React Native vs Expo in 2025: Which Should You Choose?

The React Native vs Expo debate has been muddied by outdated advice for years. Expo used to mean "managed workflow with heavy restrictions." That's no longer true. Here's an honest breakdown for 2025.

The Short Answer

Use Expo. For almost every new project, Expo's managed workflow with EAS (Expo Application Services) is strictly better than bare React Native. The question is only which Expo features you'll need.

What Changed in Expo SDK 51+

Expo's reputation for being restrictive was earned. It's now unearned:

• Expo Modules API lets you write native Swift/Kotlin modules with a clean TS interface — no more ejecting
• EAS Build runs cloud builds for iOS and Android without a Mac
• EAS Update delivers OTA (over-the-air) JavaScript updates in minutes, bypassing the App Store review cycle
• New Architecture (Fabric + TurboModules) is enabled by default in SDK 52

Project Initialization

Expo:

npx create-expo-app MyApp --template
cd MyApp
npx expo start

Bare React Native:

npx @react-native-community/cli init MyApp
cd MyApp
npx react-native start

The difference isn't just commands. With Expo, npx expo start opens a QR code you scan with the Expo Go app — no simulator setup, no Xcode, no Android Studio on day one. For a new developer or a team onboarding, this is significant.

Native Module Support

This used to be Expo's weak point. Today:

// Writing a native module with Expo Modules API
// ios/MyModule.swift
import ExpoModulesCore

public class MyModule: Module {
  public func definition() -> ModuleDefinition {
    Name("MyModule")

    AsyncFunction("doNativeThing") { (value: String, promise: Promise) in
      // Pure Swift, no Objective-C bridge needed
      promise.resolve("Result: \(value)")
    }
  }
}

// TypeScript side — auto-generated types
import { NativeModule, requireNativeModule } from 'expo-modules-core';

const MyModule = requireNativeModule<{ doNativeThing(value: string): Promise<string> }>('MyModule');

export async function doNativeThing(value: string) {
  return MyModule.doNativeThing(value);
}

Compare this to bare React Native's native module boilerplate — 4 files, Objective-C bridging, manual linking. Expo Modules API is objectively better.

OTA Updates: The Killer Feature

This is where Expo's EAS Update wins decisively. With bare React Native and CodePush (which Microsoft deprecated), OTA is painful. With EAS:

# Deploy a JS fix to all users in minutes
eas update --branch production --message "Fix login crash"

Your app downloads the update silently on next launch. No App Store review. For bug fixes and content changes, this is invaluable.

When to Choose Bare React Native

There are still valid reasons to go bare:

1. You need a native module that has no Expo equivalent

Some hardware SDKs (Bluetooth LE implementations, custom camera APIs) only ship as bare React Native libraries. Check first — most now ship Expo plugins.

2. Your team has deep native iOS/Android expertise

If you have dedicated iOS and Android engineers who own the native layers, the Expo abstraction adds friction for them.

3. You're migrating a large existing app

Migrating a 100k-line bare RN app to Expo is a multi-month project. Don't unless there's a strong reason.

Performance Comparison

With New Architecture enabled, the performance difference between Expo and bare RN is negligible — both use the same JSI bridge and Fabric renderer. The old "Expo is slower" takes are based on bridge-based architecture that's now deprecated.

Build Times

| | Expo EAS (cloud) | Bare RN (local) | |---|---|---| | iOS (no Mac needed) | ✅ ~8min | ❌ Requires Mac | | Android | ✅ ~5min | ✅ ~6min local | | First build | ~10min (cache warm-up) | ~15min | | Subsequent builds | ~4min (cache hit) | ~5min |

EAS free tier gives 30 builds/month — enough for solo projects. Teams need a paid plan.

My Recommendation

New project, solo or small team       → Expo Managed + EAS
Project needing complex native code   → Expo Bare (still uses EAS)
Existing large bare RN project        → Stay bare, add EAS selectively
Game / graphics-heavy app             → Bare RN + custom native

Expo has won the DX war. The remaining use cases for bare React Native are real but narrow. If you're starting fresh in 2025, start with Expo and eject if you genuinely need to — which you probably won't.