Emergent pricing looks simple: three self-serve plans, each with a monthly pot of credits. The detail is in what spends them. Writing code, running tests and keeping your app online all come out of the same pot. Here is how it adds up, and what changes when the app is for iPhone.
The short answer
Free is $0 with 10 credits. Standard is $20 a month with 100 credits, or $17 a month billed annually. Pro is $200 a month with 750 credits, or $167 billed annually. Each published app costs at least 50 credits a month. Emergent builds mobile apps with Expo and React Native and uploads iOS builds to TestFlight on paid plans. The listing, submission and App Review are yours, plus Apple’s 99 USD a year.
Emergent pricing at a glance
These figures are from Emergent’s pricing page. The page shows monthly prices by default, with an annual switch on each paid plan.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | Credits | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 10 | Core platform features, web and mobile experiences |
| Standard | $20 / month | $17 / month (saves $36 a year) | 100 a month | Web and mobile apps, private project hosting, option to buy extra credits, GitHub integration, forking |
| Pro | $200 / month | $167 / month (saves $396 a year) | 750 a month | 1M context window, custom AI agents, system prompt editing, priority support |
| Business | Custom: role-based access, SSO, shared team workspaces | |||
| Enterprise | Custom: audit logs, user-level credit limits, deployment in your own cloud | |||
Depending on your country, Emergent may route payment through a local processor, such as Razorpay in India or PagBrasil in Brazil, and its documentation says the Buy Credits page shows the live, region-specific price including any taxes or gateway surcharges. Check that page for your own figure.
A note on Free. Emergent’s pricing page says “10 free monthly credits”. Its help docs say free users get 10 credits on their first day, with further daily credit grants. Check your workspace balance for the current allowance. Emergent says one prompt can cost from a handful to hundreds of credits, so 10 credits goes a short way.
How Emergent credits are spent
Emergent’s credits page lists what draws on them:
- Code generation. Each prompt that writes or changes code. Emergent says a prompt can cost from a handful of credits for a small visual change to hundreds for a full feature with tests.
- Testing. Automated tests and checks.
- Hosting. A fixed monthly fee per published app, by tier. More below.
- Integrations and background jobs. API calls, scheduled jobs and workers.
- Database work. Small charges for heavy queries and bulk writes.
- LLM calls from your app, when it uses Emergent’s Universal LLM Key.
- Maxx mode (Pro only), which plans and checks more carefully and uses significantly more credits.
Subscription credits refill to the plan amount each billing cycle and don’t roll over. Credits you top up separately never expire, and Emergent spends expiring credits first. You can set a per-task budget; the agent pauses if it reaches it. If your balance hits zero mid-build, the work pauses until you add credits.
The hosting line most people miss
Publishing an app on Emergent costs credits every month, on top of building. From Emergent’s publishing documentation:
| Publishing tier | Credits a month | CPU and memory |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 50 | 0.05 vCPU, 200 MB |
| Launch | 125 | 0.5 vCPU, 2 GB |
| Grow | 225 | 1 vCPU, 4 GB |
| Scale | 450 | 2 vCPU, 8 GB |
| Elite | 1,100 | 4 vCPU, 16 GB |
A published app needs at least 50 credits to start, and Emergent warns that the Starter tier is not suited to production load. Do the arithmetic before you choose a plan. On Standard, one app on the Launch tier uses more than the 100 monthly credits on its own, before any building. Plan on Pro, or on buying extra credits, if you intend to keep an app live. The free tier can’t publish to production, though Emergent’s docs say free users may qualify for a free frontend-only published app.
What an Emergent iPhone app costs
Emergent builds mobile apps with Expo and React Native. You can start a mobile app directly, or convert a web app, which Emergent describes as a feature still rolling out that forks the project and rebuilds the interface while sharing the backend.
For the App Store, Emergent does more than most. Its store publishing guide says:
- Native builds need a paid Emergent plan.
- Emergent runs the Expo and EAS build itself, in the cloud. You don’t need an Expo account, a terminal or a Mac.
- iOS signing is managed by Emergent, and the build is uploaded to TestFlight for you.
The guide is equally clear about what remains yours:
- Create the app record in App Store Connect and add screenshots, a description, a support URL and a privacy policy.
- Fill in the App Privacy details and declare third-party SDKs.
- Submit for review. Emergent’s guide says Apple typically reviews iOS submissions within one to three days.
- If Apple rejects the app, read the feedback in App Store Connect, then fix, re-publish, rebuild and resubmit.
Publishing a mobile app adds 10 credits a month to the hosting tier fee and includes 10 iOS and Android builds a month. Unlimited builds cost 25 credits more a month.
So the money side is an Emergent paid plan, the credits for building and hosting the backend your app talks to, the mobile publishing fee, and an Apple Developer Program membership at 99 USD a year or the local price. Our App Store Connect guide covers the listing and review steps, and the App Store Review Guidelines explained covers what reviewers check.
Emergent vs AirBuild for an iPhone app
AirBuild is an AI team for native iOS apps. Product, design and engineering agents build the app in SwiftUI, and it reaches your iPhone through TestFlight. On Basic, Plus and Ultra, AirBuild prepares the App Store listing, submits, tracks the review, replies to the reviewers, fixes what they raise and resubmits.
| Emergent | AirBuild | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 10 credits | Free, $0 to try (currently by waitlist) |
| Entry paid plan | Standard, $20 a month, 100 credits | Basic, $10 a month (currently by waitlist), standard Cloud Builds and Previews with your own API key |
| Larger plan | Pro, $200 a month, 750 credits | Plus, $20 a month, AI and cloud builds included; Ultra, $200 a month, 10× the usage (currently by waitlist) |
| Mobile output | Expo and React Native, iPhone and Android | Native SwiftUI, iPhone |
| Build to TestFlight | Yes, on paid plans | Yes, on Basic, Plus and Ultra |
| Listing, submission, App Review | You | AirBuild, on Basic, Plus and Ultra |
Emergent suits you if you want web and mobile, iPhone and Android, from one project. AirBuild suits you if you want a native iPhone app and want App Review handled rather than handed back. AirBuild focuses on iOS, so it won’t build the Android version. AirBuild’s Free, Basic, Plus and Ultra plans are currently by waitlist. Enterprise is $2,000; see AirBuild pricing.
Which Emergent plan to choose
Trying it
Free. Enough to see how the agent works, not to publish.
A prototype you show people
Standard. Watch the hosting tier, which can use most of the 100 credits.
A live app with users
Pro, or Standard plus top-up credits. Price the hosting tier first.
To compare Emergent’s model with Replit’s, read Replit pricing. For Bolt, Bubble, FlutterFlow and Adalo side by side, read AI app builder pricing compared.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Emergent cost?
Emergent’s pricing page lists Free at $0, Standard at $20 a month with 100 credits, and Pro at $200 a month with 750 credits. Annual billing brings Standard to $17 a month and Pro to $167 a month. Business and Enterprise are custom.
Is Emergent free?
There is a Free plan. Emergent’s pricing page says 10 free monthly credits. Its help docs say free users get 10 credits on their first day, with further daily credit grants. Check your workspace balance for the current allowance. The free tier can’t publish apps to production or use custom domains.
Do Emergent credits roll over?
Subscription credits don’t. Emergent’s docs say they refill to the plan amount each billing cycle and unused ones expire. Top-up credits you buy separately never expire, and Emergent spends expiring credits first.
How much does it cost to host an app on Emergent?
Emergent charges a fixed monthly credit fee per published app, by tier: 50 credits for Starter, 125 for Launch, 225 for Grow, 450 for Scale and 1,100 for Elite. A published app needs at least 50 credits to start.
Can Emergent build an iOS app?
Yes, as an Expo and React Native app. On a paid plan, Emergent builds the iOS binary in its own pipeline and uploads it to TestFlight. You create the App Store Connect listing, complete the privacy details, submit and handle review.