When do users actually get an update?

The app checks on launch and downloads in the background, so the update runs the next time someone opens the app. Mark a release as forced and it reloads as soon as it lands.

What counts as a production release?

Only publishing to the production channel. Publish as many preview releases as you like — they never count, and neither do rollbacks. What a plan bounds is how much preview history we keep: the most recent 10 preview releases per channel on Free, 100 on Indie, all of them on Team and Studio. Older preview bundles are deleted and the storage comes back; the release itself stays in your history.

Does it work with Expo?

Yes, and it works without it. rollbird init reads a bare app's ios/ and android/ projects and writes the native config itself. On an Expo app it registers a config plugin instead, so the channel, key and fingerprint are written again on every expo prebuild rather than being thrown away by it. Tested on Expo SDK 53 and 57. Expo Go can't run custom native code, so updates need a development or release build.

When do I have to submit to the stores again?

When your native code changes: a new native module, a React Native upgrade, or anything else that changes the build. JavaScript and assets ship over the air.

What happens if an update crashes the app?

The device falls back to the bundle it was running before and reports it, so the release page shows the crash count next to the installs.

Anyone with a token you issue, scoped to read or write and bindable to a single app. Revoke it and that pipeline stops publishing.

React Native OTA updates without the MAU tax.

Rollbird is a hosted React Native OTA update service for bare React Native and Expo apps, with unlimited users on every plan from $7/month.

Ship your first update See how it works

Free plan · no card · unlimited users

~/apps/fieldkit · zsh

$ npm install @rollbird/react-native

$ npx rollbird login

✓ Device confirmed in your browser

$ npx rollbird init

✓ React Native detected

✓ Android + iOS projects detected

✓ Project linked to Rollbird

✓ Native config written

Wrap your app and rebuild once. After that, every JS change ships over the air.

The MAU tax

MAU pricing bills you for growing.

Rollbird prices on apps, storage, and seats. Never on the people using what you built.

MONTHLY BILL vs. MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS · LOG SCALE

Expo EAS Update Rollbird Indie

Your users

Expo EAS Update

Rollbird Indie

10,000

$54

100,000

$449

1,000,000

$3,774

EAS Update list prices at expo.dev/pricing, cheapest plan at each size, checked September 2026. Excludes bandwidth overage.

Your users aren't a billing metric. Your app grew. Your bill didn't.

How it works

Linked in minutes. One rebuild, then OTA forever.

npx rollbird login

Confirm the device in your browser. No passwords.

npx rollbird init

Detects both platforms, links the project, writes native config.

Rollbird.wrap(App)

Wrap your entry and ship one store build. It's the last store trip for JS changes.

rollbird release

Bundles, signs, uploads. Preview by default; add --production when it holds up.

~/apps/fieldkit · zsh

$ npx rollbird release --production

rollbird release · fieldkit → production
Publish a new release to the "production" channel?
Yes
Bundled iOS966 KB · 12.4s
Bundled Android968 KB · 11.8s
Signed2 bundles
Uploaded1.9 MB · 2.1s
PublishedRelease #4 · 100% rollout
Live in production
https://app.rollbird.dev/p/fieldkit/r/4

Platform

Everything a release needs. Nothing it doesn't.

Staged rollouts

Start at 5%, watch, go to 100%. Pause and it stops going out.

Instant rollback

One command back to the last good bundle. Free on every plan, never counted.

Preview & production channels

Ship to a preview build first. Publish to production when it holds up.

Signed bundles

Every bundle is signed with your project's signing key and verified on the device before it installs.

CI/CD from any pipeline

Scoped tokens. GitHub Actions, GitLab, Bitrise, your own runner.

Bare React Native and Expo

Both, properly. Bare apps get their native config written directly; Expo apps get a config plugin, so it survives every prebuild.

Questions

Before you ship your first update.

When do users actually get an update?: The app checks on launch and downloads in the background, so the update runs the next time someone opens the app. Mark a release as forced and it reloads as soon as it lands.
What counts as a production release?: Only publishing to the production channel. Publish as many preview releases as you like — they never count, and neither do rollbacks. What a plan bounds is how much preview history we keep: the most recent 10 preview releases per channel on Free, 100 on Indie, all of them on Team and Studio. Older preview bundles are deleted and the storage comes back; the release itself stays in your history.
Does it work with Expo?: Yes, and it works without it. rollbird init reads a bare app's ios/ and android/ projects and writes the native config itself. On an Expo app it registers a config plugin instead, so the channel, key and fingerprint are written again on every expo prebuild rather than being thrown away by it. Tested on Expo SDK 53 and 57. Expo Go can't run custom native code, so updates need a development or release build.
When do I have to submit to the stores again?: When your native code changes: a new native module, a React Native upgrade, or anything else that changes the build. JavaScript and assets ship over the air.
What happens if an update crashes the app?: The device falls back to the bundle it was running before and reports it, so the release page shows the crash count next to the installs.
Who can publish?: Anyone with a token you issue, scoped to read or write and bindable to a single app. Revoke it and that pipeline stops publishing.

Pricing

Priced on what we store, not who you reach.

Indie

$70/year

$5.83/mo billed yearly

For solo developers shipping their own apps.

✓Unlimited production releases
✓3 apps
✓1 team member
✓2 organizations
✓2 GB storage
✓Preview history: 100 releases / channel
✓Cancel anytime and your live releases keep serving

Start with Indie

Recommended for teams

Team

$150/year

$12.50/mo billed yearly

For small teams whose apps have real users.

✓3 team members · 10 apps
✓Unlimited releases
✓5 organizations
✓10 GB storage
✓Unlimited preview history
✓Cancel anytime and your live releases keep serving

Start with Team

Studio

$290/year

$24.17/mo billed yearly

For agencies running many client apps.

✓Unlimited apps · 10 members
✓Unlimited releases
✓Unlimited organizations
✓50 GB storage
✓Unlimited preview history
✓Cancel anytime and your live releases keep serving

Start with Studio

Or start on Free: 1 organization, 1 app, 3 production releases a month, and preview releases that never count — we keep the last 10 per channel. No card.

✓Rollback is always free and never counts against anything.

Ship the fix now, not after review.

Unlimited users, free rollback, flat pricing from $7/month, however big you grow.

Ship your first update

Free plan · no card required

$ npx rollbird login