Softwr

Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs Expo

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Expo logo

Expo

Mobile Development

React Native framework and cloud platform for building and shipping apps

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; Expo free tier build counts and MAU support are low, pushing active projects to paid plans quickly.
  • They diverge on capability: Earthly covers Policy as code, Expo covers Expo SDK.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and Expo actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and Expo differ
AttributeEarthlyExpo
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websitefreemium
PlatformsWeb, CLIweb, ios, android, api
CategoryDeveloper ToolsMobile Development
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Earthly

  • Policy as code
  • Multi-stage enforcement
  • AI agent governance
  • Repository-wide policies
  • Incident response automation
  • Compliance management
  • Earthfiles build tool
  • Satellites

Only in Expo

  • Expo SDK
  • EAS Build
  • EAS Submit
  • EAS Update
  • Expo Router
  • EAS Hosting
  • EAS Insights

What people use each for

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

Earthly

  • Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot Expo
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot Expo
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot Expo
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot Expo

Expo

  • Building cross-platform apps with React Native without native toolingnot Earthly
  • Running cloud builds and store submissions via EASnot Earthly
  • Shipping over-the-air updates to bypass app store reviewnot Earthly
  • Adding file-based navigation with Expo Routernot Earthly
  • Hosting companion web apps and APIsnot Earthly

Where each one falls short

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

Earthly

  • Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
  • Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
  • No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers

Expo

  • Free tier build counts and MAU support are low, pushing active projects to paid plans quickly.
  • Usage-based overage charges for builds, CI/CD minutes, and MAUs can make costs less predictable.
  • Concurrent build limits on lower tiers slow down teams with frequent releases.
  • Some native functionality still requires ejecting to bare workflow or writing custom native modules.

Pricing, plan by plan

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Expo

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 15 Android and 15 iOS builds
    • Low-priority build queue
    • 60 minutes of CI/CD workflows
  • Starter$19/month
    • $45 build credit included
    • High-priority queue and large workers
    • 3,000 MAUs for updates
  • Production$199/month
    • $225 build credit included
    • 2 concurrent builds
    • 50,000 MAU support
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • $1,000 build credit included
    • 5 concurrent builds
    • 1M+ MAU support

Which should you pick?

Choose Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly review

Choose Expo if

  • You need expo sdk.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, ios, android, api.
  • You also want eas build.
Expo review

Questions people ask

Is Earthly or Expo better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and Expo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or Expo?
Earthly starts at Free and Expo at Free.
Does Earthly or Expo run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, CLI. Expo runs on web, ios, android, api.
Can I use Earthly for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Earthly best used for?
Earthly is most often used for enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers, automating incident response procedures across all repositories, embedding compliance requirements into development workflows, standardizing build processes with earthfiles. Of those, enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers and automating incident response procedures across all repositories are not what Expo is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that Expo cannot?
Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies. Expo covers Expo SDK, EAS Build, EAS Submit, EAS Update.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?

Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.

Source
Expo: What does Expo cost?

Expo offers a free plan, a Starter plan at $19/month with $45 build credit, a Production plan at $199/month with $225 build credit, and custom Enterprise pricing.

Source
Earthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?

Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.

Source
Expo: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

The Free plan includes 15 Android and 15 iOS builds, low-priority build queue access, 60 minutes of CI/CD workflows, and support for 1,000 monthly active users on updates.

Source
Earthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?

Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.

Source
Expo: How is usage metered on paid plans?

Beyond included build credit, Expo charges per build by platform and worker size, per CI/CD workflow minute, per million Observe events, and graduated per-MAU overage rates for updates.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Earthly

More on Expo

Keep looking

Other head to heads