# FluxNative vs Emergent

Both write React Native apps with Expo from a chat and build them without a Mac. Emergent starts from full-stack web apps with hosting and a database included; FluxNative builds mobile apps and takes them through both stores.

## The short answer

Choose Emergent for full-stack web apps with hosting, a MongoDB database and sign-in included, and an Expo app on the same platform. Choose FluxNative if the product is a mobile app: Emergent gives you Expo code and a TestFlight build, while FluxNative uploads to Google Play too, sends the listing and Data safety form, submits for review after you confirm, and sends live updates on Pro.

## Key differences

### Web apps or mobile apps

Emergent builds web apps with React, FastAPI and MongoDB, and an Expo app when you pick its Mobile Agent. FluxNative builds React Native mobile apps; their web version and landing pages deploy to your own host.

### Google Play

Emergent's docs say you upload the App Bundle in Play Console and fill in the listing and Data safety form there. FluxNative uploads App Bundles to Google Play, sends both, and releases after you confirm; a new app's first upload is done by hand.

### App Store

Emergent builds and signs the iOS app and uploads it to TestFlight; you submit for review in App Store Connect. FluxNative uses an App Store Connect API key, sends the listing and submits for App Review after you confirm.

### Backend and hosting

Emergent includes MongoDB, sign-in and file storage, hosted on Emergent; each published app costs from 50 credits a month. FluxNative has no database of its own: it connects your Supabase, Firebase, Appwrite, Cloudflare or own API and creates the tables there.

### Updates and revenue

FluxNative's Live updates send JavaScript, text and image fixes to installed phones without a store review, on Pro and Business, and it sets up RevenueCat purchases and AdMob ads. Emergent documents RevenueCat in-app purchases; ads are not documented.

### Code and coding agents

Emergent saves to GitHub on Standard and up, with no pull or merge mid-project. FluxNative exports a .zip and pushes one way to GitHub with a paid plan or a paid template; on paid plans, Claude Code, Codex and Cursor edit the project over remote MCP.

## When Emergent is the better choice

- Your product is mainly a full-stack web app, with a Python back end.
- You want hosting, a database and sign-in included, with no other account.
- You want web and mobile apps on one platform and one credit balance.

## When FluxNative is the better choice

- You need Google Play as well as the App Store, with listings and review in one place.
- You want to fix a live app without waiting for a store review.
- You want your data in your own Supabase, Firebase or Appwrite project.

## Side by side

|  | FluxNative | Emergent |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Build** |  |  |
| One native codebase for iOS and Android | Yes (React Native) | Yes (React Native with Expo) |
| Figma import | Yes (Manual-install plugin) | Limited (Export attached as a file) |
| Build and preview a working app on a free plan | Limited (Browser preview, no native builds) | Limited (Native builds are paid) |
| **Ship to the stores** |  |  |
| Signed iOS and Android builds, no Mac | Yes (Paid plans) | Yes (Paid plans) |
| Uploads to TestFlight and Google Play | Yes (First Play upload by hand) | Limited (TestFlight only) |
| Submits for App Review, releases on Play | Yes (After you confirm) | No (In the store consoles) |
| Sends the store listing and Data safety form | Yes | No (In the store consoles) |
| **On your phone** |  |  |
| iPhone app for your projects | Yes (Chat, review, TestFlight) | Limited (Mobile web, not in the store) |
| Android app for your projects | Yes (Create, build, Play release) | Limited (Mobile web, not in the store) |
| **Backend and revenue** |  |  |
| Sets up your own Supabase, Firebase or Appwrite | Yes (Tables, rules, functions) | Limited (Own MongoDB by migrating) |
| In-app purchases and ads | Yes (RevenueCat, AdMob) | Yes (RevenueCat; ads not documented) |
| **Code and team** |  |  |
| Full code export | Limited (Paid plan or paid template) | Limited (GitHub save, Standard and up) |
| Claude Code, Cursor and Codex over MCP | Yes (Creator and up) | Limited (Described with example tools) |
| Bring your own coding agent | Yes (over MCP, Creator and up) | Not documented |
| Team roles and per-app access | Yes | Yes (Viewer role on Enterprise) |
| **Where others lead** |  |  |
| Built-in hosted database | No (Connects yours) | Yes (MongoDB, auth, storage) |
| Builds web apps | Limited (Web version of your app, on your host) | Yes (Hosted on emergent.host) |
| GitHub sync | Limited (One-way push, after a purchase) | Limited (Save only, Standard and up) |

|  | FluxNative | Emergent |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it builds | A React Native project in TypeScript: source code you own. | Web apps with a React front end, a FastAPI (Python) back end and MongoDB; Mobile Agent projects use a fixed Expo (React Native) stack for iOS and Android. |
| Getting the app onto phones | Signed Android APK and App Bundle and iOS IPA, built in the cloud. iOS builds need no Mac. | On paid plans, builds Android APK and App Bundle files and uploads the iOS build to TestFlight, no IPA handed to you; no Xcode or Android Studio needed. Emergent generates and holds the signing keys. |
| Code ownership | Full source in the Source tab. A .zip export or a one-way GitHub push needs a paid plan or a paid template. | Browse and copy files in the workspace; Save to GitHub on Standard and up, with no pull or merge mid-project. |
| What the AI starts from | Chat on the web, the desktop app or the phone apps; screenshots and images, Figma screens sent with its plugin (installed by hand in Figma Desktop), a working template, or an existing Expo app uploaded as a .zip (paid plans). | Prompts with attached screenshots, designs, PDFs, spreadsheets and text files; a Figma export as a file; a GitHub repository when starting a new job. |
| Preview and testing | Live preview in a device frame and 30-day share links; on paid plans, APK install by QR code and TestFlight. | Web preview in the workspace, asleep after 30 minutes idle; mobile apps in Expo Go by QR code, through an Expo tunnel. |
| App Store and Google Play | Uploads to TestFlight and Google Play, sends the listing and Play's Data safety form, submits for App Review and releases to Play production after you confirm. You create the app record once in each store console, and a new Play app's first upload is done by hand in Play Console. | Uploads iOS builds to TestFlight; you submit for App Review in App Store Connect. You upload the Android App Bundle in Play Console and fill in the listing and Data safety form there. |
| Backend and data | Supabase, Firebase, Appwrite, Cloudflare or your own API; the assistant creates tables, rules and functions. | Built-in MongoDB on a shared cluster, Emergent Auth (Google and email sign-in) and Emergent Object Store, hosted on Emergent; your own MongoDB (Atlas or self-hosted) by migrating. |
| Coding agents and editors | Remote MCP on paid plans: one connection lets Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code and others create and edit your apps. | Save to GitHub for other editors. Its connectors page describes an MCP interface for Claude Desktop, Cursor or custom agents, with example tools. |
| Pricing | Free plan with 100 welcome credits (1,400 more after the first build step), previews in the browser. Paid plans from $35/month (Creator, 12,000 credits a month), with native builds and store upload. | Free: 10 credits; native builds need a paid plan. Standard $20/month ($17 billed yearly) for 100 credits; Pro $200/month for 750. A published app costs from 50 credits a month. |

## Frequently asked questions

### Can Emergent build mobile apps?

Yes. Its Mobile Agent writes an Expo (React Native) app for iOS and Android. You preview it free in Expo Go by QR code; on paid plans Emergent builds the Android files and uploads the iOS build to TestFlight.

### Does Emergent publish to the App Store and Google Play?

It uploads iOS builds to TestFlight; you submit for App Review in App Store Connect. You upload Android App Bundles in Play Console yourself, with the listing and Data safety form. FluxNative uploads to both stores and submits after you confirm; a new Play app's first upload is done by hand.

### What does publishing cost on Emergent?

Native builds need a paid plan; Standard is $20 a month for 100 credits. Each published app then costs from 50 credits a month for hosting, more on larger hosting tiers.

### Can I use Emergent for the website and FluxNative for the app?

Yes. A web app published on Emergent can serve an API, and FluxNative connects your own API as a backend, as well as Supabase, Firebase or Appwrite.

## Sources

Updated 2026-11-07. Facts checked on 2026-11-07 against each product's own site, docs, pricing and store listings. Products change; check the sources before you decide. [Spotted a wrong fact? Tell us.](mailto:support@fluxnative.app)

- [Emergent: Pricing](https://emergent.sh/pricing)
- [Emergent: Mobile Agent](https://emergent.sh/glossary/mobile-agent)
- [Emergent: How apps work (stack)](https://help.emergent.sh/how-apps-work-here-mental-model)
- [Emergent: Mobile app development](https://help.emergent.sh/mobile-app-development)
- [Emergent: Publishing to the stores](https://help.emergent.sh/publishing-to-the-stores)
- [Emergent: Building from the Emergent mobile app](https://help.emergent.sh/building-from-the-emergent-mobile-app)
- [Emergent: Plans and the free tier](https://help.emergent.sh/plans-the-free-tier)
- [Emergent: How credits work](https://help.emergent.sh/how-credits-work-basics)
- [Emergent: Deployment types](https://help.emergent.sh/deployment-types)
- [Emergent: Deployment plan levels](https://help.emergent.sh/deployment-plan-levels)
- [Emergent: A tour of the workspace](https://help.emergent.sh/a-tour-of-the-workspace)
- [Emergent: Your data ownership (GitHub)](https://help.emergent.sh/your-data-ownership)
- [Emergent: MCPs and connectors](https://help.emergent.sh/mcps-connectors)
- [Emergent: Team roles and permissions](https://help.emergent.sh/team-roles-permissions-collaboration)
- [Emergent: In-app purchases and subscriptions](https://help.emergent.sh/monetisation-in-app-purchases-subscriptions)
- [Emergent: Database (MongoDB)](https://help.emergent.sh/database-mongodb)
- [Emergent: Emergent Auth](https://help.emergent.sh/emergent-auth-built-in)
- [Emergent: Emergent Object Store](https://help.emergent.sh/file-storage-emergent-object-store)
- [FluxNative: FluxNative FAQ](https://fluxnative.app/docs/faq)
- [FluxNative: Publishing overview](https://fluxnative.app/docs/publishing-overview)
- [FluxNative: FluxNative pricing](https://fluxnative.app/pricing)
- [FluxNative: Import an existing app](https://fluxnative.app/docs/import-expo-app)
- [FluxNative: Build from a Figma design](https://fluxnative.app/docs/figma)
- [FluxNative: FluxNative: AI App Studio (App Store)](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6828332603)
- [FluxNative: FluxNative: AI App Builder (Google Play)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.fluxnative.mobile)

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Emergent builds web apps and Expo apps, uploading iOS builds to TestFlight. FluxNative takes React Native apps through both stores to release.

Page: https://fluxnative.app/compare/fluxnative-vs-emergent