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Flutter vs React Native: what the choice costs you

Both frameworks are free. The bill is store fees, builds, updates and visual builders: $124 to about $600 in year one for a small app on both stores.

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Flutter and React Native are both open source, so the framework itself costs nothing. What you pay for is everything around it: cloud builds, over-the-air updates, a visual builder if you don’t write code, and the store fees. As of October 28, 2026, a small Android-and-iOS app can ship in its first year for $124 in fees alone (Google Play’s $25 once plus Apple’s $99 a year), and about $270 to $600 if you add a paid builder or build service.

We haven’t built apps with these tools ourselves, and this guide doesn’t compare speed or app performance. The facts come from the Flutter and React Native docs and from the pricing pages of Expo, Codemagic, Shorebird, FlutterFlow, Draftbit, Google Play and Apple, all read on October 28, 2026.

What’s the difference between Flutter and React Native?

Both let you write one codebase for Android and iOS. They differ in language, in how they draw the screen and in the tools around them.

Flutter React Native
Made by Google (“an open source project managed by Google”) Meta (the docs’ copyright line is Meta Platforms)
Price and license Free; BSD 3-Clause license Open source (license not named on the page we read)
Language Dart JavaScript, with React components
How the UI is drawn Its own rendering engine (Impeller); Material and Cupertino widgets drawn by Flutter Native Android and iOS views created at runtime
Current version in the docs Flutter 3.47 React Native 0.88
Recommended starting point Flutter SDK A framework; the docs name Expo
Deployment targets Android, iOS, web, Windows, macOS, Linux Android and iOS; Expo adds TV and web
Android versions API 24 to 37 supported Not stated on the pages we read
iOS versions iOS 15 to 27 supported Not stated on the pages we read

The rendering difference is the one that matters most day to day. Flutter’s FAQ says it doesn’t use the platform’s own widgets: it “renders widgets directly using its own engine.” React Native’s docs say the opposite approach: “React Native creates the corresponding Android and iOS views” for your components, which it calls Native Components.

The language difference matters for hiring and for reusing skills. A team that already writes React for the web can carry that knowledge into React Native. Flutter needs Dart, which is mostly used for Flutter.

React Native’s own setup page recommends starting with a framework: “if you’re building a new app with React Native, we recommend using a Framework,” and it names Expo. You can use React Native without one, building with Android Studio and Xcode, but the docs say that path suits apps with “unusual constraints.”

How much does each cost to start?

Nothing for the framework. Flutter’s FAQ says it is “free and open source,” and React Native’s docs call it “an open source framework.” Expo’s Free plan costs $0.

The first unavoidable costs come at publishing:

  • Google Play: a “US$25 one-time registration fee,” per Play Console Help.
  • Apple App Store: a “$99 annual membership,” per Apple’s Developer Program page.

Those are the same whichever framework you pick. One more Google rule hits both: personal developer accounts created after November 13, 2023 must run a closed test with “a minimum of 12 testers who have been opted in continuously for at least 14 days” before they can apply for production access.

On iOS without a paid membership, Apple’s free Personal Team lets you test on your own devices, but apps and devices “expire after 7 days,” with up to 3 devices and 3 apps per device. To build iOS apps without a Mac, see building an iPhone app without a Mac.

Cloud builds: Expo EAS vs Codemagic

A cloud build service compiles and signs your app on its servers, which you need for iOS if you don’t own a Mac. Expo’s EAS is built for React Native. Codemagic supports both Flutter and React Native.

Expo EAS Codemagic
Free plan Up to 15 Android and 15 iOS builds, low-priority queue 500 macOS M2 minutes a month, 1 build at a time, 120-minute cap per build
Paid entry Starter $19 a month plus usage, with $45 of build credit and a high-priority queue Pay as you go, no base fee
Per-build or per-minute rate Android $1 (medium) or $2 (large) per build; iOS $2 (medium) or $4 (large) macOS M2 $0.095 a minute, M4 $0.114; Linux and Windows $0.045
Next tier Production $199 a month with $225 of credit Fixed annual plans: $3,990 (M2), $5,400 (M4), $9,000 (M4 Max) a year, each with 3 concurrent builds
Works with React Native (Expo) Flutter, React Native and native apps

Expo prices per build; Codemagic per minute. Neither page says how long a typical build takes, because that depends on your app.

Worked example: 20 Android and 20 iOS builds a month

Expo EAS (React Native): the Free plan’s 15 of each isn’t enough. On Starter with medium workers: 20 × $1 + 20 × $2 = $60 of builds, minus the $45 credit = $15, plus the $19 plan = $34 a month, or $408 a year.

Codemagic (Flutter or React Native): assume each build takes 15 minutes. That’s our assumption for the arithmetic, not a Codemagic figure.

  • iOS on a Mac mini M2: 20 × 15 = 300 minutes, inside the 500 free minutes, so $0.
  • Android on Linux: 20 × 15 = 300 minutes × $0.045 = $13.50. Codemagic’s free minutes are macOS only.
  • Or run both on the Mac: 600 minutes, minus 500 free = 100 × $0.095 = $9.50.

At this volume, Codemagic costs $9.50 to $13.50 a month and EAS $34. If your builds take 40 minutes instead of 15, Codemagic’s Mac-only figure becomes (1,600 − 500) × $0.095 = $104.50, and EAS stays at $34. Per-build pricing is predictable; per-minute pricing rewards fast builds.

Over-the-air updates: EAS Update vs Shorebird

Both frameworks can push some fixes to users without a new store release.

  • EAS Update (React Native with Expo) updates “JavaScript, styling, and images.” It can’t deliver native code changes, new permissions or SDK updates; those need a new build. Expo’s docs add that “your updates need to follow the App Store and Play Store guidelines.”
  • Shorebird is a code push service for Flutter apps, priced by patch installs.
Free Next tier Overage
EAS Update 1,000 monthly active users Starter ($19/mo): 3,000 MAUs; Production ($199/mo): 50,000 $0.005 per MAU from 3,001 (Starter) or 50,001 (Production) to 200,000
Shorebird 5,000 patch installs a month Pro ($20/mo): 50,000; Business ($400/mo): 1,000,000 $1 per 2,500 installs on Pro and Business

The units differ. EAS counts monthly active users who receive updates; Shorebird counts patch installs.

Example at 10,000 users a month:

  • EAS Update on Starter: $19 + (10,000 − 3,000) × $0.005 = $19 + $35 = $54 a month.
  • Shorebird, if you ship two patches a month and every user installs both: 10,000 × 2 = 20,000 installs, inside Pro’s 50,000, so $20 a month.

If you ship fewer updates, Shorebird’s cost drops with them; EAS charges by active users regardless of how many updates you push.

Visual builders: FlutterFlow vs Draftbit

If you’d rather not write code, each framework has a visual builder on top.

FlutterFlow (builds Flutter apps) Draftbit
Free plan 2 projects, 1 editor, 5 lifetime AI requests; no code download, APK or store deployment 1 open project, 3,000 one-time credits, web publishing to a draftbit.dev address only
First plan that exports code and publishes Basic, $39 a month Standard, $12 a month on the plan card
Next tier Growth, $80 a month for the first seat, $55 for the second Pro, $24 a month on the plan card
Yearly billing “Save ~25%” (no exact yearly price listed) “Save 20%” (no yearly price shown)

Draftbit’s pricing page conflicts with itself: the plan cards show $12 and $24 a month, while the page’s embedded data lists $15 and $30 monthly and $144 and $288 a year. Confirm at checkout. Draftbit’s pricing page doesn’t say which framework its apps use, so we don’t state it here. FlutterFlow’s Basic plan is the first with “Download project source code or APK” and one-click store deployment.

What does year one cost on each route?

For a small app published on both stores, using the prices above:

Route Year-one cost Arithmetic
Flutter or React Native, built locally (Mac for iOS) $124 $25 Google Play + $99 Apple
Flutter + Codemagic free minutes $124 Same fees; iOS builds fit in 500 free minutes at low volume
React Native + Expo EAS Free $124 Same fees; up to 15 builds of each platform on the Free plan
React Native + EAS Starter $352 $124 + $19 × 12 ($228)
Draftbit Standard (plan-card price) $268 $124 + $12 × 12 ($144)
FlutterFlow Basic, monthly $592 $124 + $39 × 12 ($468)

For a fuller list, including Bubble, Adalo and Thunkable, see how much it costs to make an app.

What to watch for

  • Free queues. EAS Free builds wait in a low-priority queue. Codemagic’s free plan runs one build at a time and stops builds at 120 minutes.
  • Free minutes are macOS only on Codemagic. Android builds on Linux bill at $0.045 a minute from the first minute.
  • OTA limits. Neither update service replaces a store release for native changes. EAS Update says so directly.
  • Builder lock-in. FlutterFlow’s Free plan has no code download, and Draftbit’s Free plan has no code export. Export starts on the paid plans, so pick a builder you can leave.
  • Seats. FlutterFlow charges per editor seat on Growth ($80, then $55) and Business ($150, then $85 for seats 2 to 5).
  • Platform floors. Flutter 3.47 supports Android API 24 and up and iOS 15 and up. Google Play also sets a minimum target API level for new apps; see our report on Google Play’s Android 16 target API rule.
  • Store testing time. New personal Play accounts need 14 days of closed testing with 12 testers before production. Plan for it.

Which should you choose?

  • You already know JavaScript or React: React Native with Expo. The docs recommend Expo for new apps, and EAS Free covers your first builds. See our Expo page.
  • You want one codebase for mobile, web and desktop: Flutter. Its docs list Android, iOS, web, Windows, macOS and Linux as supported targets.
  • You build often and your builds are quick: Codemagic’s per-minute pricing, with either framework. See our Codemagic page.
  • You don’t write code and want to own the code later: FlutterFlow Basic ($39 a month) exports Flutter source; Draftbit Standard exports code from $12 a month on its plan card. See FlutterFlow and our best Android app builders.
  • You’re on a strict budget: either framework built with free tools. The only required spend is $25 for Google Play, plus $99 a year if you also ship to iPhone.

For more ways to build Android apps, see the Android app builders hub.

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