Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

BrowserStack VS Parse

Compare BrowserStack VS Parse and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

BrowserStack logo BrowserStack

BrowserStack is a software testing platform for developers to comprehensively test websites and mobile applications for quality.

Parse logo Parse

Build applications faster with object and file storage, user authentication, push notifications, dashboard and more out of the box.
  • BrowserStack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2025-05-06

BrowserStack is a leading software testing platform powering over two million tests every day across 15 global data centers. With BrowserStack, developers can comprehensively test their websites and mobile applications across 2,000+ real mobile devices and browsers in a single cloud platform—and at scale. BrowserStack helps Tesco, Shell, NVIDIA, Discovery, Wells Fargo, and over 50,000 customers deliver quality software at speed.

  • Parse Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

BrowserStack

$ Details
freemium $29.0 / Monthly (Starts at single user plans and billed annually)
Platforms
Mac OSX Android Windows Browser Web iOS Google Chrome Firefox Safari REST API Internet Explorer
Release Date
2012 September
Startup details
Country
Ireland
State
Dublin
City
Dublin
Founder(s)
Nakul Aggarwal
Employees
500 - 999

BrowserStack features and specs

  • Cloud-based
  • Browser Extensions
  • SaaS

Parse features and specs

  • Open Source
    Parse Platform is open-source, which means it is free to use and can be customized to fit the needs of your application without any licensing fees.
  • Rich Feature Set
    Parse provides a wide range of built-in features such as a robust database system, real-time notifications, user authentication, cloud functions, and file storage, reducing the amount of development work needed.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Parse supports multiple platforms including iOS, Android, JavaScript, .NET, and more, enabling easier development across different types of applications.
  • Community and Documentation
    There is a strong community around Parse with extensive documentation and numerous tutorials, which can help developers quickly resolve issues and learn best practices.
  • Unified Backend
    Parse allows developers to manage database, server code, and user authentication in one unified platform, simplifying backend management.

Possible disadvantages of Parse

  • Self-Hosting Complexity
    While Parse is open-source, it requires self-hosting, which involves managing and maintaining your own server infrastructure, adding operational complexity.
  • Performance
    Depending on your server setup and scaling needs, you might encounter performance issues, especially for high-traffic applications, requiring constant monitoring and fine-tuning.
  • Limited Scalability
    Parse might not be as scalable as other backend solutions like Firebase, particularly for apps that need to handle massive amounts of data and users.
  • Initial Setup Time
    The initial setup of a Parse server and its environment can be time-consuming and challenging, particularly for those without DevOps experience.
  • Feature Limitations
    While Parse offers a rich feature set, some advanced features available in other modern backend-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms may lack, necessitating custom development.

Analysis of BrowserStack

Overall verdict

  • Overall, BrowserStack is considered a highly effective and reliable tool in the web development and testing community. Its extensive features, real-device testing capabilities, and seamless integration make it a good choice for those needing comprehensive cross-browser testing solutions.

Why this product is good

  • BrowserStack is a robust and widely used web testing platform that provides developers with the ability to test their websites and applications across a vast array of browsers and devices. It offers real device cloud testing, ensuring that users can assess how their applications perform on actual devices rather than simulations. This makes it an invaluable tool for identifying and resolving cross-browser compatibility issues. Additionally, it integrates with popular CI/CD tools, enhancing the workflow efficiency for development teams.

Recommended for

  • Web developers
  • QA engineers
  • Agile development teams
  • Companies needing cross-browser testing across multiple devices
  • Teams looking for CI/CD integration in their testing process

Analysis of Parse

Overall verdict

  • Parse is a good choice for developers looking for a flexible and scalable backend solution that can be deployed on their own servers or using cloud services. It is particularly beneficial due to its active community and extensive documentation.

Why this product is good

  • Parse is a popular open-source backend-as-a-service framework that simplifies app development by handling server-side components, freeing developers to focus on front-end development. It offers features like push notifications, cloud functions, social media integration, and a real-time database.

Recommended for

  • Developers who want an open-source solution with the freedom to self-host.
  • Teams building mobile or web applications that require a robust backend service.
  • Projects that need strong support for relational data and real-time functionalities.
  • Developers looking to avoid the overhead of writing custom backend code.

BrowserStack videos

BrowserStack Overview

More videos:

  • Tutorial - SpeedLab by BrowserStack
  • Review - SharePoint Team Finds BrowserStack Invaluable

Parse videos

No Parse videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to BrowserStack and Parse)
Website Testing
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Browser Testing
100 100%
0% 0
Realtime Backend / API
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare BrowserStack and Parse

BrowserStack Reviews

Top Selenium Alternatives
BrowserStack is another leading cloud-based testing platform that offers access to a vast array of browsers and real mobile devices. It's designed to simplify the testing process by allowing tests to run in parallel across different environments, significantly reducing the time needed for comprehensive testing. BrowserStack features include live, interactive testing,...
Source: bugbug.io
Why choose HeadSpin over BrowserStack?
Companies like HeadSpin and BrowserStack play a significant role in fulfilling the demand for testing on real devices and cross-browser devices. Their ability to test on real devices online and monitor digital experiences adds to the value proposition of organizations implementing testing solutions. However, every company has different requirements and here are a few reasons...
Source: www.headspin.io

Parse Reviews

10 Top Firebase Alternatives to Ignite Your Development in 2024
If you’re looking for a Firebase alternative that gives you full control and the freedom to tinker, Parse Platform is your jam. Again, it’s a popular open-source framework loved by developers who want to build custom backends without being tied to a specific provider.
Source: genezio.com
Top 7 Firebase Alternatives for App Development in 2024
Back4App is a backend-as-a-service (BaaS) platform that uses Parse Server, the open-source version of the Parse backend. It simplifies backend development and management, providing developers with a robust platform for building modern applications.
Source: signoz.io
What is AWS Amplify? - AWS Amplify Alternatives
It is well-known for making the development process quick, easy, and simple. Using Parse, you may complete a day's worth of work in a few hours.
Source: mindmajix.com
2023 Firebase Alternatives: Top 10 Open-Source & Free
Community Support – If Firebase comes with the backing of Google, then Parse is also tested and trusted by Facebook. Yes, Facebook is the parent company of Parse. Therefore, it has a big community. You can find resources and solutions regarding Parse on GitHub, Stack Overflow and several other programming forums.
12 Best Open-source Database Backend Server and Google Firebase Alternatives
Parse server is an open-source database backend solution which speed up application building. It features database, user management, authentication, file upload and push notification.I used Parse for a few times, and I was satisfied with the speed and productivity it offers, especially in terms of developer tools as it comes with dozens of SDKs, libraries and sample code to...
Source: medevel.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Parse should be more popular than BrowserStack. It has been mentiond 21 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

BrowserStack mentions (8)

  • Show HN: Quell – AI QA Agent Working Across Linear, Vercel, Jira, Netlify, Figma
    This is pretty cool - the Jira/Linear integration could save a ton of manual work. How do you handle test data setup and teardown? That's usually where these workflows get messy. For alternatives in this space, there's qawolf (https://qawolf.com) for similar automated testing workflows, or I'm actually building bug0 (https://bug0.com) which also does AI-powered test automation, still in beta. For the more... - Source: Hacker News / 20 days ago
  • 🛑 Stop resizing your browser: improve testing for responsiveness
    Platforms like Browserstack or SauceLabs offer virtual instances of real devices and browsers for manual and end-to-end testing. Caveat: subscriptions cost money and are on a per-seat basis. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Unsupported country
    If you go to browserstack.com (a website to test other websites) you can probably to the chatgpt url and sign up there. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Windows vs Mac?
    For testing on Mac or iOS, use browserstack.com, you'll spend considerably less using that than you would buying the actual hardware. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Free methods for testing websites/apps across devices?
    I've seen subscription services such as browserstack.com and lambdatest.com but I believe they cost to get the full range of mac browsers and devices. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Parse mentions (21)

  • Supabase Alternatives 🔄 in 2025 😼
    Parse deserves mention primarily for its historical significance as the precursor that inspired the entire backend-as-a-service space. Founded in 2011, Parse pioneered many concepts that we now take for granted in modern BaaS platforms. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • The 2024 Web Hosting Report
    Backend as a Service (BaaS) goes back to early 2010’s with companies like Parse and Firebase. These products integrated everything a backend provides to a webapp in a single, integrated package that makes it easier to get started and enables you to offload some of the devops maintenance work to someone else. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • How to set up a Parse Server backend with Typescript
    Parse Server is a great way to quickly spin up a backend for your project. Parse is a Node based utility that sits on top of ExpressJS. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Free online DB for production app
    You can try https://parseplatform.org/, it is self-hosted if you need. And also there are a number of cloud services with compatible API, like https://www.back4app.com/ It has dart-friendly generated API client, much simpler than firebase and is built on top of postgresql and mongodb. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Supabase Series B
    Not to crash the party or anything. Supabase is great and all but in terms of feature completeness and getting actual products built, it doesn't come close to Parse[0]. Same with Appwrite. Both of these are very popular but they either lack essential features or have them behind a subscription wall. For example, the OSS version of Supabase (last I checked) doesn't include the edge functions which are really... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing BrowserStack and Parse, you can also consider the following products

LambdaTest - Perform Web Testing on 2000+ Browsers & OS

Firebase - Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications for mobile and web.

Sauce Labs - Test mobile or web apps instantly across 700+ browser/OS/device platform combinations - without infrastructure setup.

AWS Amplify - JavaScript library for app development using cloud services

Selenium - Selenium automates browsers. That's it! What you do with that power is entirely up to you. Primarily, it is for automating web applications for testing purposes, but is certainly not limited to just that.

Back4App - Low code backend to build apps faster and scale easily.