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Expo vs React Native
Trust Score comparison · March 2026
Signal Comparison
1.5M / wknpm downloads3M / wk
400 commitsCommits (90d)300 commits
36k ★GitHub stars118k ★
18k q'sStack Overflow60k q's
HighCommunityHigh
ExpoReact Native
Key Differences
| Factor | Expo | React Native |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Hosted | Self-hosted | Self-hosted |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open Source | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| TypeScript | ✓ | ✓ |
Pick Expo if…
- Starting a new React Native project — skip the native toolchain setup entirely
- Over-the-air updates with EAS Update to ship fixes without App Store review
- Expo SDK modules (camera, location, notifications) cover your native needs
Pick React Native if…
- React teams wanting to ship iOS and Android apps without learning Swift/Kotlin
- Apps with heavy code sharing between web React and mobile
- Large ecosystem of native modules for camera, maps, biometrics, etc.
Side-by-side Quick Start
Expo
# Create and run an Expo app
npx create-expo-app@latest MyApp
cd MyApp && npx expo start
# Scan QR code with Expo Go to preview on deviceReact Native
import { Text, View, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';
export default function App() {
return (
<View style={styles.container}>
<Text>Hello, React Native!</Text>
</View>
);
}
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
container: { flex: 1, justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center' },
});Community Verdict
Based on upvoted notes🏆
React Native wins this comparison
Trust Score 89 vs 87 · 2-point difference
React Native leads on Trust Score with stronger signal data across downloads and community health. That said, the other tool is worth considering if your use case matches its specific strengths above.