Comparison
Native vs Cross-Platform: Which Is Right for You?
Native iOS/Android, React Native, and Flutter compared. Cost, performance, time-to-market, and Nigerian payment integration.
Quick Answer
Choose Cross-Platform (Flutter or React Native) for most apps. You get 90% code reuse, faster time-to-market, and lower cost. Flutter is our recommendation for new projects due to its superior performance and custom UI capabilities.
Choose Native only for fintech apps requiring biometric authentication, gaming apps with heavy graphics, or apps that need deep device integration. The performance difference matters for these use cases.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Factor
Native (iOS/Android)
Flutter
React Native
Development Cost
₦600,000+ (2 apps)
₦300,000+ (1 codebase)
₦300,000+ (1 codebase)
Time to Market
12-20 weeks
6-10 weeks
6-10 weeks
Performance
Best
Near-native
Near-native
UI/UX Quality
Platform-perfect
Highly customisable
Good (native components)
Code Reuse
0% (separate codebases)
90%+ (single codebase)
80%+ (single codebase)
Access to Device Features
Full access
Good (plugins)
Good (native modules)
Offline Support
Excellent
Good
Good
Nigerian Payment Integration
Easy
Easy (plugins)
Easy (plugins)
Maintenance
2x (2 codebases)
1x (single codebase)
1x (single codebase)
Community & Ecosystem
Mature
Growing fast
Large
App Store Submission
Separate for each
Both from one codebase
Both from one codebase
Best For
Fintech, gaming, complex apps
Startups, MVPs, most apps
Existing React teams, web-to-app
Choose Flutter When:
- You're building a new app from scratch
- UI/UX quality is a priority
- You need fast development
- Budget is a concern
- You want a single codebase for iOS + Android
- You need custom animations
Choose React Native When:
- Your team already knows React
- You have a web app in React
- You need a large ecosystem of libraries
- You want hot reloading for faster development
- You need to share code with a React web app
- You prefer JavaScript/TypeScript
Choose Native When:
- You're building a fintech app with biometrics
- You need heavy graphics (games)
- You need deep device integration
- Performance is critical
- You have the budget for 2 codebases
- You need platform-specific features
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