Software Alternatives & Startups

Expo VS React Native Elements

Compare Expo VS React Native Elements and see what are their differences

Expo

The fastest way to build an iOS and Android app 📱

Rating
0 reviews
React Native Elements

Cross-platform React Native UI Toolkit

Rating
0 reviews

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Expo seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 35 times since March 2021.

social mentions
35 vs 0
Developer Tools popularity
89% vs 11%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 31

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Expo
React Native Elements
Website expo.io react-native-training.github.io
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Expo 6 features
React Native Elements 5 features
  • Ease of Use
    Expo simplifies the development process by providing a managed workflow that handles configuration and builds, allowing developers to focus on coding.
  • Cross-Platform Development
    Expo enables developers to write code once and deploy it on both iOS and Android platforms, ensuring a consistent user experience across devices.
  • Pre-Built Components
    Expo offers a library of pre-built components and APIs that streamline the development process and reduce the time needed to implement common functionalities.
  • Over-the-Air Updates
    Developers can push updates to users in real-time without needing to go through the app store review process, facilitating quick bug fixes and feature releases.
  • Strong Community Support
    Expo has a vibrant and active developer community, offering a wealth of resources, tutorials, and third-party packages to assist developers.
  • Integrated Development Environment
    Expo provides tools like Expo CLI and Expo Go that make it easier to build, test, and debug applications, particularly for newcomers to mobile app development.

Possible disadvantages

  • Custom Native Code Limitations
    Expo's managed workflow restricts the use of custom native code, limiting developers when they need to integrate with third-party native libraries not supported by Expo.
  • Larger App Size
    Expo includes additional libraries and dependencies by default, which can result in a larger application size compared to custom builds.
  • Performance Overhead
    The abstraction added by Expo can introduce performance overhead, making it less suitable for highly performance-sensitive applications.
  • Dependency on Expo's Updates
    Developers are dependent on Expo's update cycle for bug fixes and new features, which may not always align with their project timelines.
  • Limited Configuration Options
    Expo's managed workflow abstracts many configurations for build processes, which can be a hindrance for developers needing granular control over app settings.
  • Ejection Complexity
    Ejecting from the managed workflow to a bare workflow for more customization can be complex and time-consuming, potentially negating some benefits of using Expo.
  • Consistent Design
    React Native Elements provides a consistent design across different platforms by offering a set of highly customizable UI components that adhere to the material design and iOS design guidelines.
  • Ease of Use
    The library is beginner-friendly with a focus on ease of use, allowing developers to create high-quality UIs quickly and with minimal effort.
  • Customizable Components
    Components in React Native Elements are easily customizable with a rich set of props, allowing developers to tweak and modify them to fit the specific design requirements of their applications.
  • Rich Community Support
    Backed by a strong community and a dedicated team, React Native Elements offers extensive documentation, tutorials, and community support for resolving any issues or queries.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Built to support both iOS and Android, React Native Elements allows developers to build applications with a consistent look and feel across multiple platforms.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Advanced Components
    While React Native Elements offers a wide variety of basic UI components, it may lack some advanced components that require developers to implement their own solutions or integrate additional libraries.
  • Performance Overhead
    The abstraction layer added by using React Native Elements may introduce some performance overhead compared to building components from scratch, especially for more complex or resource-intensive applications.
  • Third-party Dependency
    Relying on a third-party library means developers may face issues related to external dependencies such as delays in updates or compatibility issues with newer versions of React Native.
  • Learning Curve for Customization
    While the library is designed to be easy to use, fully customizing the components to meet specific UI/UX requirements may involve a learning curve, especially for developers new to the ecosystem.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Expo
React Native Elements

Overall verdict

  • Expo is a solid choice for developers looking to quickly build and deploy mobile applications using React Native. Its ease of use and comprehensive toolset make it particularly attractive for rapid prototyping and development of small to medium apps. However, some advanced native functionalities might require ejecting from Expo, which can introduce additional complexities.

Why this product is good

  • Ease of use
    Expo is known for its user-friendly interface that allows developers to quickly prototype and build apps with React Native without needing to set up native development environments.
  • Cross platform
    Expo simplifies the process of building cross-platform applications, giving developers tools to deploy apps for both iOS and Android effortlessly.
  • No native code
    With Expo, developers can build applications entirely in JavaScript, which is beneficial for those who may not be familiar with native coding languages.
  • Developer tools
    It provides a suite of tools such as an interactive development environment, error reporting, and debugging services that enhance the development experience.

Recommended for

    {"beginners" => "New developers who are just getting started with app development will find Expo's simplicity and comprehensive documentation helpful.", "rapid_prototyping" => "Teams seeking to quickly prototype and iterate on ideas can benefit from Expo's convenient tools and cross-platform capabilities.", "react_native_developers" => "Developers familiar with React Native who want a streamlined solution to deploy apps without deep diving into native code."}

No analysis of React Native Elements yet.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Expo 3 videos + Add
React Native Elements 0 videos + Add

Scenes from the 2019 National FFA Convention & Expo | Review Video

More videos

  • - Auto Expo 2020 Film | Real-life review
  • - Expo Dry Erase Set Unboxing & Review

No React Native Elements videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Expo
React Native Elements
89% 89%
11% 11%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Expo and React Native Elements. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Expo 35 mentions
React Native Elements 0 mentions
  • Video player with React Native. Part 1: Expo
    We are going to review it in a series of two articles. This is the first one, where we will touch on Expo. Expo is quite popular and is even recommended in Getting Started guide for React Native. But it differs a lot. Here we will go... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • State Management Nx React Native/Expo Apps with TanStack Query and Redux
    This workspace is created using @nx/expo (Nx and Expo). - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • New OAuth Vulnerability (CVE-2023-28131) impacts hundreds of websites and Apps
    Just be clear this isn't an OAuth vulnerability. It's an vulnerability in expo.io. It doesn't even really have anything to do with OAuth. They've just terrible return url handling so it probably impacts a lot more than just stealing... Source: over 3 years ago

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Tracking React Native Elements since Mar 2021.

Alternatives to Expo and React Native Elements

When comparing Expo and React Native Elements, you can also consider the following products.