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Expo Account

Before you can build your app for the App Store, you need an Expo account. This is free and takes about 5 minutes.
Already have an Expo account? Skip to Service Accounts →

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What is Expo?

Think of Expo as the bridge between your code and the App Store. When you write a mobile app, your code needs to be “compiled” into a format that iPhones can understand. This compilation process is complex — it requires Apple’s Xcode, specific certificates, and a lot of configuration. Expo handles all of this for you. You write code, Expo turns it into an app.

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The Two Parts of Expo

PartWhat It Does
Expo FrameworkThe tools you use to write your app (already included in the kit)
EAS (Expo Application Services)Cloud service that builds your app and submits it to the App Store
You don’t need to understand how Expo works internally. Just know that when you’re ready to publish, you’ll run a command and Expo handles the rest.

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Why Expo?

Without Expo, publishing an iOS app requires:
  • A Mac with Xcode installed
  • Managing certificates and provisioning profiles
  • Understanding Apple’s complex build system
  • Hours of configuration
With Expo:
  • Build in the cloud (your Mac specs don’t matter)
  • Certificates managed automatically
  • One command to build: eas build
  • One command to submit: eas submit
Expo is used by companies like Microsoft, Shopify, and Discord. It’s production-ready and trusted.

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Create Your Expo Account

1

Go to Expo

Visit expo.dev and click Sign Up
2

Create Account

Sign up with email or GitHub. Use an email you check regularly — Expo sends build notifications here.
3

Verify Email

Check your inbox and verify your email address
That’s it for now. You’ll connect your account to the project later during setup.

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Expo Pricing

Expo has a generous free tier:
PlanBuildsBest For
Free30 builds/monthMost indie developers
Production ($99/mo)100 builds/monthTeams, frequent updates
30 builds/month is plenty. A “build” is when you create a new version of your app. Most developers use 2-3 builds/month (development, testing, production).

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What About EAS CLI?

Later, during project setup, you’ll install the EAS command-line tool: 
npm install -g eas-cli
eas login
This connects your local project to your Expo account. Don’t worry about this now — the setup guide will walk you through it.

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Expo vs App Store: What’s the Difference?

People sometimes confuse Expo and the App Store. Here’s the distinction:
ExpoApp Store
What it doesBuilds your appDistributes your app to users
Who runs itExpo (third-party company)Apple
Account costFree$99/year
Required?Yes (or you build manually)Yes (to publish publicly)
Think of it this way: Expo is the factory that makes your app. The App Store is the store that sells it.

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Next Step

Create Service Accounts

Set up Supabase, RevenueCat, and MixPanel