React Native or native apps: which should you choose?
By Techrit · Updated · 4 min read
Choose React Native for most business apps: one codebase gives you both Android and iOS, so you build and update once. Go fully native when the app leans on heavy graphics, advanced camera or AR work, or a brand-new platform feature on day one.
What the terms mean
- Native: a separate app for each platform, in Kotlin for Android and Swift for iOS.
- React Native: one codebase in JavaScript or TypeScript that runs as a real native app on both Android and iOS.
Side by side
| React Native | Native | |
|---|---|---|
| Codebases | One for Android and iOS | One per platform |
| Time to build both | Shorter | Longer |
| Updates without the store | Yes, for most changes (over the air) | No |
| Heavy graphics, AR, games | Possible, more work | Strongest |
| Team needed | One team | A team per platform |
How we decide
For booking, ordering, field-work, school, membership and most business apps, we use React Native with Expo: one team ships to both platforms, and fixes reach users over the air without waiting for a store review. If a project needs something React Native does poorly, we say so before we start and plan native modules or a native app for that part.
Questions
Is React Native good enough for production apps?
Yes. It runs as a real native app and is used for large production apps. For most business apps the difference from native is not noticeable to users.
Can a React Native app use the camera, location and notifications?
Yes. React Native and Expo give access to the camera, location, push notifications, files and other phone features.