Native, web or hybrid app? How to choose the technology for your application

It is one of the first questions when commissioning an application, and one of those that changes the quote the most. The good news is that you rarely need to go into technical detail to decide: it is enough to know who will use the app, from where and how often.

The three options, without jargon

Web application

It is used from the browser, on a computer or a phone, without installing anything. There is a single version that updates for everyone at once and doesn’t go through store review. Built well, on a phone it behaves almost like an app, and it can even be added to the home screen (what is called a PWA).

Cross-platform (or hybrid) app

A single codebase, using technologies such as React Native or Flutter, published as an app on the App Store and Google Play. It has access to almost everything on the phone (camera, notifications, location) and is the usual choice today when you need to be in the stores.

Native app

It is programmed separately for iOS and for Android, each in its own language. It gives the most control and performance, but it means two developments to build and maintain. It makes sense in specific cases: games, heavy use of hardware, augmented reality or very specific system integrations.

How much the cost changes

A web application is the cheapest to build and maintain. A cross-platform app adds packaging, testing on devices, publishing in the stores and their review, and the updates Apple and Google require every year. Two separate native apps are, in practice, almost two projects. If you also need a website, a codebase shared with the app cuts the cost considerably compared with doing everything separately.

Five questions that decide for you

• Will your users open it daily or now and then? If now and then, nobody wants to install an app: go web.
• Do you need reliable push notifications, the camera, background GPS or offline use? That leans towards an app in the stores.
• Is it a tool for your team or for the public? For internal use, a web app is usually enough and goes live instantly.
• Do you care about appearing on the App Store and Google Play as an acquisition channel? If so, you need a published app.
• How much will you change it at first? If you will iterate a lot, the web lets you publish changes in minutes, with no review wait.

Our default recommendation

Start with a web application built well for mobile, unless one of the questions above says otherwise. Check that people use it, and when there are clear reasons, publish the cross-platform app reusing the logic and the design. A pure native app only when a specific technical requirement calls for it.

The kinds of applications we build