Bolt alternative
A Bolt alternative that ships to the App Store from your browser
Bolt makes mobile apps with Expo, and getting one onto the App Store means downloading the code and running Expo's tools from your own terminal. Borel is the alternative for people who want that last step done for them: it writes native SwiftUI, runs it in the iOS Simulator in your browser and publishes it from there.
Updated
Apps built by Borel, in the iOS Simulator.
Bolt
Who is Bolt for?
Bolt is an AI builder for apps and websites in the browser. It's quick for web projects, and it suits people who are comfortable with code: the editor shows every file, and you can take the project anywhere.
Ask it for a mobile app and it uses Expo, the React Native framework, so the app is JavaScript that runs on iPhone and Android. You try it on your phone by scanning a code into Expo Go.
The iPhone question
Where does Bolt stop for an iPhone app?
Publishing is where it changes from a chat to a developer's job. Bolt's own guide has you download the code, install Node.js and Git on your computer, create an Expo account, install Expo's command-line tool and run the build and submit commands yourself, then finish in App Store Connect.
If you have never opened a terminal, that's the step most likely to stop the project. And until then, what you see on your phone is the app inside Expo Go, not the app as people will install it.
Borel
What Borel does differently
Publish without a terminal
On Pro, press Publish. Borel builds, signs and uploads the app to App Store Connect from its own Mac. Nothing to install.
Native SwiftUI, not JavaScript
Borel writes Swift with SwiftUI, compiled by Xcode, so the app is the kind Apple builds its own with.
The real app, early
Every build runs in the iOS Simulator in your browser, and Borel Companion installs the real app on your iPhone on Pro.
At a glance
How do Bolt and Borel compare?
From Bolt's own site, as of October 2026. The full comparison has every row.
| Borel | Bolt | |
|---|---|---|
| Code | Swift and SwiftUI | React Native, with Expo |
| Publishing to the App Store | From the browser | From your own terminal |
| On your phone while you build | The real app | Inside Expo Go |
| Paid plans from | $20 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly | $25 a month, or $18 billed yearly |
| Database and sign-in built in | Yes | Yes |
Switching
How to switch from Bolt to Borel
- 1
Describe the app again
Paste your Bolt prompt, or tell Borel what the app does now. It plans the screens with you, then writes them in SwiftUI.
- 2
Check it on an iPhone
Tap through the build in the iOS Simulator in your browser, and ask for changes in the chat until it's right.
- 3
Press Publish
Join Apple's Developer Program, connect your App Store Connect account once, and Borel sends the app to App Store Connect for you.
Choose Borel if…
- You'd rather not install Node.js, Git or Expo's tools.
- The app is for iPhone, and native SwiftUI matters to you.
- You want to hold the real app in your hand before you publish.
Frequently asked questions
No. Bolt's mobile apps are React Native, and Borel writes Swift, so it builds the app fresh from your prompt or a description of what it does. The screens and flows carry over; the code doesn't.
No. Borel builds the app with Xcode on its own Mac and publishes it to App Store Connect itself. You need only Apple's Developer Program, $99 a year, for the App Store.
No. Borel makes native iPhone apps, and the same app runs on iPad. If you need one codebase for iPhone and Android, a React Native tool like Bolt fits that better.
On Pro, Borel Companion for Windows and Mac installs the real app on your iPhone with your Apple ID, a free one included. A cable the first time, then Wi-Fi.
Yes. 5 free credits a day, up to 30 a month, and the iOS Simulator is free for everyone. Pro starts at $20 a month.
Build it once more, natively
Paste your Bolt prompt and watch a SwiftUI version run in the iOS Simulator.