Estimating your patch needs with Shorebird
One of the most common questions we hear from teams considering Shorebird is:
How many patches will I need?
It’s a fair question and one we designed our pricing model to make easy to answer.
Our pricing is simple: a flat monthly rate based on the number of patch installs you think you need. That’s it.
You can:
- Push as many releases and patches to the Shorebird system as you want
- Set up staging, internal, or testing tracks
- Generate patches for every commit
All without triggering any billable usage.
You’re usage is only tracked when a patch is actually installed on a user’s device. That means you can build Shorebird into your workflow without worrying about surprises or hidden fees.
A Simple Starting Point
If you’re unsure what plan is right for you, here’s a helpful rule of thumb:
Take your monthly active users (MAU) and double it.
This gives you the freedom to send two patches per month to your entire user base, with a buffer to grow. Most teams find that more than enough to stay fast and flexible without ever worrying about hitting limits.
Built for All Kinds of Teams
We’ve designed our plans to work for teams on both ends of the spectrum.
🛡 The Safety Net Approach
Some teams treat Shorebird as a form of “production insurance.” They push a minimal number of patches a month, using our platform when something breaks or slips through QA. For these teams, the value is peace of mind. Knowing that if something does go wrong, they can fix it instantly without waiting on App Store or Play Store review.
⚡ The Iteration Powerhouse
Other teams build patches into their daily workflow. They generate a patch every time a new commit hits main, push it to a staging track, and test in production-like environments. If things look good? Push it live. If not? Roll it back instantly. For these teams, Shorebird is a critical part of how they move fast and deploy with confidence.
Both are valid. Both are supported.
You’re In Control
Whether you send one patch a year or dozens a month, our pricing is designed to scale with your needs. You’re not locked into a fixed model, and you can upgrade or adjust as your usage evolves.
So take a breath. You don’t need to overthink it.
Start by doubling your MAU and see how it goes. You’ll likely find that Shorebird gives you more flexibility and fewer headaches than you expected.