VibeView does what EAS Build does — compile on a hosted Mac, generate signing, submit to TestFlight and Google Play — and then puts the build on a cloud iPhone, Pixel, Apple TV or Android TV you can open, share and test in a browser.
The difference is what you get back. EAS Build hands you a binary. VibeView hands you a binary and a device to run it on: the finished build lands in your app library, ready to open on a cloud iPhone, Pixel, Apple TV or Android TV in a browser tab, share as a link with someone who has no account, or test with a recorded flow — all from Windows or Linux, on every plan.
Expo's own cloud simulator, Expo Simulators, is in a limited beta that admits teams from a waitlist, on paid plans only; its docs say it "is currently available only to select partners."
Build once, from wherever you are
npm install -g vibeview, then vibeview build --cloud --platform ios
from your project root. The first run asks for your build command and artifact path; the
finished simulator build appears in your app library, ready to run. 30 cloud
build minutes a month are included on the free tier.
EAS Build alternatives: how VibeView compares
| What you are deciding | VibeView | Expo EAS |
|---|---|---|
| Can it compile your iOS app without a Mac on your desk? | Yes — cloud builds run on a managed Mac toolchain from one CLI command, for managed Expo and bare React Native projects | Yes — EAS Build is a hosted service for Expo and React Native projects, with iOS builds on macOS runners in Expo's cloud |
| Which frameworks does it build? | React Native and Expo, plus Flutter (FVM pins included), Capacitor and Ionic, Kotlin Multiplatform and native Xcode or Gradle projects, each with suggested build commands | Expo and React Native projects; Expo describes it as designed to work for any native project |
| Will it generate the Apple signing credentials for you? | Yes — store an App Store Connect API key once and vibeview credentials generate creates the distribution certificate and provisioning profile for iOS or tvOS; it never takes your Apple ID password. Android keystores are generated too | Yes — EAS generates the distribution certificate, provisioning profile and push key after you sign in to your Apple Developer account through EAS CLI, and stores them on EAS servers |
| Can it upload the signed build to TestFlight or Google Play? | Yes — vibeview submit from the CLI, or the Submit to store button in the dashboard, for iOS, tvOS, Android and Android TV. Android and Android TV .apk builds can also go to the Amazon Appstore, which reaches Fire TV | Yes — EAS Submit is included on every plan |
| Can a build go to the store by itself when it finishes? | Yes — vibeview build --cloud --production --auto-submit, or a GitHub version tag when vibeview.json turns it on. The build is sent even if you close your laptop | Yes — eas build --auto-submit passes the finished build to EAS Submit |
| Does it tell you when testers have the build? | Yes — a notification when testers have it, and an email when it fails or Apple needs something from you, with matching Slack and webhook events | Through webhooks: a SUBMIT event reports the submission's status (finished, errored or canceled) to your endpoint |
| Can it send the build to TestFlight groups with What to Test notes? | Yes: --group and --what-to-test, or the Testers list in the Submit dialog. Notes can go out in several languages, and the export compliance answer is saved once per app | Yes: internal groups through groups in an eas.json submit profile; internal and external groups and What to Test notes (changelog) through the EAS Workflows TestFlight job |
| Does it send a build for external testers to Beta App Review? | Yes, and the build page shows each step's status, says what to fix when Apple needs something, and has a Check again button. --wait-distribution gives CI an exit code | Yes, with EAS Workflows: the TestFlight job's submit_beta_review defaults to on when external groups are set |
| Can it set Google Play release notes and a staged rollout? | Yes: release notes in each language of your Play listing (up to 500 characters each), and a staged rollout percentage you raise later in Play Console | A staged rollout, through rollout with the inProgress release status in an eas.json submit profile. The eas.json Android submit options list no release-notes field |
| What is free each month? | 30 build minutes on the free tier, on any platform | 15 Android and 15 iOS builds on the free plan |
| What does a build cost past that? | By the minute of builder time: $0.08/min iOS, $0.03/min Android on every paid plan ($0.10 / $0.04 on Free). A 12-minute iOS build is $0.96 | Per build, against a paid plan's build credit: $2 iOS / $1 Android on a medium worker; $4 iOS / $2 Android on a large one |
| How many people can be on the account? | 1 member on Free, 1 member on Solo, up to 10 members on Team, no member limit on Business | Unlimited on every plan |
| Can you open the finished build on a cloud device today? | Yes — the artifact lands in your app library and runs on a streamed iPhone, iPad, Pixel, Apple TV or Android TV in the browser; share it as a link on every plan, or embed it in a page on Team and Business | Not as part of EAS Build, whose documentation describes installable binaries. Expo Simulators is a separate limited beta, open to teams from a waitlist on paid plans, that its docs say is "currently available only to select partners" |
| Does it cover TV apps? | Yes — tvOS and Android TV builds are signed (vibeview credentials generate makes the tvOS provisioning profile too) and submitted like phone builds, then run on cloud TV devices with a d-pad and focus-verified tests. Roku runs on physical hardware | It builds them — Expo's TV guide sets up EAS Build profiles for Android TV and Apple TV — but EAS only creates iOS provisioning profiles, so tvOS profiles are made by hand. Expo Simulators' only TV device is an Apple TV simulator in its iOS image, with no remote or focus control documented |
| Can it test the app it just built? | Yes — record a flow in the browser and replay it, hand a moved button to an AI agent (beta), compare screenshots after every step (on by default in every new group), and run all of it from CI or on a schedule. Maestro flows import as tests | EAS Workflows runs Maestro end-to-end test jobs on paid plans, from flows you write in YAML |
The build step is a tie. The three rows that decide it come after the build: whether it lands on a device you can use, whether TV counts, and how the result gets tested. VibeView doesn't offer unlimited seats on every plan; EAS does.
Take a build from source to TestFlight without a Mac
vibeview credentials generate --platform ios, then vibeview build --cloud --profile production, then vibeview submit --platform ios --latest --group "QA team" --what-to-test "…" --wait-distribution.
Three commands from Windows or Linux. Apple processes the build, then VibeView sends it to
your group, and --wait-distribution gives your pipeline an exit code.
What you get beyond the comparison table
A device, not a download
Every simulator build is one click from a running session. The person who needs to see it opens a link in their browser; nobody installs anything or hunts for the artifact. Build profiles in vibeview.json use the same development, preview and production names as EAS, and the preview build runs without Metro, so it is the one to share.
Your editor, on a cloud phone
Between builds, vibeview dev connects the cloud device to Metro on your machine. Save a file and the running app refreshes in about a second, iPhone included, from Windows or Linux.
Credentials you can leave behind
Generated Apple and Android credentials are stored with your organization, so a teammate can build and submit without your laptop, and a lost keystore is a download rather than a broken Play listing.
TV as a first-class target
Build, sign and submit tvOS and Android TV apps with the same commands — the tvOS provisioning profile included — then walk them with the remote on a cloud TV device and record focus-verified tests.
Tests that survive a redesign
A recorded flow that meets a moved button hands that step to an AI agent (beta), which finds it by name and carries on. One design change costs one step, not a red suite.
Built for coding agents
A Claude Code skill and an MCP server let an agent build, install, drive and verify the app on a cloud device by itself — the loop that produced our Atlas sample app end to end.
Your Maestro flows come with you
The YAML flows you run on EAS Workflows import as VibeView tests: each command becomes a plain-language step you can read and edit, with no AI and no cost to import.
Sessions as long as the work
On paid plans a device session has no length limit. An Expo Simulators session is capped at 115 minutes on paid plans.
Every pull request, on a device
With the GitHub App, pushes and pull requests build on their own, and a pull request gets one comment that links each build to a cloud device. No workflow file to write.
Count your builds before you count anything else
Add up a normal month of iOS and Android builds and how long they run, price them per build and per minute, then ask whether anyone needs to open the result. If the answer is "a designer, a tester, a client, an agent", the build is the cheap part.
Frequently asked questions
Is VibeView a real EAS Build alternative?
Yes. One CLI command compiles your React Native or Expo project on a hosted Mac, with no Mac of your own, and can generate the Apple and Android signing credentials and submit the result to TestFlight, a Google Play track or the Amazon Appstore. Then the build lands on a cloud iOS or Android device you can open, share and test in a browser.
Which is cheaper, EAS Build or VibeView cloud builds?
VibeView bills builder time by the minute, with build minutes included on every plan (30 on Free, 150 on Solo, 400 on Team, 2,000 on Business); past them, a 12-minute iOS build costs $0.96 on a paid plan. EAS charges per build, against a paid plan's build credit; the table above has its rates. The bigger difference is what you get after the build: on VibeView it opens on a cloud device that is part of your plan. The pricing page has every plan's numbers.
Does VibeView generate Apple certificates and provisioning profiles the way EAS does?
Yes. Store an App Store Connect API key once and vibeview credentials generate creates the distribution certificate and an App Store provisioning profile for iOS or tvOS through Apple's API, without ever taking your Apple ID password. It also generates Android keystores. EAS generates the same iOS material after you sign in to your Apple account through its CLI.
Can I submit to TestFlight and Google Play from VibeView?
Yes. vibeview submit --platform ios --latest --group "QA team" --what-to-test "…" uploads a signed production build to TestFlight and sends it to that group, with Apple's Beta App Review first for an external group. vibeview submit --platform android --latest --track internal sends one to a Google Play track, with release notes in each language you write, and --store amazon sends an Android or Android TV .apk to the Amazon Appstore. The dashboard has the same action as a button. App Store review, store listings and screenshots stay in App Store Connect and Play Console.
What about Expo Simulators (EAS Simulator)?
Expo's cloud simulator, announced as EAS Simulator and now called Expo Simulators, is in a limited beta: Expo's pricing page says it is inviting teams from the waitlist in batches, with sessions on paid plans only, and its docs say it "is currently available only to select partners." Its iOS image includes an Apple TV simulator, but Expo doesn't document TV testing — no remote or focus control, nothing for Android TV or Roku. VibeView is available today, on every plan including the free one, with Apple TV, Android TV and Roku driven by remote and focus.
Do I need to use Expo to use VibeView cloud builds?
No. Managed Expo projects need no extra setup, and bare React Native projects work too. The CLI also recognizes Flutter, Capacitor and Ionic, Kotlin Multiplatform and native Xcode or Gradle projects and suggests their build commands, and because the build command is yours, anything that produces a simulator .app or .apk on a Mac or Linux runner can run in the cloud.
Find out with one build
Run vibeview build --cloud on the free tier, open the result on a cloud device,
and send the link to one person who would otherwise have asked you for the file.
Published 14 September 2026 · Updated 26 October 2026 · Expo pricing, EAS Build, EAS Workflows and Expo Simulators documentation verified 23 October 2026; eas.json submit options and the EAS Workflows TestFlight job verified 25 October 2026; EAS auto-submit and webhooks verified 26 October 2026