{"head":{"title":"Native or Cross-Platform App? How to Decide | OceanLab","description":"Cross-platform suits most business apps with one codebase for iOS and Android; native suits apps that push hardware, performance or new OS features.","canonical":"https://oceanlab.in/questions/native-or-cross-platform"},"crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"Questions","path":"/questions"},{"name":"Should I build native or cross-platform?","path":"/questions/native-or-cross-platform"}],"question":"Should I build native or cross-platform?","answer":["For most business and consumer apps, cross-platform frameworks such as React Native or Flutter are the better default: one codebase for iOS and Android, one team and faster changes. Go native when the app depends on heavy graphics, deep hardware access or the newest OS features on day one."],"sections":[{"heading":"Pick cross-platform when","body":[],"bullets":[["The app is mostly forms, lists, content, messaging or commerce."],["You want one team to ship to both platforms at the same pace."],["You may share code or skills with a web app."],["Budget and speed matter more than squeezing out the last bit of performance."]]},{"heading":"Pick native when","body":[],"bullets":[["Graphics, audio, video or AR are the core of the product."],["You rely heavily on Bluetooth, background processing or other device features."],["You want new platform features as soon as they ship."],["You only need one platform."]]},{"heading":"Consider the web too","body":[["If the app does not need app store presence or deep device features, a responsive web app or a progressive web app can be cheaper still. Many products start on the web and add mobile later."]],"bullets":[]}],"faqs":[{"question":"React Native or Flutter?","answer":"Both are solid. React Native suits teams that already use React and TypeScript; Flutter suits teams that want its own rendering and widget set."},{"question":"Can a cross-platform app use native features?","answer":"Yes. Both frameworks can call native code, so you can write the few native parts you need and keep the rest shared."},{"question":"Does cross-platform halve the cost?","answer":"It saves a lot of duplicated work, but not half. Design, backend, testing on both platforms and store releases still take time."}],"terms":[{"href":"/glossary/mvp","label":"MVP"},{"href":"/glossary/total-cost-of-ownership","label":"total cost of ownership"}],"tools":[{"href":"/tools/app-store-launch-checklist","label":"App store launch checklist","detail":"Free tool"}],"links":[],"related":[{"href":"/questions/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-an-app","label":"How long does it take to build an app?","detail":"Question"},{"href":"/questions/how-much-does-an-mvp-cost","label":"How much does an MVP cost?","detail":"Question"},{"href":"/questions/should-i-build-or-buy-software","label":"Should I build or buy software?","detail":"Question"},{"href":"/compare/ai-agent-vs-workflow-automation","label":"AI agent vs workflow automation","detail":"Comparison"},{"href":"/compare/rag-vs-fine-tuning","label":"RAG vs fine-tuning","detail":"Comparison"},{"href":"/glossary","label":"Glossary","detail":"Every term, in plain words."}],"sources":[],"legal":false,"updatedAt":"2026-10-25"}