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Mobile Development · head to head

BuildFire vs EAS Build

BuildFire logo

BuildFire

Mobile Development

Launch your app in weeks

From
$165/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
EAS Build logo

EAS Build

Mobile Development

Hosted iOS and Android build service for React Native, with signing credentials managed for you

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only EAS Build has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BuildFire standard plan at $165/month is limited to 1 in-app purchase, 1 admin seat and 5GB storage; EAS Build iOS builds run on macOS workers charged at a much higher rate than Linux, so the invoice is dominated by the platform you have least ability to move off.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BuildFire and EAS Build actually diverge.

Attributes where BuildFire and EAS Build differ
AttributeBuildFireEAS Build
Starting price$165/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month plus build usage
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebiOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Mobile Development).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in BuildFire

Nothing recorded that EAS Build does not also cover.

Only in EAS Build

  • Hosted macOS and Linux workers
  • Managed signing credentials
  • Bare React Native support
  • EAS Submit
  • Internal distribution
  • Build profiles

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BuildFire

  • Publishing apps to iOS, Android, webnot EAS Build
  • Building community apps without codingnot EAS Build
  • Sending geofenced push notifications to usersnot EAS Build
  • Monetizing apps with in-app purchasesnot EAS Build

EAS Build

  • A React Native team with no macOS build machine that needs signed iOS buildsnot BuildFire
  • Removing signing credentials from individual laptops and putting them under an auditable servicenot BuildFire
  • Shipping JavaScript only fixes through EAS Update without waiting on store reviewnot BuildFire
  • Distributing internal test builds by link to non technical reviewersnot BuildFire

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

BuildFire

  • Standard plan at $165/month is limited to 1 in-app purchase, 1 admin seat and 5GB storage
  • Unlimited in-app purchases require the $440/month Scale plan

EAS Build

  • iOS builds run on macOS workers charged at a much higher rate than Linux, so the invoice is dominated by the platform you have least ability to move off.
  • Lower tiers queue behind higher paying customers, which is invisible until a hotfix build waits in a queue while an incident is running.
  • It is specific to React Native and Expo, so a company with a native Swift or Kotlin codebase alongside gets no benefit and needs a second build system anyway.
  • Deep use of managed credentials and over the air updates makes leaving harder than swapping a continuous integration provider, because the release process itself has been built around the service.
  • Build failures happen on infrastructure you cannot inspect, and reproducing an environment specific failure locally is harder than with a self hosted runner you can log into.

Pricing, plan by plan

BuildFire

$165/month
  • Standard$165/month
    • 100K push notifications
    • 5GB storage
    • 1 admin seat
  • Growth$315/month
    • 150K push notifications
    • 15GB storage
    • Monetization with one in-app purchase
  • Scale$440/month
    • 300K push notifications
    • 50GB storage
    • Unlimited in-app purchases
  • Professional Services$null/month
    • Custom pricing

EAS Build

Free
  • Free$undefined/month
    • Limited monthly builds that queue behind paying customers
    • Sufficient for evaluation and hobby projects, not for a release cadence
  • Paid tiers$undefined/month
    • Monthly subscription buying build concurrency and included minutes, with overage per minute above them
    • macOS minutes cost several times Linux minutes, so iOS pipelines dominate the bill

Which should you pick?

Choose BuildFire if

Nothing in the data separates BuildFire from EAS Build on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

BuildFire review

Choose EAS Build if

  • You need hosted macos and linux workers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want managed signing credentials.
EAS Build review

Questions people ask

Is BuildFire or EAS Build better?
Neither clearly leads. BuildFire starts at $165/month and EAS Build at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BuildFire or EAS Build?
EAS Build has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $165/month for BuildFire and Free for EAS Build.
Does BuildFire or EAS Build run on more platforms?
BuildFire runs on Web. EAS Build runs on iOS, Android.
Can I use EAS Build for free?
Yes. EAS Build has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BuildFire starts at $165/month.
What is BuildFire best used for?
BuildFire is most often used for publishing apps to ios, android, web, building community apps without coding, sending geofenced push notifications to users, monetizing apps with in-app purchases. Of those, publishing apps to ios, android, web and building community apps without coding are not what EAS Build is typically brought in for.
What can BuildFire do that EAS Build cannot?
EAS Build covers Hosted macOS and Linux workers, Managed signing credentials, Bare React Native support, EAS Submit.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BuildFire: What are BuildFire's pricing tiers?

Standard starts at $165/month, Growth at $315/month, and Scale at $440/month. All plans support iOS, Android, tablet, and PWA publishing. Professional services with custom development are available at custom pricing.

Source
EAS Build: Does it work without the Expo managed workflow?

Yes. Bare React Native projects build fine, which is a common misconception that costs teams an unnecessary evaluation.

BuildFire: Does BuildFire offer an annual discount?

Yes. All pricing tiers receive a 20% discount when billed annually instead of monthly, allowing for upfront savings on development costs.

Source
EAS Build: Why not just use GitHub Actions macOS runners?

You can, and it is often cheaper. You then own credential management and the Xcode version treadmill, which is the work EAS is actually selling.

BuildFire: What push notification limits apply to BuildFire plans?

Standard includes 100K monthly push notifications, Growth includes 150K, and Scale includes 300K. Push notifications are a key metric for engagement tracking across all tiers.

Source
EAS Build: Can JavaScript updates skip App Store review?

Yes through EAS Update, within Apple's rules about not changing the app's purpose. Native changes still require a store submission.

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