Native App Versus Hybrid App Versus Web App

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As the new technologies are taking some fantastic shapes, the mobile world is becoming improbably fascinating.

Generally, all the mobile applications are classified as follows:

Native App: It is based on native SDK (Software Development Kit) of its specific platform.
Web App: It is based on HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and so on.
Hybrid App: It is based on both, HTML 5 and native technology. It is a combination of Native and Web apps.

The native and the hybrid apps are published and distributed on App stores such as Google Play store or Apple App store. On the other hand, Web apps are mobile-optimized web pages that appear as an app. Both the hybrid and the web apps are based on HTML web pages, but the hybrid app uses only the app-embedded browsers.

It is difficult to find a specific answer to what kind of application you should purchase to fulfill your business requirement.

There are certain standards, based on which you can establish your own path to choose the right app that fits your criteria.

You can make a choice depending on the following components related to the business:

Quality of the app that you are looking for.
The features that you want in your app.
Then, comes the biggest factor, and that is the budget.

To get a better idea to take an approach for choosing your app, here are the explanations of each type of app – Native, Hybrid, or Web.

Native App

A native app is built using the native programming language for the platform such as iPhone or iPad apps are built using Swift or Objective-C, and Android apps are built using Java. For an instance, you cannot run an iPhone app on an android app and vice versa. If you want to cover a broader area across all the platforms, then you need to build the separate native apps for each device. Thus, it might cost you expensive.

It is designed and coded for a specific kind of device, and can gain a full advantage of the device features such as the list of contacts, camera, the compass, the accelerometer, the GPS, and so on. It provides better user interface. You can easily download the native apps from the Google Play store or Apple App store and launch them by tapping the app icon.

If your app has a complex feature set, then you must consider to build a native app to maintain a firm experience of your product.

Here comes an absolute solution for you to choose a best Native App for your business to increase your sales and that is MageNative App.

There are some pros and cons of the Native App listed here in the table below:

Pros	Cons
Best performance and user experience	High development costs
Works offline	Requires good development experience
Visibility in app stores	Longer production cycle
Complete access to device features	Complex maintenance.

Web App

A web app is actually an interactive website that looks like an app, but are not real applications. It is built upon using HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and so on. There is no need to install a web app. The web apps have limited features and require an internet connection to work on.

A web app is the best option, if the products require the minimum native gestures and do not require an access to the mobile related features. The biggest advantage of the web app is that you can use it across all the platforms and devices. Thus, it is independent of environment, technology or appearance.

A web app is the cheapest option. On the contrary, it is not available in any of the native app stores, thus the important distribution channel is blocked for the web app developers. Also, the web apps cannot use the native APIs or device specific hardware features.

Rather than having a fixed dimension and functionality, a web app can test on the concept that is supported, and improves the experience for people on faster and newer devices although not excluding the users who cannot purchase another phone.

There are some pros and cons of the Web App listed here in the table below:

Pros	Cons
Largest reach	Performance and experience weaker than native
Lower development costs	Do not have access to the native functionalities
Easy maintenance and upgradation	Do not work offline

Hybrid App

A hybrid app is a combination of both the native and the web apps. It uses the native technology and also adopts the web technology.

Similar to web app, it is built using the web technologies such as HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. On the other hand, similar to the native app, it uses some part of the native code to allow the app to access the broader functionality of the device. Hence, the combination of both the apps develops a polished user experience.

It is quicker and easier to develop. To cover a broader area across all the platforms, the developer need to code the native part separately for each platform, but can use the same HTML5 part. Similar to the native app, you can easily download the hybrid apps from the Google Play store or Apple App store and launch them by tapping the app icon.

There are some pros and cons of the Hybrid App listed here in the table below:

Pros	Cons
Build once, deploy multiple times	Performance and experience weaker than native
Lower development costs	Apps require tweaking for each platform
Visibility in app stores
Access to all device features
Easy maintenance and upgradation

Conclusion

Native applications utilize the native language of the device, the web applications utilize the devices browser to display the application and the hybrid applications use a mixture of these two approaches.

To get a clear picture and understanding between the native, the hybrid, and the web apps, refer to the following table:

	Native Applications	Web Applications	Hybrid Applications
Access Native language	Yes	No	Yes
Accepted in App Stores	Yes	No	Yes
Run on Multiple Platforms	No	Yes	Yes
Work Offline	Yes	No	Yes

About MageNative

Established in 2015, MageNative has been heavily involved with customized m-Commerce developments. The company offers a slew of solutions and has a vast, global client base.

Magenative also deals with Magento mobile app, Magento 2 mobile app, Shopify mobile app, WooCommerce mobile app and Delivery App which allows the store owners to create and deploy native mobile applications for Android and iOS smartphones. The company is also working on mobile solutions for more eCommerce platforms namely Opencart, Prestashop, etc.

Thanks for your interest !

Team MageNative

alicia Thomas

07/01/2021 at 3:45 pm

I have to say thank you to the author for publishing this blog because this comparison is best for those who are new in the tech field they can easily understand. One of my friends suggested that I hire a developer from Moon Technolabs for better and professional application development.

- Amir ahmed
  
  07/01/2021 at 9:35 pm
  
  Hi Alicia,
  
  I am glad you found the article awesome. Your thoughts encourages us to come up with more similar posts.
  
  Please let us know what would you like to know about next.
  
  Have a great day!