phones, iPads, computers, consoles, and everything in between. Each of these platforms, in turn, had dozens of variations. Today, as part of the latest evolutionary stage, the concept is now actively used by big tech and SMEs alike.

Importance to the testing industry

Crowdsourced testing offers disruption to the testing ecosystem. The incredibly powerful idea has enabled real-world and scalable quality assurance, which would otherwise have been impossible.

Crowdsourcing QA helps bring user experiences globally across thousands of device/OS combinations. The sheer number of combinations and permutations tested would have been extremely cost-inhibitive, even for leading companies. The approach has prompted several companies to spawn crowdsourced testing programs such as Microsoft’s Insider program.

Crowdsourced testing vs. in-house testing

We learned what crowdsourced testing is. But what is in-house testing? It’s practically the antithesis of crowdsourced testing. It’s an approach where an organization uses its own resources and infrastructure to test software. Let’s compare the two:

Crowdsourced testing relies on a global tester base across diverse environments and conditions

Scope and diversity

Crowdsourced testing relies on a global tester base across diverse environments and conditions. In-house testing is limited to the organization’s internal team and is subject to the existing device stockpile.

Bob Walsh shared how crowdsourced testing could be a win-win for organizations:

“While members of a crowd devoted to quality assurance will all share a love of testing, they’re otherwise all pretty unique. For you, that’s a win! For example, it could be the tester in Hong Kong running Windows Server 2003 who discovers that your application crashes when it tries to read files containing Unicode-written Cantonese characters. Or it could be the tester in Brazil running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 who discovers that your application relies on features in glibc only found in version 4 or later.”

Speed

The ability to perform tests simultaneously makes crowdsourced testing much faster than in-house testing, which is considerably slower as it is mostly sequential.

Flexibility

Crowdsourced testing can be more flexible, as you can increase or decrease the number/scope of devices that you need tested on a whim. However, in-house testing can be more limiting, as you need to incur capital costs and undergo lengthy procurement procedures to onboard new devices.

Cost

Crowdsourced testing is usually project-based or pay-per-bug. You only pay for what you get. No additional cost is needed for the devices, as they are tester-owned. On the other hand, you need to pay fixed salaries and also procure the necessary in-house infrastructure (devices, OS, etc.).

In-house testing can be more expensive and makes more sense for organizations that have fixed testing needs with limited devices.

Quality

Crowdsourced testing allows you to collect real-world user feedback. However, there is little control over the quality aspect. Depending on the platform you use, feedback might be as detailed or as high-level as “good interface.”

With in-house testing, you have more control over the quality and format of the feedback. But at the same time, it’s much less diverse, as the scope of devices and people falls drastically.

Security control

Crowdsourced testing can bring its own challenges, such as privacy risks for users and businesses, especially for highly restricted technology and proprietary systems. This translates into requiring NDAs and using secure platforms. In-house testing typically uses the company’s resources, mitigating much of the risks.

Who are crowdsourced testers?

You don’t always need a special degree to be a crowdsourced tester. Any group of people that forms a network of testers who participate in testing projects can qualify as a crowdsourced tester. If you join such a platform/network, you’ll likely see a mix of QA testers, freelancers, and software end-users as part of the pool.

How they work is pretty simple:

1. Testers join platforms like Applause or Bugcrowd
2. They receive testing tasks with instructions
3. Testers execute the tests and report the bugs and performance issues, inclusive of any UI/UX concerns

Crowdsourced testing process

Let’s explore a typical crowdsourced testing workflow:

Step 1: Define testing goals for your product

Work with your stakeholders to determine the key focus areas for your test plan: functionality, performance, etc. Create test cases accordingly.

Let’s say you want to test a racing mobile game: “Is the car selection feature working well for all players?” and “Does the game encounter lag if more than 20 players connect at a given time?” might be good tests to include. After finalizing the test cases, ensure you set clear success criteria.

Depending on the need, choose a platform that caters to your required tester expertise, pricing, and security features

Step 2: Select a crowdsourcing platform (or create your own)

Depending on the need, choose a platform that caters to your required tester expertise, pricing, and security features. Some organizations might even go on to create their own platform and crowdsourced testing pools.

Step 3: Recruit testers and onboard them

Identify the devices and skills you expect and filter the testers accordingly. Onboard them with detailed training and convey expectations. It helps if you provide them with ideal templates and step-by-step guides for each test case. This will help you elicit quality feedback.

Step 4: Execute tests

Testers evaluate the software based on real-world scenarios. They capture details of bugs encountered, their screenshots, and the device’s configuration. The steps needed to reproduce the bug are important for root cause analysis purposes later on.

Step 5: Report and analyze

Results from the testers are aggregated and reported. QA teams will prioritize the bugs and work with the product teams to create sprints to fix the bugs.

Step 6: Validate and close

Once the bugs have been fixed, they are validated and closed before being released into production.

Benefits of crowdsourced testing

You must be wondering, what are the benefits of using crowdsourced testing for my software projects? Here are a few to begin with:

1. Cost-effectiveness

As discussed earlier, you don’t need to buy and maintain an arsenal of hundreds of devices and staff a dedicated QA team, especially when your work is project-based. Just use crowdsourced testing and pay only for valid bugs. Scale up or scale down, based on need, without the added hassle and price point.

2. Faster time to market

The sheer number of testers and the diverse set of devices available help product teams reduce their testing cycles from months to weeks. You are no longer constrained to sequential testing and can simultaneously test multiple features at once.

3. Niche expertise

Imagine you need to test for a very specific security flaw that requires a specific skill set. If you had to test in-house, you would need to contract several people or hire them. Crowdsourced testing simplifies the hiring problem, as many platforms advertise the type of skill set the testers possess. You are free to pick and choose the tester pool to your liking.

4. Unbiased feedback

The developers and testers are usually the same for smaller product teams. This can introduce some bias when it comes to testing, especially under tight deadlines and cost pressures. With crowdsourced testing, you are more likely to get honest UX insights.

Disadvantages of crowdsourced testing

It would be unfair and incomplete, not to mention some of the disadvantages that crowdsourced testing brings:

1. Security risks

As mentioned before, sensitive test data may be exposed if not managed well. This is why it’s critical to only use a legitimate platform and, if possible, anonymized data.

2. Variable tester quality

With crowdsourced funding, it’s harder to enforce strict guidelines, and as a result, some testers may submit low-quality reports. This can be frustrating as it might lead to a need for retesting.

Since your tester pool hails from all over the world, communicating with them across time zones and language barriers can potentially slow the issue resolution process

3. Challenges in communication

Since your tester pool hails from all over the world, communicating with them across time zones and language barriers can potentially slow the issue resolution process. You can work around this problem by only hiring testers from a certain location or with a language requirement.

Conclusion

By now, you will have realized that crowdsourced testing offers unrivaled scalability, cost savings, and true real-world insights. The concept is ideal for a world where testing needs are growing exponentially with increased uptake in consumer apps and booming numbers of connected IoT devices.

Despite the progress, there is much to be done, and the future holds great promise. There will be even tighter integration of AI into crowdsourced testing platforms—a bid to further reduce manual efforts and bolster productivity. Additionally, as teams adhere to DevOps frameworks, we can expect the platforms to offer tighter integration and APIs for seamless data flow to automate test status updates and closure.

Are you interested in learning more about software testing and how your product can benefit from it? Visit the Tricentis learning library or browse the range of Tricentis products suitable for your testing needs.

Ali Mannan Tirmizi wrote this post. Ali is a senior DevOps manager and specializes in SaaS copywriting. He holds a degree in electrical engineering and physics and has held several leadership positions in the manufacturing IT, DevOps, and social impact domains.