Buildy vs Rork
Buildy vs Rork
Rork and Buildy are two of the few AI app builders that actually target native mobile, both generate Expo / React Native projects rather than a web app in a wrapper, both can target native Android, and both let you own and export the source on paid plans. So on the thing people worry about most, lock-in, they're genuinely close. This page compares them fairly on pricing, code export and ownership, native targets, and how transparent each is about AI usage. Where Rork is the better choice, we say so.
| Buildy | Rork | |
|---|---|---|
| Code ownership | Full, a standard Expo project you own; zip export + GitHub sync on Pro (€25) | Full on paid plans, you own generated code, with GitHub two-way sync to VS Code/Cursor; free projects are public and can't export |
| Native targets | Expo/RN + native Android (Kotlin/Compose) + native iOS (SwiftUI); iOS store build from Pro (€25) | Expo/RN + native Android (Kotlin/Compose) on Rork Pro; native iOS (SwiftUI + Apple ecosystem) requires Rork Max (from ~$200/mo) |
| Free tier | Build + live preview + install on your phone, no card | ~5 credits/day (about 35/mo in major markets, ~5/mo elsewhere); projects are public; no code export or store publishing |
| Export | Zip download + GitHub sync from Pro (€25/mo) | GitHub two-way sync on paid plans; free projects can't export |
| Pricing | Pro €25/mo (~6M tokens); Max €50/mo (~12M tokens); billed in EUR, Paddle handles VAT | Credit-based, USD. Rork Pro from ~$20/mo; native iOS via Rork Max from ~$200/mo. Exact tiers and credit counts vary, check their site |
| App Store 2.5.2 | Preview runs on Buildy's servers, not inside the binary → the shipped app is self-contained | Not documented publicly, verify self-containment before you rely on it |
| Backend | Supabase integration (Pro+) | Rork Backend serverless functions; Supabase/Firebase integrations |
| Learning curve | Chat to build; 7 UI languages; token budget shown | Chat to build; large community + template library; credit-based usage |
Where Buildy is the better pick
A free tier you can actually ship from. Buildy's free plan lets you build, live-preview, and install the real app on your phone, no card. Rork's free plan caps you at roughly 5 credits/day (about 35/month in major markets), keeps projects public, and blocks both code export and store publishing.
Native iOS at a fraction of the price. Buildy includes a native iOS (SwiftUI) store build from Pro at €25/mo. Rork's native iOS (SwiftUI) requires Rork Max, which starts at around $200/mo. Both also generate Expo/React Native and can target native Android, so the real gap here is what shipping native iOS actually costs you.
Self-contained, App Store 2.5.2-friendly by design. Buildy's live preview runs on Buildy's servers and is never packaged into the shipped binary, so the released app doesn't download code that changes its features, exactly the pattern Apple's Guideline 2.5.2 polices, and a documented pain point for the 'vibe-coding' category in 2026.
EU-friendly billing. Buildy prices in euros with Paddle as merchant of record, so EU VAT is handled for you. Rork bills in USD and region-gates its free credits (as low as ~5/month outside major markets).
Transparent metering. Buildy publishes token budgets (~6M on Pro, ~12M on Max) so you can see what you're spending. Rork meters in 'credits', 'roughly one request' each by its own definition, so a tiny tweak and a large build can draw the same credit, and there's no public credit-to-token mapping to compare against.
Where Rork may be the better pick
No tool wins everything. Here's where Rork is genuinely the stronger choice.
Turnkey iOS shipping. Rork Max compiles and submits your iOS app to the App Store from the cloud in about two clicks, a very hands-off path if you're all-in on Apple and fine with the ~$200/mo tier.
More funding and momentum. Rork raised a $15M seed round (April 2026, led by Left Lane Capital) and has a large, active community plus a deep template and review footprint, more social proof and a longer public track record than a newer entrant.
Simpler mental model for some. Rork's flat 'X credits per month' can be easier to reason about than token budgets if you'd rather not think about usage in tokens at all.
The verdict
On the thing people fear most, lock-in, Rork and Buildy are genuinely close: both hand you a standard Expo project you own, with GitHub sync on paid plans, and both can target native Android. Buildy pulls ahead when you want to try before paying (its free tier installs a real app on your phone, while Rork's free projects stay public and can't export), when you want affordable native iOS (Buildy includes an iOS SwiftUI store build from €25/mo, while Rork's native iOS requires Rork Max from ~$200/mo), and when 2.5.2-safe self-contained shipping or EU-friendly euro billing matters. Rork is the stronger pick if you want maximum community and momentum today, or a one-tap cloud submit to the App Store and don't mind USD pricing at the top tier. The honest move: build the same idea on Buildy's free tier first, it costs nothing to see the difference for yourself.
Build your first app free →A few Rork details move fast, so we've kept this comparison conservative (as of July 2026): (1) Rork meters usage in 'credits', by Rork's own definition 'roughly one request', with no public credit-to-token mapping, so per-request cost can't be lined up 1:1 with Buildy's token budgets. (2) Rork's prices are in USD and the exact tiers and credit counts change over time; treat the ranges here as approximate and confirm on Rork's own site. (3) Rork Pro does offer a native Android (Kotlin/Compose) target, so we make no claim to the contrary, Buildy's clear native-side edge is the price of native iOS, not Android. (4) The App Store Guideline 2.5.2 point describes a documented risk for the AI/'vibe-coding' category as a whole and speaks only to Buildy's own self-contained architecture; we did not confirm any specific Rork rejection and make no such claim.