You want a real app in the App Store or Google Play, and you don't write code. Here is what each AI builder charges, what Apple and Google add, and the cheapest path that ends with your app in the stores. Every number comes from each company's own pricing page and help docs.
Every path has the same fixed costs: Apple charges $99 a year to publish on the App Store and Google charges a one-time $25 for Google Play. On top of that, the cheapest way for a non-coder to get one app into both stores is Rork Pro at $20 a month. It writes a native iPhone and Android app, and builds and submits both from your browser. Build for three months, then cancel, and your first year costs $184 all in. If you can follow terminal commands, Bolt's free plan plus Expo's free plan cuts the tool cost to $0, so the first year is just the $124 in store fees.
No AI builder can skip these. Apple and Google bill you directly, whichever tool writes the code.
| Fee | Cost | What you need to know | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Developer Program | $99 a year | Needed to put any app on the App Store. If it lapses, your apps leave the store and you can't ship updates. People who already installed the app can keep using it | developer.apple.com |
| Google Play developer account | $25, once | Needed to publish on Google Play. New personal accounts must first run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days in a row | support.google.com |
| Expo (only for Bolt and other Expo paths) | $0 on Free | 15 iOS and 15 Android cloud builds a month, a low-priority build queue, and app store submission. Starter is $19 a month plus usage | expo.dev |
The Apple fee is yearly, not one-off. Google's closed test means budgeting two weeks and finding 12 testers before launch day. If you only want an iPhone app, skip the $25 Google fee. If you only want Android, skip the $99.
| Tool | Cheapest plan that can publish | What it builds | Stores | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rork | Pro: $20 a month for 100 credits | Native iPhone app (Swift) and native Android app (Kotlin), plus web | App Store and Google Play, from the browser. No Mac needed | Design only: 5 credits a day, up to 35 a month in major markets. No Build mode |
| Bolt + Expo | Bolt Free (1M tokens a month) or Pro at $25 a month. Expo Free: 15 iOS and 15 Android builds a month | React Native app through Expo | App Store and Google Play, using Expo's EAS commands on your own computer | Yes. Both Bolt and Expo have free plans |
| Draftbit | Standard: $12 a month, 20% less billed yearly | React Native app | iOS, Android and web publishing in one click. Store submission help starts on Pro at $24 | 1 project and 3,000 one-time credits. Web publishing only |
| Replit | Core: $20 a month, or $18 a month billed yearly | React Native app through Expo | App Store only. Replit says Google Play publishing is not yet supported | Starter plan with a daily Agent allowance |
| Vibecode | Plus: $20 a month with $20 of credits, or $200 a year | Native iPhone app (Swift), React Native app, or web app | App Store submission is the publishing path it documents | First app build free on new accounts. No App Store submission |
| a0.dev | Pro: $20 a month for 100 credits | React Native app | App Store through App Store Connect. Its publishing docs cover iOS only | None listed on its pricing page |
| FlutterFlow | Basic: $39 a month, about 25% less billed yearly | Flutter app | One-click App Store deployment and Android APK download | 2 projects and 5 lifetime AI requests. Web publishing only |
| Lovable | Pro: $25 a month for 100 credits | Web app only | None built in. You add it to a phone's home screen or wrap it with a tool outside Lovable | 5 build credits a day, up to 30 a month |
Prices in US dollars, before tax and before the Apple and Google fees above. Each tool counts usage differently (credits, tokens or dollars), so a $20 plan on one isn't the same amount of building as a $20 plan on another.
Rork is built for mobile apps first, and one project can hold an iPhone, Android and web version. The iPhone app is native Swift and the Android app is native Kotlin, so neither is a website in a shell. Rork runs the app in a cloud simulator next to the chat, then builds, signs and submits it to the App Store and Google Play from its own machines. You never install Xcode or Android Studio.
The free plan is for designing screens only: 5 credits a day, up to 35 a month in major markets and 5 a month elsewhere. Turning a design into a working app needs Build mode, which starts on Pro at $20 a month for 100 credits. A credit is roughly one request to the agent. Max starts at $200 a month for 1,000 credits and adds iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro and games, which most first apps don't need.
One cost to watch: running the cloud simulator and making store builds also use build credits. The Android emulator shows 0.1 build credits a minute while it runs, so stop it when you finish testing. Rork doesn't publish how many credits an iPhone store build takes.
Bolt builds mobile apps with Expo, the standard toolkit for React Native. To publish, Bolt's own guide has you install Node.js and Git, create a free Expo account, download the project and run two Expo commands, one per store. It is copy and paste, not programming, but it happens in a terminal.
Bolt's free plan gives 1M tokens a month with a 300K daily cap. Pro is $25 a month for 10M tokens that roll over. Expo's free plan covers 15 iPhone and 15 Android cloud builds a month plus store submission, which is plenty for one app. If you run out of tokens halfway, our guide to running out of Bolt tokens covers the options.
Draftbit's Standard plan is $12 a month, or 20% less billed yearly, and includes one-click publishing to iOS, Android and the web, 15 iOS and Android builds a month, and code export. The catch for non-coders is the AI. Draftbit runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT subscription or API key, or on Draftbit credits, which start at $5 for 5,000 and expire after a year. Downgrading from a paid plan locks store publishing. If you already pay for an AI chat plan, Draftbit is the cheapest monthly bill here.
Replit's Agent builds React Native apps with Expo. A guided flow builds, signs and uploads the iPhone app to App Store Connect and TestFlight, with no Mac needed. Replit's docs say plainly that Google Play publishing is not yet supported,. Core is $20 a month, or $18 billed yearly, with $20 of credit toward the more powerful models.
Vibecode writes a native Swift iPhone app, a React Native app for iPhone and Android, or a web app. Your first app build on a new account is free, but the free plan can't submit to the App Store. Plus is $20 a month with $20 of credits, or $200 a year, and adds App Store submission without a Mac. Credits roll over and never expire, and Vibecode calls its tiers experimental.
a0.dev Pro is $20 a month for 100 credits, with unlimited app builds and code export. Its pricing page lists no free plan, and its publishing docs walk you through the App Store only. Budget both as iPhone tools.
FlutterFlow is a visual builder with AI help, aimed at people willing to learn a builder. Store publishing starts on Basic at $39 a month, which adds one-click App Store deployment, Android APK download and 50 AI requests a month. FlutterFlow says yearly billing saves about 25% but doesn't show the yearly price as a number.
Lovable builds web apps. It has no App Store or Google Play publishing. You can add it to a phone's home screen or wrap it with a tool such as Capacitor, but Apple's rules say an app should be more than a repackaged website, so a thin wrapper can be rejected. If you already built in Lovable, Rork's docs offer a Lovable import that rebuilds the project as a mobile app. Lovable Pro is $25 a month for 100 credits.
Base44 and v0 also build web apps and list no store publishing. For web app costs, see the cheapest AI app builder.
You build one app over three months, publish it, then cancel or keep the plan for updates. Store fees included: $124 for both stores, $99 for App Store only.
| Path | 3 months, then cancel | Full year | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolt Free + Expo Free | $0 + $124 = $124 | $0 + $124 = $124 | Only if Bolt's free 1M tokens a month are enough. You run the build commands yourself |
| Draftbit Standard | $36 + $124 = $160 | $144 + $124 = $268 | Plus your own Claude or ChatGPT subscription, or Draftbit credits. Downgrading locks store publishing |
| Rork Pro | $60 + $124 = $184 | $240 + $124 = $364 | Both stores from the browser. Simulator and build time also use credits |
| Bolt Pro + Expo Free | $75 + $124 = $199 | $300 + $124 = $424 | 10M tokens a month, so you rarely wait for a reset |
| Replit Core | $60 + $99 = $159 | $216 + $99 = $315 (billed yearly) | iPhone only. No Google Play fee because Replit can't publish there yet |
| Vibecode Plus | $60 + $99 = $159 | $200 + $99 = $299 (billed yearly) | iPhone only, the store path it documents |
| a0.dev Pro | $60 + $99 = $159 | $240 + $99 = $339 | iPhone only, the store path it documents |
| FlutterFlow Basic | $117 + $124 = $241 | $468 + $124 = $592 | Monthly price. The yearly price is not shown as a number |
The iPhone-only paths look cheap, but adding Android later means a second tool, and the $25 Google fee comes back anyway. Among the paths that reach both stores, Draftbit is cheapest if you already have an AI subscription, Bolt with Expo is cheapest if you can use a terminal, and Rork is the cheapest one that does everything in the browser.
Monthly prices unless marked. Before tax. Credit or token top-ups not included. If your app needs a backend or AI features, hosting and AI usage are extra on every path.
If you don't code and want an app in both stores, use Rork Pro at $20 a month. It is the only path here that builds native apps for both stores and submits them from the browser, with no terminal and no second AI subscription. Design on the free plan first, upgrade when the screens are final, and keep Pro only while you are shipping updates.
If you're comfortable pasting a few commands into a terminal, Bolt's free plan with Expo's free plan is the true lowest cost: $124 for the first year, all of it store fees.
$124 in the first year: $99 a year for Apple's developer program, paid every year your app stays listed, plus a one-time $25 for Google Play. It is the same whichever AI builder you use.
You can build and test one for free, but not publish one. Bolt's free plan with Expo's free plan costs $0 in tools, while Rork's free plan only designs screens. The $99 Apple and $25 Google fees still apply.
No. Rork, Replit and Vibecode build and upload the iPhone app in the cloud, and Expo does the same for Bolt projects. You still need the paid Apple account.
Not directly. Lovable builds web apps and has no store publishing. You can wrap it with a tool such as Capacitor outside Lovable, but Apple can reject an app that is only a repackaged website.
Rork submits to Google Play for you, Draftbit publishes to Android on paid plans, FlutterFlow Basic exports an Android APK, and Bolt projects get there through Expo. Replit doesn't support Google Play yet.
Your apps stop being available for download and you can't submit updates. People who already installed them can keep using them. If you renew later, free apps come back within 24 hours and you don't need to resubmit them.
Google requires personal developer accounts created after November 13, 2023 to run a closed test first. At least 12 testers have to stay opted in for 14 days in a row before you can apply for production access.
The app lives in your own Apple and Google accounts, so it stays in the stores while those are active. You just lose the easy way to ship fixes: Rork's free plan can't build, and Draftbit locks store publishing if you downgrade.
Newly isn't in the comparison or our pick above. We don't track it every week, so we don't rank it. Its prices are from its own pricing page, checked November 2, 2026.
An AI builder for native iOS and Android apps that can publish to TestFlight, the App Store and Google Play. Plans start at $25 a month for 100 credits, or $50 a month for 200 credits. Billed yearly, they are $20 and $40 a month. Apple and Google developer accounts cost extra. Source: newly.app/pricing.
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Last checked . We read each page ourselves. None of the tools in the comparison have affiliate links. Our Newly link under Another mobile app builder worth a look is an affiliate link.
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