React Native is the right cross-platform mobile framework. Using it correctly is the hard part.
React Native with Expo lets one codebase target iOS and Android with native feel and performance. It takes production experience with EAS Build, App Store review, push notification infrastructure, and native module integration to actually deliver the app to both stores. We've done it across dozens of production applications. Fixed scope, fixed price.
You want a React Native mobile app for iOS and Android. You need a developer who has shipped to both stores — not one who will learn the App Store deployment process on your project budget.
React Native's cross-platform promise is real — one TypeScript codebase, two production apps. The gap between the promise and the production reality is the deployment pipeline, and it's where React Native projects that were progressing well in development run into hard constraints.
The iOS deployment constraints are the most impactful: Apple's App Store review guidelines are extensive and enforced inconsistently by human reviewers. Common rejection categories that developers new to App Store deployment haven't encountered: missing privacy manifest files (a 2024 requirement for apps using certain third-party SDKs); in-app purchase requirement (Apple requires StoreKit for digital goods and subscriptions sold within the iOS app — Stripe cannot be used for in-app subscription purchases); minimum functionality requirement (apps with insufficient functionality are rejected — the app must provide value beyond what a mobile website provides); and device capability claims in the Info.plist that don't match actual app functionality.
Android's Play Store is less restrictive but has its own requirements: target API level requirements that change annually (apps must target a recent Android API level or face distribution restrictions), Play Protect compliance, and the app signing requirements for production distribution. Apps that pass iOS review often pass Android without issue, but the reverse isn't always true.
A production React Native app live on both stores — built with Expo SDK, native auth, push notifications, and the full production deployment pipeline included in the price.
Expo SDK and managed workflow
Expo SDK for cross-platform device APIs: Camera, MediaLibrary, Notifications, Location, LocalAuthentication (biometrics), SecureStore, FileSystem, and the rest of the Expo API surface. Managed workflow for standard builds, bare workflow for native module requirements that Expo's managed workflow can't accommodate.
EAS Build and deployment pipeline
EAS Build configured for development, preview (internal testing), and production build profiles. iOS code signing via EAS (automatic certificate management via Apple's API, no manual provisioning profile management). Android keystore managed in EAS credentials storage.
Navigation architecture
React Navigation v7 with native stack navigator (the actual native UINavigationController on iOS, Fragment backstack on Android). Tab navigator for the bottom tab UI. Deep link configuration for both platforms.
Offline and background capabilities
React Query with MMKV persistence for offline read access to previously fetched data. Background task API (Expo TaskManager) for background location or background fetch where the app requires it. Notification background handler for notification tap routing.
Both store submissions
App Store Connect setup, metadata (title, description, screenshots for all required device sizes, app preview video if needed), privacy policy configuration, data collection disclosure. Google Play Console setup, production release track. Submission, review monitoring, and response to any review feedback.
One honest number to start.
Fixed-scope, fixed-price. The number below is the starting point — final scope is built from your brief.
A production React Native app live on both stores — built with Expo SDK, native auth, push notifications, and the full production deployment pipeline included in the price.
Three steps, every time.
The same repeatable engagement on every project. No surprises, no mystery, no billable ambiguity.
Brief & discovery.
We send you questions, then get on a call. Output: a written scope with every step, feature, and integration listed.
Build & ship.
Fixed schedule, weekly reviews. No scope creep unless you change the scope — and if you do, we reprice it transparently.
Warranty & retainer.
30-day warranty on every launch. Most clients stay on a monthly retainer for ongoing features and maintenance.
Why Fixed-Price Matters Here
Both store approvals are the definition of done. Fixed scope, fixed price with delivery defined as live on both stores.
Related engagements.
A React Native developer who's shipped to the App Store and Play Store — not just built tutorials.
Read more02One codebase. Two stores. Native performance on both platforms.
Read more03Mobile app development looks straightforward until App Store review, push notification reliability, and real device testing.
Read moreQuestions, answered.
Expo managed workflow for most projects — the EAS infrastructure handles builds and code signing, the Expo SDK covers most device API requirements, and the managed workflow means no Xcode or Android Studio configuration required for standard features. Bare workflow (with native Xcode and Android Studio projects) for features that require native module development not covered by Expo's SDK.
The New Architecture (JSI/Fabric/Turbo Modules) is the direction React Native is moving — it's default in React Native 0.74+. New projects target the New Architecture from the start. Expo SDK 51+ supports the New Architecture. The practical impact on development is primarily in native module compatibility — most Expo-maintained modules support the New Architecture.
React Native apps require periodic updates as iOS and Android release new OS versions that change behaviour, as Expo SDK versions deprecate, and as App Store guidelines evolve. A post-launch maintenance scope (annual SDK updates, OS compatibility testing, App Store resubmission as needed) can be included as a scoped addition.
A production React Native app with native auth, push notifications, core features, and both store submissions typically runs $45k–$85k. The scope defines the price. Fixed-price.
12 to 18 weeks from specification to both stores live.
Tell Ryel about your project.
Describe what you’re building and what outcome you need. You’ll have a written, fixed-price scope within the week.