React Native vs Ionic: Which Is Better For Your Startup?

react native vs ionic

In this article, We will try to highlight the most important conceptual comparison of React Native vs Ionic. We will study at both the strong and weak sides of RN and Ionic. This will probably give you the knowledge you need to make an educated decision of the stack that will work best for your startup.

Native Apps and Hybrid apps

Before taking look at the differences of RN and Ionic, Let’s quickly review what are Native and Hybrid Apps!!

Native apps generally build using specific target platforms and language like Swift for iOS or Java for Android etc. We can not share the code across the platforms. The native app is privileged to access all the features that offered by the platforms without any constraint.

Where Hybrid Apps are basically websites that embed in the mobile app through so-called WebView. The native app can build using HTML, CSS, And JavaScript and perform the same code despite the platform in which they run. The Hybrid App uses native features using tools such as PhoneGap and Cordova.

Read More: Native Mobile App Development vs Cross App development

Which should we opt for: React Native vs Ionic?

Let’s explore both the frameworks in detail so you can easily decide the good choice for your next startup.


React Native

Facebook launched React Native framework in 2015. It is a cross-platform framework based on JavaScript technology. Most of the code can share across the platforms.  It allows developers to develop enhanced and native-like apps using a single code base.


Ionic is a very common hybrid app development framework. It uses web technologies in code and needs PhoneGap or Cordova for the native compilation. Ionic leverages web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript-based framework.

It is one of the broadly popular frameworks to build feature-rich, advanced and elegant apps.

React Native vs Ionic: Language stack


Ionic is an Angular based framework. It uses HTML for its views. Ionic support separates Logic and views when building apps in Ionic.  Using Ionic cross-platform development is somewhat easier since much of the basic underlying framework rests the same.

Ionic will give some designers and developers working with them feel on the common ground. Whereas, React might involve further work, particularly when co-operating with other team members.

React Native

React Native is based on a JavaScript framework called React. Thus it uses JavaScript code which resembles HTML but basically isn’t that is known as JSX. It is something most developers are comfortable with, results in a native app development using smooth UI components.


React Native vs Ionic: Write once, run everywhere



A standard hybrid app runs the same code despite the platform, and this is what Ionic doing. Though, in order to give the more native-like feeling, it adapts some behavior according to the platform.

React Native

React Native more emphasize to provide the behaviors of the native platform. The RN doesn’t much focus on a methodology called write once and runs everywhere. React Native enables the developer to utilize the maximum customizable toolbar considering platform-specific logic.

React Native vs Ionic: Testing throughout the development



It is very frustrating to wait a while to check if three pixels of margin is looking good or if two pixels is better. Ionic allows previewing your app in the web browser and mobile devices. It immediately refreshes as you make modifications to your application.

React Native

When building an app, it is very essential to get instant feedback. React Native allows to test the application along the way during the development. The developer doesn’t need to recompile and rebuild again and again. The emulator or a real device shows the result instantly.

React Native vs Ionic: Community and Plugins

When we opt for an Open source technology to use, we discover it very essential to evaluate how vivid the community around it is. Remember, both have developed from established ecosystems React and Angular so there are good, supportive online ecosystems.

You can easily find information online, answers to your problems, or getting bugs fixed.



Cordova and PhoneGap are being used for a while so there is a high chance that you can get already existing plugins. There is also a marketplace where developers offers already built Ionic plugins.

Well, React Native has more stars on Github than Ionic, about 71,0001 vs. 38,842, respectively. Though, Ionic has more number of question in the StackOverflow than React Native. React Native and Ionic both inherit the community they are based on, specifically React and Angular. We can reliably state that both have a very good ecosystem.

React Native

The number of plugins are already available on NPM for the React Native. There is also a plugin to use PhoneGap or Cordova plugins. That means you can quickly inherit the hundreds of ready-made plugins from the community.

React Native vs Ionic: Which is better?

Of course, React Native vs Ionic both are powerful at their end considering different aspects. So Specifically we can not say which could be a better choice. Absolutely, it depends on several factors: you, your startup, your user requirements, your team expertise, and so on.

For the startups who prefer creating native apps, React is more effective. Using Native rendering, the React Native makes app quicker and more responsive to the end-user.

Whereas, Ionic is a truly hybrid development platform the more emphasize on speed and usability.

Saving money and time is usually one of the reasons startups choose to develop using hybrid development platforms, which can recoil when too much time is spent fixing problems who develop apps using React Native.

Discuss your idea, preferences, and requirements with us. And we at Zignuts will help you to turn your idea into reality!