Skip Is Now Free and Open Source

Summary

Jan 21, 2026 - 5 min read - 1036 words Since launching Skip in 2023, we’ve pursued one mission: enable developers to create premium mobile apps for iOS and Android from a single Swift and SwiftUI codebase — without any of the compromises that have encumbered cross-platform development tools since, well, forever. Over the past three years, Skip has evolved significantly. We started with a Swift-to-Kotlin transpiler and Android support for the most common SwiftUI APIs. We then founded the Swift Android Workgroup ↗ and released the Swift Android SDK to compile Swift natively for Android. We now have dozens of popular integration frameworks, interoperate with thousands of cross-platform Swift packages, and feature the most complete independent SwiftUI implementation available. Until today, Skip has required a paid subscription and license key to build apps. While free apps and indie developers below a revenue threshold were exempt, businesses were expected to subscribe. This model helped us bootstrap Skip without outside investment, but we’ve always known that to truly compete with legacy cross-platform tools and achieve widespread adoption, Skip would need to become freely available. The plain truth is that developers expect to get their tools free of charge. First-party IDEs like Xcode and Android Studio, popular integration frameworks, and essential dev tools are all given away at no (direct) cost. The platform vendors monetize through developer program fees, app store commissions, and cloud services. Framework providers typically monetize through complementary services. But developer tools? Those have historically required the patronage of massive tech companies in order to fund their ongoing development, support, and infrastructure costs. Beyond pricing, there’s a deeper concern about durability. Developers are understandably wary of building their entire app strategy on a small company’s paid, closed-source tool. What if the company goes under? Gets acquired and s...