Native vs Hybrid vs Web Application: Which one should you choose?

Mobile app development is a rapidly growing field all over the world. Whether you are developing a new app for one of your clients or you are developing it for your own business, in most of the cases you need to build it for at least 3 major mobile platforms Android, iOS, and Windows.

Now, it is quite baffling whether you should make it Native, Hybrid or Web app. Before you come to the decision, let’s have a brief overview of these three app types.

Native Apps

Native apps are usually developed to work on a single mobile platform using the native programming language. For instance, Java for Android, Objective-C for iOS and .net for Windows. Once, the app is developed and launched, it can be installed from the Google play (For Android), iTunes App store (For iOS) & Microsoft app store (For Windows).

Pros of Native Mobile Apps

• Easily available in standard play stores

• Offers better security and performance level

• With native apps, it is easier to integrate all the mobile device features such as camera, GPS, fingerprint security, sensors, gyroscope and much more.

Cons of Native Apps

• One of the biggest drawbacks of developing a native mobile app is that it requires separate efforts to develop for each of the platforms (iOS, Android, Windows).

• Some of the native apps are often too expensive

Hybrid Apps

Typically built with the combination of languages, including CSS 3, HTML 5 and JavaScript. Unlike Native apps, Hybrid app development doesn’t need separate efforts for each mobile platform. They are developed once and can be made available in all the app stores to be downloaded.

Pros of Hybrid apps

• Offer more customization options for users

• Often requires less development time compared to a fully native mobile app

• The use of web technology (HTML 5 and CSS 3) in Hybrid apps makes it much easier to develop than the native one.

• Can support for dynamic content

• Because the web technology is almost similar for all platforms, it is possible to reuse the code without the need to start from scratch.

Cons of Hybrid Apps

• May get rejected by app stores

• Not as fast as Native apps

• It is difficult to make a very complex app with Hybrid structure

Web Apps

Web apps are also built with the use of CSS 3, JavaScript and HTML 5 and can be accessed through mobile browsers. If designed properly, web apps can also be made work similar to native apps.

Pros of Web Apps

• Common for all users, irrespective of hardware or operating system

• No need for approval from different app stores

• Requires less cost of app development

Cons of Web Apps

• Have very limited access to the mobile hardware features

• As the web apps are not listed on the standard play stores, it might be typical for users to find them.

How to make a decision: Native vs Hybrid vs The Web

Before you make a decision, you need to think about some important factors such as cost, time frame, the performance requirement, type of app, etc. In many cases, Hybrid would be the right choice whereas some other high-performance app may only need to be native. If you can afford to pay for all native (Android, iOS, and Windows) developers and you are not restricted for the time, then it’s great to make it native. But if you have limited resources and money, then it would be a wise decision to go with Hybrid or Web app.

In conclusion, the choice of application type completely depends on your expectations, budget. and time-limit. Native mobile applications may provide you the best user experience but need more efforts and time. On the other side, Hybrid apps are quite inexpensive but need to be carefully developed for all platforms. Actually, there is no one size fits all solution, decide your own business needs and make the right choice.

Hemendra Singh

My name is Hemendra Singh. I am Managing Director and co-founder of PuzzleInnovationz, a Mobile App Development Company. I am having a keen interest in the latest trends and technologies that are emerging in different domains. Being an entrepreneur in the field of IT sector, it becomes my responsibility to aid my audience with the knowledge of latest trends in the market.