How it works
You write React components (View, Text, Pressable, FlatList) and React Native renders them as the platform's own views, so a list is a real native list. JavaScript runs in Hermes, an engine built for mobile, and since late 2025 the framework runs only on its New Architecture: the Fabric renderer and TurboModules reach native code directly through JSI instead of the old asynchronous bridge.
Most new projects start with Expo, which the React Native docs recommend. Web developers can reuse React skills, state libraries and some business logic. Because the JavaScript bundle can be replaced without a store release, over-the-air updates can ship fixes quickly within store rules. Meta, Microsoft and Shopify use it in production apps.
React Native pros and cons
Pros
- Uses React and JavaScript or TypeScript, which many developers already know
- Real native components, so apps feel at home on each platform
- Huge npm ecosystem, plus Expo for tooling and cloud builds
- Over-the-air updates for JavaScript changes
Cons
- Native modules and upgrades can be painful without Expo
- Complex animations or heavy computation need care to stay smooth
- Each platform's quirks still surface, so testing on both is essential
When to use React Native
Pick it when
- A team with React web experience building for both stores
- Sharing logic or a design system with a React website
- Apps that need frequent fixes shipped through over-the-air updates
Skip it when
- Graphics-heavy games or apps with very demanding animation
- A team that already knows Kotlin or Swift and has no JavaScript background
React Native pricing
React Native vs the alternatives
- Native vs Flutter vs React Native vs Capacitor vs PWAFive ways to put an app on a phone, from fully native to a website installed from the browser. The trade-off runs between native polish and platform access on one side and one shared codebase on the other.
- Flutter vs React NativeThe two most used cross-platform frameworks. Both ship one codebase to Android and iOS; they differ in language and in who draws the interface.
Related terms
More in Mobile apps
Cross-platform