August 27, 2018
December 20th, 2022
Take a look at eye-opening statistics of the number of smartphone users worldwide from 2014 to 2020.
Image Credit: Statista
The number of smartphone users is predicted to grow by 2.87 billion in 2020. As you can see above, the number is expected to surpass the five billion mark by 2019.
Mobile app development is a talk of the town everywhere and the number of mobile apps is increasing at a rapid pace in app stores. More and more organizations are adopting mobility and capitalizing on mission-critical mobile apps to expand the business. In order to meet the ever-changing business needs, there is a multitude of technologies and platforms are being introduced frequently. It also becomes a point of debate to choose the right technology to accomplish objectives.
Here, in this article, we will discuss the most popular frameworks – React Native and Ionic to help you understand the primary differences between these two frameworks along with their key features and drawbacks.
Before we start, here’s something important you should consider. Ionic is a framework for hybrid mobile app development and React Native is a cross-platform framework to build native apps.
Native apps are built in a specific language for a specific platform. For example, when you write code in Objective C for the iOS platform or use Java for Android, then the application is called a native app. The main advantage of native app development is superior performance. Contradictory to this, hybrid applications are web applications that use web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to develop an application. To provide native experience and access native features of Android, iOS, or any other platform, it uses PhoneGap/Cordova platforms.
Let’s explore each framework in detail so you can easily decide when to use which framework.
Ionic, launched 5 years ago by Drifty.co, is a standard framework for hybrid mobile app development. It allows web developers to build apps for the majority of the platforms using a single code base. It leverages web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and platforms like PhoneGap/Cordova to deliver the native-like experience.
It is one of the widely popular frameworks to build feature-rich, modern and elegant apps.
Developed by the Facebook community, React Native is a cross-platform framework based on JavaScript technology. It enables developers to build enhanced and native-like apps using a single code base. The aim of this framework is to build first-rate native application experiences using JavaScript and React.
Facebook uses React Native development most in various apps and it has a dedicated community to make React Native a more advanced tool.
Ionic offers complete SDK to build hybrid apps, while the goal of React Native is to leverage the “learn once, write anywhere” theory. React Native adopts the native behavior and standards of the platforms and hence, gives a seamless native experience. Here, the advantage is that it gives a complete focus on user interfaces with the help of native UI components.
If we talk about Ionic, it embraces the power of classic web technologies to build multi-functional, multi-platform apps with the minimum code base. Furthermore, it is built on top of Angular (don’t confuse as Ionic 2 is a complete rewrite of the original Ionic framework).
So, if you are familiar with Angular, it is comfortable for you to start with an Ionic framework. It is also loaded with many built-in components which make development easier, faster, and smoother.
This framework has thousands of mobile apps built using Ionic so far. Ionic app development has grown quite a lot recently and many companies are choosing Ionic to build their apps.
As React Native delivers an experience as close as to native, developers who are obsessed with native-feeling, choose React Native over Ionic. Since it aims to provide a closer native appearance, you need to modify some platform-specific components.
React is a more stable framework and also ideal for large-scale applications. It is intended to provide great performance and responsiveness which requires a comparatively higher budget.
On the other side, Ionic is all about native browser apps using mobile-optimized HTML, CSS, and JS components. It offers a hybrid approach to app development and ideal for the rapid prototyping of an app. It accomplishes modern needs in such a manner that reflects write once, runs anywhere software paradigm.
Sometimes, there could be performance issues as there are a lot of callbacks to the native code involved, plus, you need to download various plugins to access native features.
There is a huge number of plugins available for React Native. In addition, React Native has a wide community which is very helpful to find important information, updates, and solutions to solve your issues. There’s also a plugin to utilize PhoneGap/Cordova plugins which help you access many mature plugins from the other communities.
For Ionic, there is also an established and grown-up community that can assist you in solving your issues. A lot of PhoneGap/Cordova plugins are being used to obtain native features.
As the nature of both these frameworks is cross-platform, they both support Android or iOS. Ionic 2 supports the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) as a part of its expansion and that’s an additional benefit point when you use Ionic.
React Native |
Ionic |
|
Purpose | Learn once, write anywhere | Write once, run anywhere |
Language Stack | React and JavaScript
|
Web technologies – HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Angular JS, TypeScript |
Nature of apps | Cross-platform | Hybrid apps |
Developers | Facebook Community | Drifty.co |
Popular for | Native-like and elegant user interfaces across the platforms | Using single code base you can develop an app for iOS, Android, Windows, Web, Desktop, and also PWA (Progressive Web Apps) |
Reusability Of Code | The platform-specific code needs to be changed | Optimum reusability of code |
Performance | Closer native look and comparatively faster | Slower than React Native due to WebView |
Code Testing | Needs a real mobile device or emulator to test the code | Using any browser, the code can be tested |
Learning curve | A steep learning curve | An easy learning curve due to web technologies, Angular, and TypeScript |
Community and Support | Strong and Stable | Strong and Stable |
GitHub Stars | 66k | 34k |
GitHub Contributors | 1694 | 243 |
Supported Platforms | Android, iOS, UWP | Android, iOS, UWP (Universal Windows Platform), and PWA |
Companies Using | Facebook, Instagram, UberEATS, Airbnb | JustWatch, Untappd, Cryptochange, Nationwide, Pacifica, and many more |
Well, anyone can’t tell you which is better. There are many factors you can consider such as features, requirements, cost, time, team size, and platforms while deciding the best framework. As both frameworks serve a different purpose, choosing any of them is surprisingly easy.
If you are low on budget and want excellent performance, you can opt for Ionic.
React Native is ideal for native-feeling apps which may cost you higher than the Ionic.
Don’t get stumped, we are here to help! Our expert developers and analysts can help you select the best framework according to your needs. We possess experience and expertise in developing React Native apps with an innovative approach and a customer-centric mindset. Contact us for any web or app development needs and we go the extra mile to achieve your objectives, really!
Hope this post helps! If you feel it is missing an important point or feature, or you want to share your experience with us, we welcome your comments. Drop us a line through the comment section below and help us to make this article complete!
SPEC INDIA, as your single stop IT partner has been successfully implementing a bouquet of diverse solutions and services all over the globe, proving its mettle as an ISO 9001:2015 certified IT solutions organization. With efficient project management practices, international standards to comply, flexible engagement models and superior infrastructure, SPEC INDIA is a customer’s delight. Our skilled technical resources are apt at putting thoughts in a perspective by offering value-added reads for all.
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more