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Source-backed analysis9

Review basis

Research-based review: the AppDuo Editorial Team compiled it from official pages, documentation, app stores, press and user feedback, without hands-on testing. Every claim links to a source with the date it was checked.

9 reference sources

Information updated Nov 11, 2026

How we review
Expo logo

Expo Review

A React Native framework with cloud services to build, ship and update apps

Editorial Team7.7/10Write the first review

By Official AppDuo editorial team · Updated

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
  • macOS
  • Windows
  • Linux
Freemium · $19.00/mo
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Decide at a glance

Our verdict

Expo suits teams building React Native apps who want less native iOS and Android setup: the framework is free and open source, and the cloud services start with a Free tier and a $19/month Starter plan. The trade-offs are usage-based build and update fees that are hard to predict, an English-only interface, and security flaws patched in 2023 and 2024.

Best for: React Native developers who want cloud builds and store submissions without maintaining their own macOS build machines

Skip it if: Developers on pure native Swift/Kotlin or Flutter: Expo is built around React Native

Pros

  • Framework and SDK are open source under the MIT license and free to use
  • One platform covers builds, store submission, over-the-air updates, hosting, CI/CD (Workflows) and monitoring (Observe)
  • Free tier includes 15 Android and 15 iOS builds; paid plans are cancellable at any time and priced the same worldwide

Cons

  • Overages are metered: iOS builds from $2 each and update users from $0.005 per monthly active user beyond the allowance, so bills vary with usage
  • A large jump from Starter ($19) to Production ($199) with nothing in between; annual contracts only by arrangement
All pros and cons · Who is it for?

More pros

  • Offers a SOC 2 Type 2 report and posts security notices on its official blog

More cons

  • English-only interface and Expo Go App Store listing
  • Past patched vulnerabilities: AuthSession (CVE-2023-28131, 2023) and EAS Submit (reported January 2024)

Best for

  • Teams that want to ship JavaScript fixes over the air without a full store release
  • Organisations that need SSO, a SOC 2 Type 2 report and priority support (Production and above)

Skip it if

  • Anyone who needs a fixed monthly bill: build and update overages are metered

Experience & key features

Expo is a React Native framework that its homepage says is recommended by the React Native team at Meta. It has two parts: an open-source SDK with 100+ libraries plus Expo Router, and cloud services (formerly branded EAS) for builds, store submission, over-the-air updates, hosting and monitoring. The company behind it is 650 Industries, Inc.

The usual flow is to write the app in JavaScript or TypeScript, test it on a phone with Expo Go, then build in the cloud for Android and iOS. Recent additions include Workflows (YAML-defined CI/CD), Observe (error and native-crash monitoring, generally available on 20 Aug 2026) and one-command setup for Supabase and PostHog. Since 3 Sep 2026, running projects in Expo Go requires logging in.

Free includes up to 15 Android and 15 iOS builds per month. Starter is $19/month with $45 of build credit, Production is $199/month with $225, and Enterprise is quoted individually. Once the credit runs out, Android builds cost from $1 and iOS builds from $2 each (medium worker), and OTA updates are billed per monthly active user. Plans are billed monthly and can be cancelled at any time; annual contracts require contacting support.

Expo fits best for teams that have already chosen React Native. Those who prefer Flutter or pure native will find Android Studio, Xcode or FlutterFlow closer to their stack, and teams wanting a bundled backend may look at Firebase. Production is an organisation-oriented plan (SSO, SOC 2), so it should not be compared directly with individual plans elsewhere.

Screenshots

First App Store image of the Expo Go app
First App Store image of the Expo Go app
Second App Store image of the Expo Go app
Second App Store image of the Expo Go app
Official image from the Expo homepage
Official image from the Expo homepage

Plans & pricing

Prices last verified Nov 11, 2026

Free

Personal

Free

Per the pricing page: up to 15 Android and 15 iOS builds, low-priority queue, 60 CI/CD minutes, 1,000 monthly active users for over-the-air updates, 25 projects, community chat support. Free accounts cannot incur overage charges.

Starter

Personal

$19/mo

$19/month plus usage. Includes $45 of build credit, high-priority queue, large workers, 3,000 monthly active users for updates and 50 projects. Beyond that, builds and update users are billed by usage.

Production

Business

$199/mo

$199/month plus usage. Includes $225 of build credit, 15 concurrencies (10 on macOS), 50,000 monthly active users for updates, 100 projects, SSO, SOC 2 Type 2 report and priority support.

Enterprise

Business

Contact sales

Custom pricing, build credit starting at $1,000, 300 projects, 99.9% uptime SLA and priority support; Slack and strategic support add-ons are available.

Free plan limits
Free includes up to 15 Android and 15 iOS builds, 1,000 monthly active update users and 60 CI/CD minutes. The Expo SDK and tooling are open source under the MIT license and free to use.
Free trial
No free trial
Cancellation & refunds

Subscriptions are billed monthly at the same price worldwide (pre-tax) and can be cancelled at any time. The pages AppDuo read do not state a refund policy. Annual contracts are available only by arrangement with support.

Privacy

The privacy policy (updated 10 Nov 2026) says Expo collects contact, sign-in, billing and purchase data plus IP address, errors, performance metrics and usage statistics from projects. For end users of apps built with Expo, it may collect push tokens (when its push service is used) and, for updates, the device OS and randomized tokens showing whether an update was downloaded. Expo states it does not sell personal information but shares data with providers for payments, analytics, error logging and storage. Analytics and marketing cookies are set only with consent, and Expo honors Global Privacy Control signals. Users can request access, correction, erasure or portability; full erasure requires deleting the account and is irreversible. Expo says it self-certified to the EU-US, UK Extension and Swiss-US Data Privacy Frameworks, and its pricing page lists a SOC 2 Type 2 report on Production and above.

Official pricing page

Expo alternatives

Xcode logo7.7/10

Xcode

Apple's free, official IDE and the default route to building for Apple platforms

Free
Android Studio logo7.6/10

Android Studio

Google's official IDE for Android apps, built on the IntelliJ platform

Free
All alternatives

Controversies & incidents

Issues documented by the press, regulators, courts or the vendor itself. Every item is sourced; unproven claims are labelled as allegations. Last researched: Nov 11, 2026

  • Medium impactResolvedSecurity ·

    Command injection and shared-VM flaw in EAS Submit for iOS

    Per Expo's notice (2 Apr 2024), some App Store Connect API key fields could inject shell commands via Fastlane. Expo said it found no evidence of exploitation and has fixed it.

    Read the full account

    Expo received the report on 24 Jan 2024 from Xavier Bruni of Deribit. Per Expo, Fastlane did not escape some inputs during iOS uploads, and submission jobs shared a VM, so a job running arbitrary commands could reach data from other jobs; the most sensitive data at risk was the ASC API key. Expo disabled the service, deployed a hotfix within about half an hour, and on 22 Feb moved each job to its own ephemeral VM. Expo considers exploitation very unlikely but said it cannot rule out an attack before its log retention window, and recommends revoking and recreating ASC API keys.

    Vendor response

    Expo published a security notice, thanked the reporter and recommended revoking existing ASC API keys.

    Sources:Expo blog: security notice for EAS Submit

  • Medium impactResolvedSecurity ·

    OAuth flaw CVE-2023-28131 in the AuthSession Proxy

    Per Salt Labs, a flaw in auth.expo.io could send a victim's OAuth token to an attacker-controlled domain. Salt says Expo hotfixed it the day it was reported and later deprecated the service.

    Read the full account

    Salt Labs published on 24 May 2023, describing a flaw in the returnUrl parameter of the AuthSession Proxy used via expo-auth-session: per Salt, a script could bypass the confirmation prompt to take over accounts, with Codecademy shown as an example target. Salt reported it to Expo on 18 Feb 2023 and Expo hotfixed it the same day; on 26 Feb Expo deprecated the service and published an advisory, and the CVE was published on 24 Apr 2023.

    Vendor response

    Per Salt Labs, Expo hotfixed the same day, deprecated auth.expo.io and advised customers to update.

    Sources:Salt Labs: OAuth vulnerability that may impact hundreds of online services

Frequently asked questions

Is Expo free?

The framework and SDK are open source under the MIT license and free. The cloud services have a Free plan (15 Android and 15 iOS builds, 1,000 monthly active update users) and paid plans from $19/month.

Does Expo support Vietnamese?

AppDuo could only confirm an English interface; the Expo Go App Store listing also lists English only. Prices are in USD with no VND price list.

Is there yearly billing?

Subscriptions are billed monthly. Per the docs, annual contracts are offered on an as-needed basis through customer support.

Is Expo a no-code app builder?

No. The App Store describes Expo Go as a developer tool and recommends some basic programming experience. The homepage lists TypeScript, JavaScript, Swift and Kotlin.

Review evidence & sources9

Scores

Ease of use
8.0
Why this score

Per the homepage, Expo handles native setup and Expo Go makes quick on-device testing easy. However, the interface is English-only and programming skills are required; the App Store listing recommends basic programming experience.

Features
8.5
Why this score

Per the homepage and changelog: an SDK with 100+ libraries, Expo Router, builds, store submission, OTA updates, hosting, Workflows, Observe and Supabase, PostHog and Maestro integrations. It is built around React Native only, so it is narrower than multi-stack platforms.

Value for money
7.5
Why this score

Free framework and cheap Free and Starter ($19/month) tiers, but the jump to $199/month Production and metered overages make costs hard to predict as an app grows.

Performance
7.5
Why this score

The pricing page sets concurrencies and queue priority per plan, and Enterprise has a 99.9% uptime SLA. No real-world uptime data was reviewed, so the score stays moderate.

Support
7.0
Why this score

Free and Starter get community chat only (a Discord with 50,000+ members, per the homepage); priority support starts at Production, and Slack support is an Enterprise add-on.

Privacy & security
7.5
Why this score

No data sales, consent-based analytics cookies, GPC support, a SOC 2 Type 2 report and public security notices; offset by two patched vulnerabilities (2023, 2024) and data sharing with several processors.

What users say

Sources

Specs & compatibility
Developer
Expo (650 Industries, Inc.)
Headquarters
United States
Launched
2015
Category
Development

Capabilities

  • Open source
  • Integrations
  • Mobile app
  • Real-time collaboration

Platforms

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
  • macOS
  • Windows
  • Linux

Interface languages

  • English

Integrations

  • Supabase
  • PostHog
  • Maestro
  • Claude (desktop app)
  • Claude Code
  • Cursor
  • App Store
  • Google Play

Support

  • Help center
  • Community forum
  • Email
  • Live chat

Change history

  1. Feature.Expo SDK 58 released.
  2. Limits.Running projects in Expo Go began requiring login.
  3. Feature.EAS Observe became generally available.
Full change history (8)
  1. Feature.Expo announced the closed beta of Expo Agent was ending and the project is being wound down.
  2. Feature.Expo SDK 57 released.
  3. Company.Expo announced a $45M Series B, naming Georgian among its investors.
  4. Update.Expo received a report of a vulnerability in EAS Submit for iOS, deployed a hotfix within about half an hour of confirming it and completed the structural fix on 22 Feb 2024.
  5. Update.Salt Labs reported an OAuth flaw in the AuthSession Proxy; Expo hotfixed it the same day and deprecated auth.expo.io on 26 Feb 2023.
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