Every time you build an app, your account is charged a number of credits depending on the build tier. Understanding the difference between build tiers helps you plan testing and production builds without spending credits unnecessarily.
Build Tiers
Debug Build: 10 credits
A Debug build produces an unsigned APK file. "Unsigned" means the app has not been signed with a production signing key: it uses Android's default debug keystore instead.
What you can do with a debug build:
- Install it directly on your Android device for testing (you must enable "Install unknown apps" in device settings)
- Test navigation, forms, login flows, and WebView behavior
- Test camera, location, and other permissions
- Share it with your team for internal testing
What you cannot do with a debug build:
- Submit it to Google Play Console: Play requires AAB format and proper signing
- Distribute it publicly: APK sideloading is not suited for public distribution
- Test push notifications: Firebase integration requires a production build
When to use it: Use a debug build every time you make significant configuration changes. Test on a real device before paying for a Starter or Professional build. Debug builds are cheap precisely because iteration should be fast and low-cost.
Starter Build: 50 credits
A Starter build produces a signed Android App Bundle (AAB) file. The signing uses your selected signing configuration (Automatic, Generate New, or Upload Own).
Includes:
- Signed AAB ready for Google Play submission
- Custom app name and package name
- Custom app icon (all density sizes)
- Splash screen with your branding
- Intro / onboarding screens (if configured)
- Full WebView settings (JavaScript, cache, zoom, navigation)
- Permission declarations
- Deep linking configuration
- Custom signing key
Does not include: Firebase push notifications, AdMob, file upload/download.
When to use it: When you want a properly branded, publishable app and don't need push notifications or ads.
Professional Build: 100 credits
A Professional build includes everything in Starter plus additional integrations:
- Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM): Push notification support. Requires a valid
google-services.jsonfile from your Firebase project. - Google AdMob: In-app advertising support (banner and interstitial). Requires an AdMob App ID.
- File upload support: Native file picker for form file inputs (photo upload, document upload).
- File download support: Download files to device storage with system download notification.
When to use it: When you need any combination of push notifications, in-app monetization, or file operations.
Planning Your Build Budget
A typical workflow for launching a new app:
- Debug build × 1–2 (10–20 credits): Configure and test until the app works as expected
- Professional build × 1 (100 credits): Production build for Google Play submission
- Total: 110–120 credits
A 150-credit pack ($15) covers this workflow with credits left over for future iterations.
For apps that are updated quarterly (new branding, new Firebase config, version bump):
- 4 annual Professional builds × 100 = 400 credits
- A 350-credit pack ($30) + small additional credit purchase, or a 1000-credit pack ($80) for the full year
Build Versioning
Each build you run increments the app's version code automatically. The version name (what users see: e.g., "1.2.0") can be set manually in your app configuration. When you upload a new AAB to Google Play, the version code must be higher than the previous release. The build server handles this automatically: you don't need to manually increment version codes.
Rebuilding After Configuration Changes
You need to rebuild (and pay credits) whenever you change:
- App icon or splash screen
- Permissions
- Firebase configuration (
google-services.json) - AdMob App ID
- WebView settings (JavaScript, navigation behavior)
- Intro screens
- Deep linking configuration
You do not need to rebuild for content changes on your website. New pages, updated text, new products: these are reflected in the app immediately because the WebView loads your live URL.