Expo

Expo

Freemium

The platform for making universal React applications.

Frontend Frameworks
JS Metaframeworks

Published 29 May 2026 · Last updated 28 September 2026

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Scores

Popularity3/5

The standard way to build React Native apps for most teams.

Learning Curve2/5

Managed workflow removes native setup; EAS Build and bare workflow add incremental complexity.

Flexibility4/5

Managed and bare workflows; native modules and custom builds are both supported.

Performance4/5

Managed React Native; native modules compile to platform code; JS bridge is the bottleneck.

Portability3/5

React Native skills transfer; EAS Build and managed config are Expo-specific.

About Expo

Expo is an open-source platform for building universal React Native applications. It wraps React Native with a managed workflow that eliminates the need to touch Xcode or Android Studio for most development tasks — you write JavaScript/TypeScript, Expo handles the native build pipeline.

The Expo SDK provides pre-built, well-tested React Native modules for device capabilities (camera, location, notifications, sensors, biometrics, contacts) with a consistent API across iOS and Android. Expo Go is a companion app that installs on your phone and lets you preview your project by scanning a QR code — changes appear instantly over the network with no rebuild required.

For production, EAS (Expo Application Services) handles the full release lifecycle: EAS Build runs cloud-based native builds for iOS and Android (no Mac required for iOS builds), EAS Submit automates App Store and Play Store submissions, and EAS Update pushes JavaScript-only changes over-the-air without an app store review cycle. Expo is open-source (MIT) and maintained by Expo Inc.

Key Features

  • Zero native configuration required to start
  • Expo Go for instant device preview
  • Over-the-air updates without app store review
  • EAS Build for cloud-based iOS/Android builds
  • EAS Submit for automated app store submissions
  • Access to native device APIs via Expo Modules
  • Web support with React Native Web
  • Strong TypeScript support

Pros

  • Fastest way to start with React Native — no Xcode or Android Studio needed for most tasks
  • Over-the-air updates push JavaScript changes without an app store review cycle
  • EAS Build runs cloud-based native builds for iOS and Android, no Mac required
  • Expo Go lets you preview changes instantly on a physical device by scanning a QR code
  • Can eject to bare React Native when you outgrow the managed workflow
  • Well-tested module library covers camera, location, notifications, biometrics, and more with a consistent cross-platform API

Cons

  • Limited access to some native APIs
  • App size larger due to Expo SDK
  • EAS services cost money for production apps
  • Ejecting from managed workflow can be complex
  • Some third-party libraries incompatible with Expo
  • Less control over native code and build process

Expo Pricing

Freemium
FreeFree
  • · 15 Android and 15 iOS builds per month
  • · Low-priority build queue
  • · 60 minutes of CI/CD Workflows
  • · App store submissions included
Starter$19/monthly
  • · $45 of build credit per month
  • · High-priority build queue with access to large workers
  • · Send updates to 3,000 monthly active users
  • · Additional usage billed separately
Production$199/monthly
  • · $225 of build credit per month
  • · 2 included concurrent builds
  • · Send updates to 50,000 monthly active users
  • · 10 environment variable environments
EnterpriseContact sales
  • · $1,000 of build credit per month
  • · 5 included concurrent builds
  • · Send updates to 1,000,000+ monthly active users
  • · CI/CD Workflows insights and service level agreements

Tech Stacks with Expo

React Native + Supabase

Project

Cross-platform mobile app built with Expo's managed workflow and backed by Supabase. Ships to iOS and Android from a single JavaScript codebase.

React Native
React Native
Expo
Expo

Frontend

TypeScript
TypeScript

Programming

Supabase
Supabase

Databases

Supabase Auth
Supabase Auth

Authentication

Details Sandbox
CI/CD add-on:
Payments add-on:
Analytics add-on:

Tools Related to Expo

Works well with Expo(1)

Supabase

Supabase

Open-source Firebase alternative built on PostgreSQL. Provides a full backend stack with database, authentication, real-time subscriptions, file storage, and edge functions — deployable on Supabase Cloud or self-hosted.

Freemium
Databases
4/5

Supabase works with Expo via the @supabase/supabase-js client — provides Postgres, auth, and storage for React Native apps built with Expo.

Alternatives to Expo(2)

Flutter

Flutter

Google's UI toolkit for building natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase.

Open Source
Frontend Frameworks
4/5

Flutter uses Dart with its own renderer; Expo is a managed React Native workflow — different language ecosystems entirely.

FlutterFlow

FlutterFlow

FlutterFlow is a visual no-code/low-code platform for building native iOS, Android, and web apps using Flutter. Design screens with drag-and-drop components, define logic with a visual action flow editor, and export real Flutter/Dart code with no vendor lock-in.

Freemium
No-Code / Low-Code
3/5

Expo uses React Native/JS for cross-platform mobile; FlutterFlow is a visual builder outputting Flutter/Dart — different language ecosystems and abstraction levels.

Links

Website Docs GitHub

Vendor

Expo

Tags

JavaScriptTypeScriptOpen SourceFree TierMobile DevelopmentiOSAndroidCross-platform

Details

License
MIT
Maintained
Yes
Primary language
JavaScript
Domain
Mobile
GitHub stars
27k
Stars updated
2026-03-10