React Native vs Native App: A Comprehensive Comparison

Last updated on October 3rd, 2023

Since 2015, things have taken a momentous turn. Long discussions with regard to making a choice between Android and iOS no longer took place in the meeting room. An instant drop in stress levels was witnessed as the app visionaries no longer needed to look for more investors if they chose both.  

What changed? The year 2015 saw the emergence of the React native framework. Designed, developed, and used by Facebook, react native resolves to deliver development services for your app for Android as well as iOS platforms at the cost of one. As a cross-platform app development, react native has been the perfect answer to all the questions that bothered the hearts and minds of the developers, such as money, time, and platform. 

However, despite all these crucial advantages of react native, developers still find themselves torn between react native and native app development. The react native vs. native app dilemma is quite understandable, seeing the superlative quality of apps developed by the latter. 

Therefore, if you are someone who is divided between react native and native development, you are welcome. This blog would certainly wipe out all your confusion with regard to react native vs. native app development. Let us get started.  

What is Native App?

Let us start from the very beginning and native app development is that beginning in the context of mobile app development domain. 

Native app development involves development of applications that are to be deployed and used on a particular operating system or device. The apps created out of native app development are obviously called native apps and harness the hardware and software components of the given operating system or device to perform functions. 

As native applications are built with regard to the specifications of the chosen operating system or device, their performance is more than optimal and are devoid of glitches due to compatibility issues. Therefore, native apps have umpteen potential to bag the hearts of the app users. 

If you have to build a native Android app, you would have to use Java and Kotlin programming languages. On the other hand, if what you are eyeing to build is an iOS application, choose Swift or Objective-C without any second thoughts. 

What are the Advantages of Native App Development?

Take a look at some of the many benefits of native app development. Read carefully –

• Performance-wise, there is no rival of native apps as they work optimally via the absolute support of native hardware and software components

• None can compete the absolute intuitiveness of the native UI designs which are created in strict adherence to the operating system’s UI guidelines
• You can easily strike out the security concerns with native apps as they are built according to a specific operating system and hence, less vulnerable to threats

• By leveraging the dynamic features of your operating system or device, you can strategically customise your native mobile applications to offer them an edge

• Native app developments have zero reliability on dependencies and where there are no dependencies, there is a minimal chance of occurrence of bugs

What are the Disadvantages of Native App Development?

Native app development is not all rainbows and sunshine. Its disadvantages have been listed below – 

• If you are eyeing both android as well as iOS platforms for your mobile app, get ready to loosen your purse strings for a significant hike in expenses

• Not just the cost, but the time of development hours required to build two different versions of the app for iOS and android also almost doubles

• Native apps may take a very long time to get downloaded from the Google Play Store or iOS App Store due to strict guidelines of native apps

What is React Native?

As react native app development entered the picture in 2025, it opened vast arrays of opportunity for developers in the form of cross-platform app development. 

As we already know, react native is a cross-platform app development framework built out of JavaScript programming language. It uses ReactJS UI library to build interfaces that offer seamless experiences and have other essential tools to exploit native components for a more native look and feel.

React native provides a dynamic bridge between the JavaScript thread and the native thread. The bridge facilitates exchange of information between the native and the JavaScript threads for the app to showcase efficient and speedier performance. 

As there are innumerable benefits of using react native for Mobile app development, it is not surprising that many prominent organisations of the world have deployed react native framework for their apps. Some dynamic apps built using react native are Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, Wix, etc. 

What are the Advantages of React Native?

From the above introduction of react native, it is not difficult to infer how revolutionary it is for the mobile app development arena. For your benefits, we have stated its essential benefits – 

• Think how much time and money you can save with react native framework which enables development of your app for diverse platforms using one codebase
• Obviously, lesser time also denotes lesser time to market (TTM) which gives an ultra competitive edge to your mobile application

• By harnessing native components, react native framework takes care that your mobile app has an almost (but not complete) native look and feel
• Through its hot reloading and live reloading feature, react native has ensured that you can view the modifications you have made on a real time basis
• Do we have to even talk about the immense popularity that react native framework possesses amongst the community of mobile app developers?

What are the Disadvantages of React native App Development?

Some of the key disadvantages associated with React Native for mobile app development have been mentioned below – 

• React native does not do well in circumstances where mobile apps have to endowed with sophisticated frontend designs with complicated animations

• React native framework is a complex blend of JavaScript and native threads. So, it increases the complications that occurs while taking care of bugs

• You may have to wait (maybe for a long time) to update your mobile app till the react native app development is not updated with regard to the new android or iOS updates

Difference Between React Native vs Native App

The time has finally arrived for which you have started reading this blog. We will now do a detailed comparative analysis of native and react native app development. Read carefully and get all your doubts cleared.  

• Time is money in this fiercely competitive world and if you believe so, choose React Native for mobile app development  which facilitates hiring only one app development team to develop apps for two different platforms. 

With native app development, you would have to hire two separate teams for android as well as iOS platforms and double the development cost and development-hours

• Native app development is a longer yet diligent process of building user interfaces for both platforms,  step-by-step, resulting in a seamless and immersive user experience. 

However, the same cannot be said with regard to react native app development as it gets extremely challenging to create a complex yet seamless UI for both the platforms with react native

• Built upon JavaScript, react native framework may face compatibility issues when working with ultra-modern native technologies. 

However, native app development leverages advanced programming languages, such as  Java and Swift, which are absolutely capable to interact and work with advanced features and technologies

• It is so obvious that native apps can easily interact with other native apps and have ready access to their data in order to augment their app performance. 

However,  it is not the same with react native apps, which have to leverage third-party modules in order to interact with native apps and get data access 

• In the realm of react native app development, a developer has to make use of third-party APIs and modules, which can trigger errors and hamper the security of the application

However, with native apps, the absence of any such interactions with third-party APIs keep the security of the application intact

• React native framework is sluggish when it comes to its update in accordance with the latest Android and iOS developments. This is not particularly motivating if you are thinking of using react native for long term apps.

With native apps, this is not a problem as native apps directly feed upon the features and functionalities of the operating systems and platforms and hence, are the best option for developing long term apps

After the detailed comparative analysis, you may have reached a decision with regard to whether you want to go ahead with native or react native app development. However, it is our core responsibility to apprise you of the diverse scenarios in which you can choose one or the other. 

When to go for Native App Development?

Given below are the diverse scenarios in which native app development should be trusted blindly – 

• You are aspiring to develop a highly complex app
• You are going to target only one platform for your mobile app
• You are ready to bear the time and monetary expenses of two separate app development projects
• You have to build apps with more native app experience

When to go for React Native for mobile app development ?

We will not let you go without telling you the scenarios in which react native app development rocks – 

• You have to build app with low to moderate complexity
• You are looking to develop an e-commerce app or a social media networking app
• Your app development deadline is hanging over your head
• Your app need not necessarily have advanced features such as IoT, AR/VR, etc. 
• You do not have much finance and investor options for your app

Whether you choose ‘almost native’ yet affordable react native app development or ‘absolutely native’ yet costly native app development, one thing will remain constant and that is iTechnolabs. 

Having developers with distinguished mastery over diverse app development frameworks and technologies, iTechnolabs is here to rule. As a leading react native app development company, our developers are endowed with sheer dedication and vast experience to deliver app solutions that are an instant hit in the app market. Our technology stack is up to mark and is updated every now and then to meet the level of advancement of your dreams. 

And do not worry if you are still confused with the whole react native vs. native app development debate. Our consultants are pro at listening to your app needs and offering suggestions that will surely take your businesses to another level. Get in touch with iTechnolabs