B2B · tools for building React Native apps

How Expo grows

4 tactics and 2 figures from 1 interview.

Expo makes a free, open-source framework for building mobile apps and earns money from cloud services such as builds, over-the-air updates and store submission. It also reaches new users through AI app builders that send people to its free Expo Go app to preview the apps they generate.

AI app builders such as Bolt show a QR code that opens the generated app in Expo Go within 30-40 seconds; the team said most AI app builders go through Expo and npm weekly downloads tripled in a year.Expo
The framework and SDK are free, and Expo charges for cloud builds, over-the-air updates, web hosting, automatic submission to TestFlight and the App Store, and tests; cloud builds are among its main revenue sources.Expo
Expo released an npm testflight command that walks a user through putting an app in TestFlight without handling certificates, aimed at developers stuck on the last step; no results were given.Expo
Because it is open source, Expo cannot see all its users, so the team downloaded the top 100 apps in every App Store category to check which were built with it.Expo

Summary written 2026-09-26 from the tactics below. Figures are as founders stated them.

About Expo

What it is: Open-source framework and SDK for building native iOS, Android and web apps with React, plus paid cloud services (builds, over-the-air updates, web hosting).
Who it's for: App developers and companies, and AI app builders
Business model: Free open-source framework; revenue from cloud services such as cloud Xcode/Android Studio builds, updates and hosting

As described in the interviews, not independently verified.

Expo's 4 tactics

Expo · B2B · tools for building React Native apps

Let AI app builders show their apps on phones through your free app

Most AI app builders use it; npm weekly downloads tripled in a year

Expo Go is a free App Store app with most Expo SDK modules built in. AI app builders (Bolt, Replit, Lovable, v0) pop up a QR code; the user downloads Expo Go, scans it and has the generated app live on their phone in 30-40 seconds, with changes appearing as they prompt. Expo then offers npm testflight and cloud builds to take the app to TestFlight and the App Store.

Workedintegrations-marketplacespartnerships

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-06-11

Expo · B2B · tools for building React Native apps

Give the framework away free and charge for cloud builds and hosting

Cloud builds are one of the main revenue sources; no numbers

The Expo framework and SDK are open source and free. Expo makes money from cloud services: running Xcode and Android Studio builds in the cloud, over-the-air updates (the analog of web hosting), web hosting, automatic submission to TestFlight/App Store and scripted tests on build artifacts.

Unknownpricingpositioning-niche

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-06-11

Expo · B2B · tools for building React Native apps

Download the top 100 apps in every category to see who uses your framework

Because Expo is open source, it does not know everyone who uses it. The team ran a research project that downloaded the top 100 apps in every App Store category and inspected them to see which were built with Expo.

Unknownanalytics-attribution

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-06-11

Expo · B2B · tools for building React Native apps

Let users put their app in TestFlight with one command

No results given

Expo released an npm testflight command: run it in an Expo project and it walks the user through every step to put the app in TestFlight, so they never deal with provisioning profiles or distribution certificates. Aimed at vibe coders and developers stuck on the last mile to the App Store.

Unknownproduct-activationfeature-development

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-06-11

Expo by the numbers

Metric	Value	Context	Said in
growth rate	+3 x/year approximate	npm weekly downloads of Expo tripled in the past year	Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-06-11 37:23
count	1.2M projects approximate	Open-source Expo projects on GitHub (1.2 million plus)	Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-06-11 41:14

Topics

Partnerships and co-marketing1 Activation: getting users to first value1 Attribution and ad signal engineering1 Picking a niche and positioning an app1 Pricing a subscription app1

Interviews

Building Apps Faster: How AI and React Native are Changing the Game – Charlie Cheever, Expo · Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-06-11