NativeScript VS. React Native: Which is Better?

The idea of developing an application for a company's needs is a good one for business owners. However, before developing an application, business owners must complete several actions and make judgments. When it comes to app development, the choice between Native apps and Hybrid apps has always been present.

Knowing the difference between native and hybrid apps is the first and primary step in determining what kind of app would help your business achieve new heights in this internet age where applications are omnipresent and digital marketing is the perfect form of advertising. The next step is to determine which framework is ideal for developing a native app: Nativescript vs React Native.

Cross-platform development has always been difficult, in exchange for reduced costs and faster development timetables, developers have to compromise some performance or some user experience. However, with the advent of frameworks like React Native and NativeScript, these constraints were no longer applicable. Developers can now also create a react native app with a single codebase and smooth performance and even utilise the same codebase to create the Web equivalent of the same app.

There are numerous tools available to help developers create cross-platform apps, they all share one goal: to create high-quality mobile applications with a native feel and functionality without requiring the maintenance of mutiple codebases.

In this post, we'll compare two popular cross-platform mobile app development frameworks—React Native and NativeScript—to see if one has an advantage over the other. Get on board.

• Popularity:

React Native is by far the most popular cross-platform mobile development framework, outperforming competitors are Xamarin, Flutter, Ionic and NativeScript. However, popularity isn't necessarily an accurate comparison statistic. And, given that React Native was created by Facebook, the meteoric rise in popularity it has had since its inception is simply explained. Furthermore, React Native's corporate support is the framework's third most popular feature among developers who use it.

• Developer Network:

Because of its popularity, React Native has a more active development community with a greater number of active contributors. According to Stack Overflow, there are ten times as many React Native developers as there are Native Script developers. This enormous React Native developer community maintains a vast archive of third-party libraries and plugins. Because of the overwhelming amount of React Native developers compared to Native Script developers, it is also easy to hire a professional React Native developer or react native development company. This is critical for firms wishing to create React Native apps quickly and it will help minimise the cost of React Native app development.

Marketplace for Plugins:

You must rely on third-party plugins and libraries built by React Native's large community of developers or react native development company. The disadvantage is that, despite the abundance of repositories available, there is always the possibility of it being shut down abruptly. If this happens, developers will have to either find something with equivalent functionality or make the necessary changes themselves, which will add to development time and expenses.

NativeScript, on the other hand, has an official plugin marketplace that is constantly updated and expanded—a feature that React Native lacks.

• Integration of Native APIs:

React Native provides a basic collection of API modules that allow developers access to native device functionality that are out of the box. Third-party modules can be used by React Native developers in this case. However, because there are so many modules accessible, the most complicated functionality may lack the essential API bridges created by the community. If your application requires an unsupported feature, you will have to develop the bridge yourself. Even though React Native offers official tools for developing API bridges, using them requires more than an intermediate understanding of native languages.

Performance: React Native and NativeScript perform similarly in terms of performance. There may be some changes based on the type of application, platform, viewing device and framework version utilised, but apps with multiple animations can easily attain 60 frames per second with both NativeScript and React Native.

• Sharing of Code:

NativeScript and React Native both have a large collection of native components. They compile to native-default styles upon implementation, which may require individual styling to cater to the platform-specific needs of the app in development. To achieve a more natural look and feel, React Native places a greater emphasis on styling the components for each platform. NativeScript, on the other hand, advocates "write once, run everywhere," however the components can also be customised independently to look like native programs. When a large number of native-platform components are used, the code-sharing percentages decline.

• The Learning Curve:

When creating apps with Native Script, developers can use JavaScript, AngularJS and Typescript, with the option of employing a declarative coding style where necessary. If the developer is dissatisfied with another feature, he or she can switch to another development language. In the case of React Native, mobile app developers can only code in JavaScript.

When to Use Native Script:

• When you want to build cross-platform native apps that are fast and efficient.
• When, for native performance, you choose native interfaces.
• When you don't want to employ any third-party plugins, but you do want to access hardware features for specific platforms.

When to Use React Native:

• When JavaScript and Typescript are widely available.
• When the developer of a mobile app prefers Angular for its web components.
• When you need native API access along with a native experience.

Native Script vs. React Native: Who Wins?

There is no obvious winner. What you choose for mobile app development is ultimately determined by your needs and the availability of dependable and competent React Native or Native Script developers. When deciding between Native Script and React Native, keep in mind that depending on the platform, your mobile app developers may require certain native-language adjustments to boost efficiency and increase user experience.

React Native provides improved performance and a broader pool of React Native mobile app developers. Native Script, on the other hand, allows developers to access native APIs as well as third-party libraries, providing a great deal of flexibility. If you have an app concept and want to develop it using React Native then React Native development company may assist you with it.