Introduction:\n\n

Ionic and React Native are popular frameworks used for mobile app development. While both frameworks allow developers to build cross-platform mobile apps, there are key differences between them.\n\n

    \n
  1. Code Reusability: One significant difference between Ionic and React Native is the level of code reusability. React Native allows for a higher level of code reusability compared to Ionic. With React Native, nearly all of the code can be shared between different platforms, resulting in faster development and reduced effort. Ionic, on the other hand, requires separate codebases for each platform, leading to less code being shared and potentially more development time.\n

  2. Performance: React Native uses native components, which allows for better performance as compared to Ionic. React Native apps have access to device-specific APIs, resulting in faster rendering and smoother animations. In contrast, Ionic apps use web technologies wrapped in a WebView, which can cause some performance limitations and less efficient animations.\n

  3. Learning Curve: Ionic is based on web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making it relatively easier to learn for web developers. React Native, on the other hand, requires knowledge of React, which might have a steeper learning curve for those without prior experience. However, React Native's component-based architecture can make the development process more organized and easier to maintain.\n

  4. Native Features and Integration: React Native allows developers to access device-specific features, such as the camera, GPS, and accelerometer, through pre-built components and APIs. This enables a seamless integration with the underlying platform and provides a more native-like experience. Ionic also supports native features, but it may require additional plugins or custom code to achieve the same level of integration.\n

  5. Tooling and Ecosystem: React Native benefits from a larger and more mature ecosystem with a wide range of community-supported libraries, tools, and plugins. This extensive ecosystem provides developers with more options and resources to enhance their development process and solve common problems. While Ionic also has a considerable ecosystem, it might not be as extensive as React Native's ecosystem.\n

  6. UI/UX Flexibility: Ionic offers a pre-defined set of UI components and themes, providing developers with ready-to-use UI elements. This can make the development process faster and more consistent. React Native, on the other hand, provides greater flexibility in terms of UI/UX customization. Developers can build highly customized and platform-specific UI components, resulting in a more tailored user experience.\n\n\n

    In summary, React Native offers better code reusability, performance, access to native features, and a larger ecosystem, but has a steeper learning curve. Ionic is based on web technologies, making it easier to learn, but it lacks the same level of code reusability and performance. The choice between the two frameworks depends on the specific project requirements, developer expertise, and platform-specific needs.\n","content2":"","topContent":"","bottomContent":"","packageStackup":false,"screenshotImageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/stackup/219053/72319d7f9eb2cb4346cd41539598b29cc51aa073.png","function":"Cross-Platform Mobile Development","path":"/stackups/ionic-vs-react-native","title":"Ionic vs React Native","seoUpdatedAt":null,"cachedStackDecisionsGetAdvice":{"type":"json","json":{"count":17,"edges":[{"node":{"id":"109894077115646074","user":{"id":"109894039751288192","title":null,"imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/1456628/default_8d5507628f2be87e4b69402c72c3e5d0ad224d7c.jpg","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/1456628/thumb_8d5507628f2be87e4b69402c72c3e5d0ad224d7c.jpg","username":"gaabgonca","__typename":"User","companyName":null,"displayName":"Gabriel Gonzalez"},"stack":null,"topics":[],"answers":{"count":2,"edges":[{"node":{"id":"109915420726223840","link":null,"user":{"id":"106777294807740731","path":"/djkemmet","title":null,"imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/1011925/default_25251e98c973a74cf539d3d7f9b85f4d461bd0a6.gif","username":"djkemmet","__typename":"User","companyName":null,"displayName":"djkemmet"},"draft":false,"topics":[],"company":null,"flagged":false,"private":false,"toTools":[],"upvoted":false,"publicId":"109915420726223840","services":[],"createdAt":"2023-02-23T18:16:59Z","fromTools":[],"viewCount":11593,"__typename":"StackDecision","bookmarked":false,"rawContent":"I think this is a good choice, so many design elements are considered for you such that even if you're not a great designer, as long as you're focused on layout and functionality it's relatively trival to go in later and apply themes and custom widgets. I'm using flutter for the same reasons as you it sounds like and for what it's worth people have been extremely pleased with the tools I've built for them even though I didn't really consider design. Knowing I don't have to worry about making things pretty for them to be attractive to end users is a huge boon for me and I hope it can be for you as well. \n\nRE Flutter Web, I'm sure it will improve with time, I've only ever really seen it slow when it's first starting up. but once the app is \"loaded\" into the web server so to speak, it's generally been pretty performant assuming I'm doing things like caching appropriately. ","htmlContent":"

    I think this is a good choice, so many design elements are considered for you such that even if you're not a great designer, as long as you're focused on layout and functionality it's relatively trival to go in later and apply themes and custom widgets. I'm using flutter for the same reasons as you it sounds like and for what it's worth people have been extremely pleased with the tools I've built for them even though I didn't really consider design. Knowing I don't have to worry about making things pretty for them to be attractive to end users is a huge boon for me and I hope it can be for you as well. \n\n

    RE Flutter Web, I'm sure it will improve with time, I've only ever really seen it slow when it's first starting up. but once the app is \"loaded\" into the web server so to speak, it's generally been pretty performant assuming I'm doing things like caching appropriately. ","permissions":{"edit":false,"delete":false,"__typename":"Permissions"},"publishedAt":"2023-02-23T18:16:59Z","decisionType":"giveAdvice","rootComments":[{"id":"109915642164659470","user":{"id":"109894039751288192","path":"/gaabgonca","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/1456628/default_8d5507628f2be87e4b69402c72c3e5d0ad224d7c.jpg","__typename":"User","displayName":"Gabriel Gonzalez"},"content":"Thank you for your response, I appreciate the time you took to reply with certainly useful information. ","flagged":false,"replies":[],"upvoted":false,"parentId":null,"postedAt":"2023-02-23T19:13:18Z","__typename":"Comment","upvotesCount":1}],"subjectTools":[{"id":"101231777036008618","fans":18190,"name":"Flutter","path":"/flutter","slug":"flutter","title":"Cross-platform mobile framework from Google","votes":1175,"stacks":16867,"imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/7180/flutter-mark-square-100.png","verified":false,"following":false,"__typename":"Tool","canonicalUrl":"/flutter","followContext":null}],"upvotesCount":6,"commentsCount":1},"__typename":"StackDecisionEdge"},{"node":{"id":"110021060703069154","link":null,"user":{"id":"105129262990704245","path":"/mostafazke","title":"Front-End Engineer","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/780685/default_016130c09a706df7f26d016395d6e61899cb5131.jpeg","username":"mostafazke","__typename":"User","companyName":"Epam","displayName":"Mostafa Zaki"},"draft":false,"topics":[],"company":null,"flagged":false,"private":false,"toTools":[],"upvoted":false,"publicId":"110021060703069154","services":[],"createdAt":"2023-03-14T10:02:37Z","fromTools":[],"viewCount":8056,"__typename":"StackDecision","bookmarked":false,"rawContent":"I got a task at my previous company to compare between Flutter and RN and Xamarin. \nAnd Flutter was the better choice among the others, that was before version 3, and now after version 3 it becomes better, so I would recommend Flutter for you.","htmlContent":"

    I got a task at my previous company to compare between Flutter and RN and Xamarin. \nAnd Flutter was the better choice among the others, that was before version 3, and now after version 3 it becomes better, so I would recommend Flutter for you.","permissions":{"edit":false,"delete":false,"__typename":"Permissions"},"publishedAt":"2023-03-14T10:02:37Z","decisionType":"giveAdvice","rootComments":[],"subjectTools":[{"id":"101231777036008618","fans":18190,"name":"Flutter","path":"/flutter","slug":"flutter","title":"Cross-platform mobile framework from Google","votes":1175,"stacks":16867,"imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/7180/flutter-mark-square-100.png","verified":false,"following":false,"__typename":"Tool","canonicalUrl":"/flutter","followContext":null}],"upvotesCount":4,"commentsCount":0},"__typename":"StackDecisionEdge"}],"pageInfo":{"endCursor":"Mg","__typename":"PageInfo","hasNextPage":false},"__typename":"StackDecisionConnection"},"company":null,"private":false,"toTools":[],"publicId":"109894077115646074","services":[{"name":"React Native","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/2699/KoK6gHzp.jpg","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/2699/thumb_KoK6gHzp.jpg","__typename":"Tool"},{"name":"Next.js","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/5936/nextjs.png","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/5936/thumb_nextjs.png","__typename":"Tool"},{"name":"Flutter","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/7180/flutter-mark-square-100.png","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/7180/thumb_flutter-mark-square-100.png","__typename":"Tool"}],"fromTools":[],"viewCount":186828,"__typename":"StackDecision","htmlContent":"

    I'm planning a social media mobile app. I would like to prototype using a cross-platform native solution, leaving room for a future web client. In mobile dev, I'm most experienced with Flutter but I use Next.js for web projects. Since I'm not a designer, I think material 3 would be a fair design system and it's integrated into Flutter. React Native does not have material 3 yet but it would allow an easier web implementation (I have found flutter web to be too slow)\n\n

    What do you suggest?","publishedAt":"2023-02-19T23:49:01Z","decisionType":"getAdvice","subjectTools":[{"id":"101231777036008618","fans":18190,"name":"Flutter","path":"/flutter","slug":"flutter","title":"Cross-platform mobile framework from Google","votes":1175,"stacks":16867,"imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/7180/flutter-mark-square-100.png","verified":false,"following":false,"__typename":"Tool","canonicalUrl":"/flutter","followContext":null},{"id":"101231776411419473","fans":6520,"name":"Next.js","path":"/next-js","slug":"next-js","title":"A small framework for server-rendered universal JavaScript apps ","votes":326,"stacks":6764,"imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/5936/nextjs.png","verified":false,"following":false,"__typename":"Tool","canonicalUrl":"/next-js","followContext":null},{"id":"101231774544144572","fans":34384,"name":"React Native","path":"/react-native","slug":"react-native","title":"A framework for building native apps with React","votes":1156,"stacks":33566,"imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/2699/KoK6gHzp.jpg","verified":false,"following":false,"__typename":"Tool","canonicalUrl":"/react-native","followContext":null}],"upvotesCount":11},"__typename":"StackDecisionEdge"},{"node":{"id":"109640381003662400","user":{"id":"109640187897003286","title":"","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/1428832/default_5fa0de7964dba3de656affb816b011dbacfd1826.png","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/1428832/thumb_5fa0de7964dba3de656affb816b011dbacfd1826.png","username":"lucasprieur","__typename":"User","companyName":"","displayName":"Lucas P"},"stack":null,"topics":[],"answers":{"count":2,"edges":[{"node":{"id":"109646240421465020","link":null,"user":{"id":"105774013058251772","path":"/gabrielalao","title":"Lead Developer","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/889365/default_3419f8b9b9f9dc10a9beaad368961256254d9fcc.png","username":"gabrielalao","__typename":"User","companyName":"The Web Gurus LLC","displayName":"Gabriel Alao"},"draft":false,"topics":[],"company":null,"flagged":false,"private":false,"toTools":[],"upvoted":false,"publicId":"109646240421465020","services":[],"createdAt":"2023-01-07T05:20:54Z","fromTools":[],"viewCount":14056,"__typename":"StackDecision","bookmarked":false,"rawContent":"Use Flutter and Firebase as a backend service, Firebase also helps to speed up the development and rollout of the app. The cloud-hosted NoSQL database provides a real-time database that helps you store and synchronize data between the clients. This indeed makes it easier for you to access the data using any of the devices. ","htmlContent":"

    Use Flutter and Firebase as a backend service, Firebase also helps to speed up the development and rollout of the app. The cloud-hosted NoSQL database provides a real-time database that helps you store and synchronize data between the clients. This indeed makes it easier for you to access the data using any of the devices. ","permissions":{"edit":false,"delete":false,"__typename":"Permissions"},"publishedAt":"2023-01-07T05:20:54Z","decisionType":"giveAdvice","rootComments":[{"id":"109651767060346279","user":{"id":"109640187897003286","path":"/lucasprieur","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/1428832/default_5fa0de7964dba3de656affb816b011dbacfd1826.png","__typename":"User","displayName":"Lucas P"},"content":"Thanks, is it possible to develop in typescript with flutter? ","flagged":false,"replies":[],"upvoted":false,"parentId":null,"postedAt":"2023-01-08T04:46:23Z","__typename":"Comment","upvotesCount":0},{"id":"112925702110123486","user":{"id":"111719452417544638","path":"/finacustechnology","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/1594089/default_83f4c9a9a6649e81742ebbf810344479a1c5bf3b.png","__typename":"User","displayName":"Finacus Solutions"},"content":"Using Flutter with Firebase as a backend service accelerates app development and deployment. Firebase's cloud-hosted NoSQL database ensures real-time data synchronization and storage across clients, providing seamless data access on any device. This integration streamlines the development process and provides greater efficiency and flexibility for your app's backend needs.\n","flagged":false,"replies":[],"upvoted":false,"parentId":null,"postedAt":"2024-08-08T09:31:08Z","__typename":"Comment","upvotesCount":0}],"subjectTools":[],"upvotesCount":2,"commentsCount":2},"__typename":"StackDecisionEdge"},{"node":{"id":"110584699806394294","link":null,"user":{"id":"109911283221427229","path":"/bebe","title":null,"imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/1458893/default_a6a7956d1e839d8f2a3cabe67ce38f24ea4200a5.png","username":"bebe","__typename":"User","companyName":null,"displayName":"Bebe Agachevo"},"draft":false,"topics":[],"company":{"id":"109786042360496579","name":"echo3D","path":"/companies/echo3d","slug":"echo3d","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/company/177130/default_cb65dad3f6543fde11269003e3392cab596aa1e4.jpg","__typename":"Company"},"flagged":false,"private":false,"toTools":[],"upvoted":false,"publicId":"110584699806394294","services":[],"createdAt":"2023-06-21T23:03:27Z","fromTools":[],"viewCount":5270,"__typename":"StackDecision","bookmarked":false,"rawContent":"Hi there, for cross-platform functionality in terms of 3D assets if any, echo3D can help you with that. It's 3D asset management on the cloud so you can write your references to the objects and update them in the echo3D web browser. echo3D is not yet on this platform but it will be soon!","htmlContent":"

    Hi there, for cross-platform functionality in terms of 3D assets if any, echo3D can help you with that. It's 3D asset management on the cloud so you can write your references to the objects and update them in the echo3D web browser. echo3D is not yet on this platform but it will be soon!","permissions":{"edit":false,"delete":false,"__typename":"Permissions"},"publishedAt":"2023-06-21T23:03:27Z","decisionType":"giveAdvice","rootComments":[{"id":"112993247682347826","user":{"id":"111719452417544638","path":"/finacustechnology","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/user/1594089/default_83f4c9a9a6649e81742ebbf810344479a1c5bf3b.png","__typename":"User","displayName":"Finacus Solutions"},"content":"Echo3D provides a strong solution for managing 3D assets across different platforms with its cloud-based platform. It simplifies asset management and ensures smooth integration by allowing you to reference and update 3D objects through a web browser. While it's currently unavailable on all platforms, its upcoming release is set to improve accessibility and functionality for developers.","flagged":false,"replies":[],"upvoted":false,"parentId":null,"postedAt":"2024-08-20T07:48:51Z","__typename":"Comment","upvotesCount":0}],"subjectTools":[],"upvotesCount":1,"commentsCount":1},"__typename":"StackDecisionEdge"}],"pageInfo":{"endCursor":"Mg","__typename":"PageInfo","hasNextPage":false},"__typename":"StackDecisionConnection"},"company":null,"private":false,"toTools":[],"publicId":"109640381003662400","services":[{"name":"Flutter","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/7180/flutter-mark-square-100.png","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/7180/thumb_flutter-mark-square-100.png","__typename":"Tool"},{"name":"React Native","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/2699/KoK6gHzp.jpg","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/2699/thumb_KoK6gHzp.jpg","__typename":"Tool"},{"name":"NativeScript","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/2605/_fBe-iYT.jpeg","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/2605/thumb__fBe-iYT.jpeg","__typename":"Tool"},{"name":"TypeScript","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/1612/bynNY5dJ.jpg","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/1612/thumb_bynNY5dJ.jpg","__typename":"Tool"},{"name":"Visual Studio Code","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/4202/Visual_Studio_Code_logo.png","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/4202/thumb_Visual_Studio_Code_logo.png","__typename":"Tool"},{"name":"iOS","imageUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/2886/ios-logo.png","thumbUrl":"https://img.stackshare.io/service/2886/thumb_ios-logo.png","__typename":"Tool"}],"fromTools":[],"viewCount":357323,"__typename":"StackDecision","htmlContent":"

    Hello,\n\n

    We're just brainstorming for the moment and we have a few questions.\n\n

    We have an idea for an app that we want to develop, here are the prerequisites:\n\n

    1) cross-platform (iOS, Android, and website);\n\n

    2) as easy to maintain as possible / well documented / widely used;\n\n

    3) Visual Studio Code and Copilot compatible;\n\n

    4) Text to speech;\n\n

    5) Speech recognition;\n\n

    6) Running in background (screen off with TTS and speech recognition);\n\n

    7) could be using TypeScript;\n\n

    8) Monetized through ad and in-App payment for premium version;\n\n

    9) Display on lock screen (Android only I guess)\n\n

    So what would you recommend?\n\n

    I've been trying to review the options available, and I've considered:\n\n