React Native OTA update services, compared
Every over-the-air update service for React Native solves the same problem — ship a JavaScript fix without waiting on an app-store review. They disagree about the protocol, about who runs the server, and about how you pay. Here is where Pulsar sits next to each of them, including the cases where the other one is the better call.
Pulsar vs Microsoft CodePush
Retired in March 2025. Pulsar speaks the same protocol, so the native client stays put.
Read the comparison →Pulsar vs Expo EAS Update
EAS Update is the right answer if your app lives inside Expo. If you run bare React Native, already use the CodePush client, or need your bundles and device telemetry on your own infrastructure, Pulsar is the closer fit.
Read the comparison →Pulsar vs Microsoft App Center
Visual Studio App Center was retired on 31 March 2025. App Center bundled several products together, so replacing it is really four smaller decisions. Pulsar replaces one of them — the CodePush over-the-air updates — and this page is honest about where to send the other three.
Read the comparison →Pulsar vs RevoPush
RevoPush and Pulsar solve the same problem the same way: both speak the CodePush protocol, so both work with the client your app already ships. The difference is where the service runs and how it is priced.
Read the comparison →Pulsar vs Stallion
Stallion is a polished managed OTA platform built around its own SDK. Pulsar makes the opposite bet: use the CodePush protocol the ecosystem already standardised on, and let you run the server yourself.
Read the comparison →Pulsar vs hot-updater
hot-updater is the strongest open-source OTA project in React Native right now, and if you want to assemble the infrastructure yourself it is an excellent choice. Pulsar is for teams who want the same self-hosting option without assembling it.
Read the comparison →The short version
- On a CodePush client today? Pulsar is a configuration change, not a rewrite — the package hash algorithm is identical, so devices on your current bundle report as up to date.
- Fully Expo-managed? EAS Update is tightly integrated and hard to beat. Pulsar fits bare React Native and prebuilt projects.
- Want a fully open stack you assemble yourself? hot-updater is excellent and we will not pretend otherwise.
- Need the bundles and telemetry inside your own perimeter? That is the case Pulsar was built for — take the self-hosting plan and run it on your own servers.
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