a0.dev
a0.dev turns a chat into a publishable mobile app: an AI agent writes the React Native code, then the platform handles builds, App Store and Google Play publishing, in-app payments and growth analytics for solo makers and small teams.
What is a0.dev?
a0.dev is a platform that turns a chat conversation into a mobile application ready for the App Store and Google Play. It is operated by Auraful Inc and carries a Backed by Y Combinator badge on its home page, where it also claims 200k+ users building apps and 300k+ apps created: declarative figures the site publishes without any audit.
The product is organised around the three stages the home page names explicitly, Build, Deploy and Monetize. Building starts with an AI coding agent that, in the site's own words, writes and edits your app in real time; what it produces are React Native projects. Backend support comes from Convex or Supabase, and built-in APIs cover AI inference and image generation inside the generated app. Deployment is presented as one click: a0 handles the build, creates the App Store Connect listing and uploads it. Monetisation is native rather than bolted on, with features, subscription plans and offerings declared in a monetization.yaml file and then synced to Stripe for the web or App Store Connect for iOS; Android in-app payments are documented as not supported yet. An interactive dashboard tracks users, subscriptions and performance.
Testing is documented along four routes, each with its stated limits: a web preview based on react-native-web, instant to refresh but without native features; the a0 mobile app on iOS; Expo Go on Android; and full native builds, the only route where payments actually work. Over-The-Air updates then push changes to every platform without a rebuild. A companion a0.dev app is published on both stores, so a project can be tested, edited and deployed from a phone.
What the platform does not offer is equally visible. There is no public a0.dev API, the only OpenAPI specification on its documentation subdomain being Mintlify's sample store. There is no separate terms of service, no named hosting jurisdiction and no compliance material. The showcase leans heavily towards small games such as Flappy Bird, Panda Run and Tap Beat Live, which gives a fair idea of the scale of app the platform is built for.
What it does
- Describe the app you want in plain language and let the AI agent write and edit the code in real time
- Preview the result in the browser, then test it on a real device through the a0 mobile app or Expo Go
- Give the app a backend by connecting a Convex or Supabase database
- Set up subscription features, plans and offerings, then sync them to Stripe or App Store Connect
- Produce a native IPA or APK build with full functionality, payments included
- Publish to the App Store and Google Play, with the App Store Connect listing created and uploaded for you
- Ship Over-The-Air updates without rebuilding, and follow users, subscriptions and performance in the dashboard
When to use a0.dev / When not to
A quick filter to help you decide if a0.dev is the right fit.
When to use a0.dev
- Indie hackers and solo founders who want to ship a mobile app without assembling a native toolchain
- React Native and Expo developers looking to shorten the path from idea to App Store listing
- Makers of small mobile games, the profile that dominates the showcase on the home page
- Non-technical creators who would rather describe an app in a chat than write the code themselves
- Builders who intend to charge for their app: subscriptions, paywalls and subscriber analytics are built in
When not to use a0.dev
- Enterprise teams with compliance requirements: no DPA, no sub-processor list and no security certification are published
- Organisations answering to the GDPR, which the privacy policy never mentions once
- Publishers whose revenue depends on Android in-app purchases, documented as not supported yet
- Buyers who expect formal terms of service: /terms simply redirects to the privacy policy
- Developers unwilling to upload source code, which the policy collects as Customer Content
How to use a0.dev
A typical end-to-end flow, from setup to results.
- Sign up on a0.dev: nothing is installed locally, and neither Xcode nor Android Studio is required
- Describe the app you want in the chat, guided by the Prompting Guide and the Agent Guide on phrasing requests and knowing when to open a new chat
- Let the AI agent write and edit the code, and review the result in the web preview as it refreshes
- Connect Convex or Supabase if the app needs a database and a backend
- Test on a real device through the a0 mobile app on iOS or Expo Go on Android
- Declare monetisation in order: features first, then plans, then offerings, without which the paywall displays nothing
- Sync the plans to Stripe or App Store Connect, a step the documentation calls the most common setup mistake to forget
- Configure deep links, push notifications and, on Android, Firebase Cloud Messaging
- Join the Apple Developer Program, connect App Store Connect and work through the documented pre-submission checklist
- Build the native IPA or APK, publish to the stores, then ship later changes as Over-The-Air updates
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Covers the whole chain from idea to a published, paying app rather than code generation alone
- iOS publishing is automated: a0 produces the build, creates the App Store Connect listing and uploads it
- Monetisation is native, with features, plans, offerings and sync to Stripe and Apple
- No local toolchain to maintain, with a user testimonial on the home page noting that Xcode and Android Studio never need to be opened
- The four testing routes are documented with their limits stated openly instead of glossed over
- Over-The-Air updates ship fixes without another trip through a store review
- Public documentation is complete and well structured, 25 pages with an llms.txt index, and the pricing ladder is linear and easy to read
Cons
- No free plan appears on the pricing page and no free trial is announced: entry is immediately paid, at 20.00 per month
- Usage is metered in messages, every exchange with the agent consuming one, and the entry plan caps at 100
- Android in-app payments are documented as not supported yet
- No separate terms of service: /terms redirects to a privacy policy built on a freeprivacypolicy.com template and unchanged since 10 January 2025
- No GDPR mention, no DPA, no sub-processor list, no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification, and nothing published on whether customer code is used to train models
- No postal address on the site, no trust or security page and no SLA; the App Store seller name, TeeHee Tech LLC, differs from the company named in the privacy policy, Auraful Inc
- No public a0.dev API, the only OpenAPI specification published being Mintlify's sample, and no list of supported interface languages
Pricing & Plans
No free plan and no free trial are announced: the word free appears nowhere on the site apart from the link to the privacy policy template used. Access therefore begins with a paid subscription. The entry plan, Pro, is listed at 20.00 per month for a quota of 100 messages, or 204.00 for a year. The site publishes no currency code alongside those amounts; USD is inferred from the American context rather than confirmed by the vendor. The range extends to 800.00 per month for Pro 5000, alongside a Max plan at 200.00 per month or 2040.00 per year. Billing is operated through Stripe, and the pricing page states that a plan may be upgraded or downgraded at any time. No refund policy is published. Publishing to the App Store additionally requires an Apple Developer Program membership, a cost a0.dev does not cover.
- quota of 100 messages per day and per month - 20.00 per month or 204.00 per year
- quota of 250 messages - 50.00 per month
- quota of 500 messages - 100.00 per month
- quota of 1000 messages - 200.00 per month
- quota of 1500 messages - 290.00 per month
- quota of 2500 messages - 450.00 per month
- quota of 5000 messages - 800.00 per month
- quota of 1250 messages - 200.00 per month or 2040.00 per year
Data, GDPR & hosting
A consolidated view of how a0.dev handles your data.
GDPR overview
The GDPR is never mentioned. Across every archived page of the site, including the privacy policy dated 10 January 2025, the terms GDPR and General Data Protection Regulation do not appear once. There is no Article 27 representative, no data protection officer, no dedicated privacy contact address, no published data processing agreement, no sub-processor list and no security certification. The policy, built on a freeprivacypolicy.com template, defines Country as California, United States, and grants only access, correction and deletion on request. It says no transfer of personal data will take place unless there are adequate controls in place, without naming standard contractual clauses or any other mechanism. a0.dev therefore neither claims nor denies GDPR compliance: the regulation is simply absent from its published documentation, and nothing on the site should be read as evidence of compliance.
Who owns the data?
a0.dev publishes no separate terms of service: /terms redirects to the privacy policy dated 10 January 2025, issued by Auraful Inc. No clause therefore states who owns what you upload. The policy describes collection, not assignment. It defines Customer Content as source code, text, photographs, documents and other files, including videos or recordings, plus Git information, that you provide to the service. No transfer of intellectual property is claimed anywhere on the site. The publisher may share collected data with service providers, affiliates, business partners, and an acquirer in a merger or sale. Deletion is available from the service, from account settings, or on request.
Reuse rights
The privacy policy is the only document available, and it describes what the publisher does with data rather than what the user may reuse. Stated purposes include providing and maintaining the service, managing the account, performing the contract, contacting users, sending news, special offers and general information about other goods, services and events unless the user opts out, handling requests, business transfers, analysing usage trends, operating the site and developing the product. Data may be shared with service providers, affiliates, business partners, other users in public areas of the service, and with the user's consent. Session cookies, persistent acceptance and functionality cookies and web beacons are used. Nothing states whether customer content feeds AI model training: the site takes no position either way, so reuse for training can be neither assumed nor ruled out.
Data retention & training
Hosting summary
The site names no hosting country and no hosting region. The privacy policy states only that data is processed at the company's operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located, and that transfers outside the user's jurisdiction may occur, without naming a transfer mechanism. The one jurisdiction stated anywhere is the publisher's own: the policy defines Country as California, United States, and the company is Auraful Inc. Everything else is technical observation rather than a published commitment. The site resolves to 76.76.21.21, a Vercel anycast front announced from Amazon's AS16509 in the United States, and project visuals are served from a Supabase Storage bucket. Those signals describe where the marketing site and some assets are delivered from; they say nothing reliable about where user projects, source code or account data are stored. No trust or security page, no data residency option and no certification is published, so anyone with a residency requirement should treat the hosting location as undocumented rather than assume the United States.
Things to keep in mind
Risks and trade-offs to weigh before adopting a0.dev.
- The privacy policy is a generic freeprivacypolicy.com template unchanged since 10 January 2025, and there is no separate contract to fall back on: /terms redirects to that same document
- Source code leaves your machine under a document that says nothing about model training, a blind spot worth weighing before uploading proprietary or client work
- With no GDPR mention, no DPA, no sub-processor list and no certification, a team asked to justify its supply chain to a customer or an auditor will have nothing to show
- Company identity is blurred: no postal address on the site, and the App Store seller, TeeHee Tech LLC, differs from Auraful Inc named in the privacy policy
- The 200k+ users and 300k+ apps figures are declarative and unaudited, so they should be read as marketing rather than as evidence of maturity
- A message quota can push you to accept whatever the agent produces instead of iterating, and delegating the whole build quietly erodes your understanding of a codebase you will still have to maintain
- Two operational dependencies to keep in view: Android in-app payments are not supported yet, and the a0.dev domain registration runs only to 09/11/2026
Setup & Integrations
Technical difficulty
Getting started is easy: everything runs in the browser, nothing is installed locally, and neither Xcode nor Android Studio is required, so a non-technical user can reach a first working app just by chatting. The difficulty rises at publication. Joining the Apple Developer Program, linking App Store Connect, handling bundle IDs and clearing the pre-submission checklist are real steps. Monetisation demands a strict sequence, features then plans then offerings then a provider sync the documentation flags as the most common mistake, and Android push notifications require Firebase Cloud Messaging. Payments run only in TestFlight or native builds.
Deployment
Apps stores
Integrations
Behind a0.dev
Fundraising
Resources
All the official URLs gathered for verification and reference.
Frequently asked questions
What does a0.dev actually produce?
Do I need to know how to code?
Is there a free plan?
How is a0.dev billed?
Can I charge money for the app I build?
Which databases can the generated app use?
How can I test an app before publishing it?
Do I need an Apple Developer account?
What does a0.dev say about the GDPR and about training models on my code?
Where do I get support, and is there a public API?
Should you pick a0.dev?
a0.dev makes an unusually complete promise for a code-generation tool: not only writing an app, but building it, listing it, publishing it to the App Store and Google Play, charging for it and measuring it, all from a single chat. The documentation largely backs that promise. Four testing routes are described with their limits, the monetisation sequence is spelled out step by step, and the publishing path from Apple Developer Program to App Store Connect listing is documented rather than assumed.
The counterweight is the legal frame around a product that receives source code. There is no separate terms of service, /terms redirecting to a privacy policy dated 10 January 2025 and built on a generic template. The GDPR is never mentioned. No data processing agreement, sub-processor list or security certification is published, no hosting jurisdiction is named, and nothing is said, in either direction, about whether customer content is used to train models. The company named in the policy, Auraful Inc, does not match the App Store seller, TeeHee Tech LLC. For a buyer with an auditor to satisfy, that is a short conversation.
Commercially, entry is immediate and paid: no free plan appears on the pricing page, no trial is announced, and Pro starts at 20.00 per month for 100 agent messages, a quota a conversational workflow can consume quickly. The adoption claims of 200k+ users and 300k+ apps are the site's own and unaudited, and the showcase is dominated by small games, a fair signal of the scale the platform serves best. The fit is clearest for a solo maker or a small team aiming at the stores quickly, ready to trade compliance paperwork and a free entry point for speed from idea to published app.
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