Apache Cordova vs React Native

Overview

Apache Cordova

Stacks686

Followers892

Votes218

GitHub Stars955

Forks345

React Native

Stacks34.4K

Followers29.5K

Votes1.2K

GitHub Stars124.4K

Forks24.9K

Apache Cordova vs React Native: What are the differences?

Introduction

Apache Cordova and React Native are both popular frameworks used for developing mobile applications. While they serve a similar purpose, there are key differences between the two technologies. In this article, we will examine the main differences between Apache Cordova and React Native.

1. Architecture:

Apache Cordova is based on a hybrid app development approach, where apps are built using web technologies (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript). The app is essentially a web page running in a web view container. On the other hand, React Native uses a native app development approach, where the user interface is built using native components specific to the target platform (iOS or Android). This allows React Native apps to have better performance and access to more native features compared to Apache Cordova.

2. Performance:

As mentioned earlier, React Native apps have better performance compared to Apache Cordova. This is because React Native uses native components, which are optimized for the target platform, whereas Apache Cordova relies on web view containers, which can be slower and less responsive. React Native apps also have smoother animations and faster loading times, giving them a more native-like feel.

3. UI Components:

Both Apache Cordova and React Native provide a wide range of UI components and libraries to build the app's user interface. However, React Native has a more extensive library of pre-built components that are specifically designed for mobile app development. These components closely resemble native UI elements, making it easier to create visually appealing and intuitive interfaces.

4. Development Speed:

React Native offers a faster development speed compared to Apache Cordova. This is because React Native allows developers to use a single codebase to build apps for both iOS and Android, reducing the need for separate development and testing efforts. On the other hand, Apache Cordova requires separate development and testing for each platform, which can slow down the development process.

5. Access to Native Features:

One significant difference between Apache Cordova and React Native is the level of access to native features. While Apache Cordova provides plugins to access device features and APIs, React Native offers a higher level of access to native features. React Native apps can directly interact with native modules, allowing developers to leverage the full capabilities of the platform's APIs and functionalities.

6. Maintenance and Upgrades:

In terms of maintenance and upgrades, Apache Cordova can be easier to maintain compared to React Native. Apache Cordova apps rely on web technologies, which are well-established and widely supported. This makes it easier to find resources and updates to keep the app up-to-date. React Native, on the other hand, is a newer framework and may require more frequent updates to stay compatible with the evolving platform technologies.

In summary, Apache Cordova is based on a hybrid app development approach, while React Native uses a native app development approach. React Native offers better performance, smoother UI components, faster development speed, higher access to native features, while Apache Cordova is easier to maintain and update.

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs

CLI (Node.js)

Manual

Advice on Apache Cordova, React Native

Nick

CTO at Pickio

Jun 2, 2020

Decided

We built the first version of our app with RN and it turned out a mess in a while. A lot of bugs along with poor performance out of the box for a fairly large app. Many things, that native platform has, cannot be done with existing solutions for RN. For instance, large titles on iOS are not fully implemented in any of existing navigations libraries. Also there's painfully slow JSON bridge and many other small, yet annoying things. On the other hand Flutter became a really powerful and easy-to-use tool. A bit of a learning curve, of course, because of Dart, but it worth learning. Flutter offers TONS of built-in features, no JSON-bridge, AOT compilation for iOS.

491k views491k

Comments

Andrea

May 26, 2020

Needs adviceon

Vue.js

Vue Native

React

I'm a huge fan of Vue.js and I'm pretty comfortable with it. I need to build a mobile app for my company and I was now wondering whether I could make use of VueJS with Vue Native instead of switching to React. I know Vue Native builds on top of RN. My question is whether I'd have as much freedom with Vue Native over RN and whether you feel like Vue Native is "production ready" or not. Not sure of which shortcomings I may find using Vue Native... Thanks a lot!!!

336k views336k

Comments

Furqan

Jul 16, 2020

Needs adviceon

React Native

Hello guys, I am new here. So, if I posted without specific guidelines, please ignore.

Basically, I am an iOS developer and developing native apps for the last three years. Recently, I started learning React Native to develop apps for both platforms. If anyone out there knows any useful resources that will become a better react native developer.

@{#newbie}|topic:null|

325k views325k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Apache Cordova	React Native
Apache Cordova is a set of device APIs that allow a mobile app developer to access native device function such as the camera or accelerometer from JavaScript. Combined with a UI framework such as jQuery Mobile or Dojo Mobile or Sencha Touch, this allows a smartphone app to be developed with just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.	React Native enables you to build world-class application experiences on native platforms using a consistent developer experience based on JavaScript and React. The focus of React Native is on developer efficiency across all the platforms you care about - learn once, write anywhere. Facebook uses React Native in multiple production apps and will continue investing in React Native.
Cross-platform (CLI) workflow;Platform-centered workflow;Hundreds of plugins	Native iOS Components;Asynchronous Execution;Touch Handling;Flexbox and Styling; Polyfills
Statistics
GitHub Stars 955	GitHub Stars 124.4K
GitHub Forks 345	GitHub Forks 24.9K
Stacks 686	Stacks 34.4K
Followers 892	Followers 29.5K
Votes 218	Votes 1.2K
Pros & Cons
Pros 48 Lots of plugins 35 JavaScript 26 Great community 25 Easy Development 18 Easy to learn Cons 2 No native performance 1 Hard to install 0 Hard to install	Pros 214 Learn once write everywhere 174 Cross platform 169 Javascript 122 Native ios components 69 Built by facebook Cons 23 Javascript 19 Built by facebook 12 Cant use CSS 4 30 FPS Limit 2 Some compenents not truly native

What are some alternatives to Apache Cordova, React Native?

Ionic

Free and open source, Ionic offers a library of mobile and desktop-optimized HTML, CSS and JS components for building highly interactive apps. Use with Angular, React, Vue, or plain JavaScript.

Flutter

Flutter is a mobile app SDK to help developers and designers build modern mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Xamarin

Xamarin’s Mono-based products enable .NET developers to use their existing code, libraries and tools (including Visual Studio*), as well as skills in .NET and the C# programming language, to create mobile applications for the industry’s most widely-used mobile devices, including Android-based smartphones and tablets, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

NativeScript

NativeScript enables developers to build native apps for iOS, Android and Windows Universal while sharing the application code across the platforms. When building the application UI, developers use our libraries, which abstract the differences between the native platforms.

Framework7

It is a free and open source mobile HTML framework to develop hybrid mobile apps or web apps with iOS native look and feel. All you need to make it work is a simple HTML layout and attached framework's CSS and JS files.

Qt

Qt, a leading cross-platform application and UI framework. With Qt, you can develop applications once and deploy to leading desktop, embedded & mobile targets.

PhoneGap

PhoneGap is a web platform that exposes native mobile device apis and data to JavaScript. PhoneGap is a distribution of Apache Cordova. PhoneGap allows you to use standard web technologies such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript for cross-platform development, avoiding each mobile platforms' native development language. Applications execute within wrappers targeted to each platform, and rely on standards-compliant API bindings to access each device's sensors, data, and network status.

Expo

It is a framework and a platform for universal React applications. It is a set of tools and services built around React Native and native platforms that help you develop, build, deploy, and quickly iterate on iOS, Android, and web apps.

Vue Native

Vue Native is a mobile framework to build truly native mobile app using Vue.js. Its is designed to connect React Native and Vue.js. Vue Native is a wrapper around React Native APIs, which allows you to use Vue.js and compose rich mobile User Interface.

Shoutem UI

Shoutem UI is a set of styleable components that enables you to build beautiful React Native applications for iOS and Android. All of our components are built to be both composable and customizable.

Related Comparisons

Apache Cordova vs React Native

Overview

Apache Cordova vs React Native: What are the differences?

Introduction

1. Architecture:

2. Performance:

3. UI Components:

4. Development Speed:

5. Access to Native Features: