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Published Sep 16, 2025 ⦁ Updated Oct 11, 2026 ⦁ 17 min read

Tools to Build Mobile Apps: How to Pick a Stack

The best tools to build mobile apps depend on one decision you make first: native (Xcode for iOS, Android Studio for Android), cross-platform (Flutter, React Native with Expo, or Kotlin Multiplatform), or no-code (FlutterFlow, AppSheet, AI app builders). Once that's settled, the rest of the toolchain (backend, testing, beta distribution, crash reporting) is largely the same for everyone. This guide walks through that decision and then lists one proven tool for each stage, as of October 2026.

If you mainly want to know which tools cost nothing, see our list of free app development software.

Step 1: choose your approach

Approach Tools Choose it when Trade-off
Native Xcode + Swift/SwiftUI; Android Studio + Kotlin/Jetpack Compose You need the newest platform APIs on day one, top performance, or you only target one platform Two codebases if you ship on both
Cross-platform Flutter (Dart), React Native + Expo (TypeScript), Kotlin Multiplatform You need iOS and Android with one team Some native work for platform-specific features; another layer to keep updated
No-code / low-code FlutterFlow, Google AppSheet, AI app builders Internal tools, prototypes, validating an idea Platform limits, per-user pricing, harder to leave

A practical rule: if your team already writes React for the web, use React Native with Expo. If you're starting fresh and want one codebase with a consistent UI, use Flutter. If you have Android developers who want to keep native UI on iOS, use Kotlin Multiplatform. If the app is a form-and-data tool for your own company, try AppSheet before writing code.

Step 2: set up the core build tools

Native iOS: Xcode

Xcode is free but runs only on macOS. Xcode 27 adds "coding intelligence" that works with models and agents from Anthropic, Google and OpenAI, plus MCP support for your own tools. You can run apps on your own iPhone with a free Apple Account; publishing requires the $99/year Apple Developer Program.

Native Android: Android Studio

Android Studio (current release: Rabbit, 2026.2.1) runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS and includes the emulator, profilers and Gemini in Android Studio.

Cross-platform: Flutter, Expo or Kotlin Multiplatform

Start a project with one command:

# Flutter (current stable: 3.47)
flutter create my_app && cd my_app && flutter run

# React Native, using Expo as the React Native docs recommend
npx create-expo-app@latest my-app && cd my-app && npx expo start

For Kotlin Multiplatform, create a project with the JetBrains wizard or the KMP plugin in Android Studio. Compose Multiplatform lets you share UI on iOS too; its iOS target has been stable since 1.8.0 (May 2025).

On Windows, you can build the iOS version of a Flutter or React Native app with a cloud macOS service: Expo's EAS Build (the free plan includes up to 15 iOS and 15 Android builds) or Codemagic (500 free minutes a month on Mac mini M2 machines).

The deeper framework comparison is on Flutter vs React Native.

Step 3: prototype and design

  • Figma for screens and clickable prototypes. The free Starter plan includes unlimited drafts.
  • Penpot if you want an open-source, self-hostable alternative.
  • FlutterFlow if your target is Flutter: you can design visually and, on paid plans from $39/month, export the code. The free plan doesn't include code or APK download (FlutterFlow pricing).

More options are in our design tools category.

Step 4: add a backend

Unless your app is purely offline, you need auth, a database and storage.

  • Firebase: Auth, Firestore, Crashlytics, Analytics and push messaging in one SDK. The no-cost Spark plan covers Auth for 50K monthly users and Firestore with 50K reads per day, but Cloud Functions and Cloud Storage need the pay-as-you-go Blaze plan (Firebase pricing).
  • Supabase: Postgres, Auth, Storage and Edge Functions. The free plan includes a 500 MB database and 50K monthly active users; free projects pause after a week of inactivity (Supabase pricing).

Compare them on Firebase vs Supabase.

Step 5: test the app

  1. Unit and widget tests with the built-in tools: XCTest/Swift Testing in Xcode, JUnit in Android Studio, flutter test, or Jest in React Native.

  2. End-to-end UI tests with Maestro, an open-source framework that runs YAML flows on Android and iOS emulators and simulators, physical Android devices and the web (physical iOS devices aren't supported yet):

    appId: com.example.myapp
---
- launchApp
- tapOn: "Sign in"
- inputText: "test@example.com"
- assertVisible: "Welcome"

  3. Real devices through a device cloud such as BrowserStack or Firebase Test Lab when you need coverage beyond your own phones.

See more in our testing tools category.

Step 6: ship betas and release

  • iOS: TestFlight lets you invite up to 100 internal testers from your team and up to 10,000 external testers by email or public link (TestFlight).
  • Android: Play Console testing tracks. New personal developer accounts must run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in for 14 consecutive days before they can publish to production (Google Play requirements). Plan for this two-week gap. Registration is a one-time $25.
  • CI/CD: GitHub Actions (free for public repos, 2,000 minutes a month for private repos on GitHub Free; macOS runners cost $0.062/minute beyond that, per GitHub docs), Codemagic or EAS Build.

Step 7: monitor crashes and usage

  • Firebase Crashlytics for crash reports on iOS and Android, available on Firebase's free plan.
  • Sentry if you want errors, performance traces and releases in one place. The free Developer plan includes 5K errors a month for one user; Team is $26/month billed annually (Sentry pricing).

A sample stack for a small team

Stage Tool
Framework React Native + Expo (or Flutter)
Design Figma
Backend Supabase or Firebase
UI tests Maestro
Builds EAS Build or Codemagic
Betas TestFlight + Play closed testing
Crashes Crashlytics or Sentry

Everything in this table can start on a free tier. The unavoidable costs are the Apple ($99/year) and Google ($25 once) developer accounts.

FAQ

What is the best tool to build mobile apps?

There isn't one best tool. For a single platform, use the official IDE (Xcode or Android Studio). For iOS and Android from one codebase, Flutter and React Native with Expo are the most widely used options. For internal or prototype apps without code, AppSheet or FlutterFlow.

Which tools can build mobile apps for free?

Xcode, Android Studio, Flutter, React Native, Expo's free plan and Kotlin Multiplatform are all free. You pay to publish: $99/year for Apple and $25 once for Google Play.

Can I build an iOS app without a Mac?

You can write the code on Windows or Linux with Flutter or React Native, but the iOS build must run on macOS. Cloud services such as Expo EAS Build and Codemagic do that step for you.

Are AI app builders good enough for production?

They're useful for prototypes and simple apps. Before you commit, check that you can export the source code and that it builds outside the tool. Our vibe coding guide covers how to work with them.

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