The Best and Easiest Alternative to Firebase Crashlytics for .NET MAUI Apps

Crashlytics in .NET MAUI with Sentry.io – A Better Alternative to Firebase

When it comes to monitoring crashes and errors in mobile applications, Firebase Crashlytics is often the first option developers hear about. However, Firebase can sometimes feel complicated—especially when dealing with configuration, Google services, and platform-specific setups.

This is where Sentry.io shines. Sentry is lightweight, flexible, and easy to integrate with modern cross-platform frameworks like .NET MAUI. It not only captures crashes and unhandled exceptions but also provides rich context through breadcrumbs, performance monitoring, and advanced filtering.

In this blog, we’ll walk step by step through setting up Sentry in a .NET MAUI app, from account creation to capturing crashes and exceptions.

Why Sentry Instead of Firebase?

• Simpler integration – No need to configure Google Services JSON files or platform-specific SDKs.
• Cross-platform support – Works smoothly across .NET MAUI iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac.
• Breadcrumbs support – Automatically tracks actions/events before the crash to give more debugging context.
• Generous free plan – 1 developer account is free.
• Trial for businesses – 14-day free trial available for business and advanced packages.

If you want a crash-reporting solution that just works with minimal setup, Sentry is a strong choice.

Step 1: Register on Sentry.io

1. Go to https://sentry.io.
2. Click Sign Up (you can use Google, GitHub, or email to register).
3. After login, create a New Project.
   • Choose .NET MAUI as your platform.
   • Copy the DSN (Data Source Name) provided by Sentry – this is your unique key for sending data.

Step 2: Install the NuGet Package

dotnet add package Sentry.Maui

Or via Visual Studio:

• Right-click your project → Manage NuGet Packages → Search for Sentry.Maui → Install.

Step 3: Initialize Sentry in MAUI

using Sentry;

namespace MyMauiApp;

public static class MauiProgram
{
    public static MauiApp CreateMauiApp()
    {
        var builder = MauiApp.CreateBuilder();

        builder
            .UseMauiApp<App>()
            .UseSentry(options =>
            {
                options.Dsn = "https://<your-dsn>@sentry.io/<project-id>";
                options.Debug = true; // Enable debug log during development
                options.TracesSampleRate = 1.0; // Enable performance monitoring
            });

        return builder.Build();
    }
}
  

✅ Replace the DSN with the one copied from your Sentry project.

Step 4: Capture Exceptions Manually

You can let Sentry capture all unhandled exceptions automatically. But you can also capture specific exceptions manually:

try
{
    // Some risky code
    int x = 0;
    int y = 10 / x; // Crash here
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    SentrySdk.CaptureException(ex);
}
  

Step 5: Add Custom Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs provide context about what happened before the crash (button clicks, API calls, navigation, etc.).

SentrySdk.AddBreadcrumb(
    message: "User clicked on Login button",
    category: "ui.action",
    level: BreadcrumbLevel.Info
);
  

If an exception occurs later, this breadcrumb will be visible in Sentry’s dashboard, making debugging much easier.

Step 6: Test a Crash

Add this button in your UI to test:

private void CrashButton_Clicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    throw new Exception("Test crash from .NET MAUI!");
}
  

Run the app, click the button, and check your Sentry dashboard. You should see the captured crash with stack trace and breadcrumbs.

Conclusion

Firebase Crashlytics is powerful but often more complicated to configure for cross-platform apps like .NET MAUI. Sentry.io offers a simpler, yet highly effective alternative with features like exception tracking, breadcrumbs, and performance monitoring.

With a free developer plan and a 14-day trial for business accounts, it’s worth giving Sentry a try for your next .NET MAUI project.