Expo alternative
An Expo alternative with no terminal and no JavaScript
Expo is the React Native framework for developers who write the app in JavaScript, build it with EAS from a terminal and test it in Expo Go. Borel is the alternative for people who don't write code: describe the app in a chat and Borel writes native SwiftUI, runs it in the iOS Simulator in your browser and publishes it.
Updated
Apps built by Borel, in the iOS Simulator.
Expo
Who is Expo for?
Expo is the official framework for React Native: developers write the app in JavaScript or TypeScript once and ship it to iPhone, Android and the web. It's excellent at that, and many AI app builders use it under the hood.
Its cloud service, EAS, builds iOS apps on Expo's own Macs and submits them to Apple, so a developer on Windows can ship to the App Store.
The iPhone question
Where does Expo stop for an iPhone app?
It's a developer's tool. You install Node.js, create the project from a terminal, write the app's code, and run EAS's command-line tool to build and submit.
Expo's docs note that the iOS Simulator installs only on macOS. Its new cloud simulators that stream to a browser are a limited preview, opened from a waitlist in batches, as of October 2026.
Borel
What Borel does differently
No code to write
Describe the app in plain words. Borel writes the Swift, and you ask for changes the same way.
No terminal
Nothing to install. Build, test and publish to the App Store from a browser tab.
The simulator for everyone
Every build runs in Apple's iOS Simulator on Borel's Mac, streamed to your browser, free on every plan.
At a glance
How do Expo and Borel compare?
From Expo's own site, as of October 2026.
| Borel | Expo | |
|---|---|---|
| How you build | Describe it in a chat | Write JavaScript or TypeScript |
| Terminal needed | No | Yes |
| iOS Simulator without a Mac | In your browser, free | A limited preview |
| Publish to the App Store without a Mac | Yes | Yes |
Switching
How to switch from Expo to Borel
- 1
Describe the app you were going to code
Write what it does and who it's for. Borel plans the screens with you, then writes them in SwiftUI.
- 2
See it running in minutes
The build opens in the iOS Simulator in your browser. No Node.js, no Expo Go, no Xcode.
- 3
Hand it to a developer later, if you like
Download the Swift project on any plan. It opens in Xcode like any other iOS project.
Choose Borel if…
- You don't write code, or don't want to for this app.
- You'd rather not install Node.js or use a terminal.
- The app is for iPhone, and native SwiftUI matters to you.
Frequently asked questions
No. Borel writes Swift with SwiftUI and builds it with Xcode on its own Mac. There's no React Native or JavaScript in a Borel app.
No. Borel writes a new SwiftUI app from your description. If you're happy writing React Native, Expo is the better home for that code.
Yes. The download is a SwiftUI project with an XcodeGen project.yml, the kind any iOS developer opens in Xcode and keeps building, and you can download it on any plan, the free one included.
No. Borel makes native iPhone apps, and the same app runs on iPad. Expo's strength is one codebase for iPhone and Android.
Yes, with nothing to install: 5 free credits a day, up to 30 a month, and the simulator is free. Pro, from $20 a month, adds installs on your iPhone and App Store publishing.
Skip the setup
Describe your app and watch it run in the iOS Simulator, no terminal needed.