React Native vs. React.js

Key takeaways

React Native is primarily used to build native mobile experiences by extending the concepts of React.js, which powers dynamic web applications. Here are some important things to know: 

• React Native is the second most widely used framework globally, with 35 percent of the worldwide cross-platform mobile development market [1].

• Meta (then Facebook) developed React.js in 2013 and launched React Native two years later, building on React.js's JavaScript foundation, and still maintains both.

• You can start by learning React.js to build dynamic web interfaces before switching to React Native to advance your knowledge of developing mobile apps.

Discover how React Native compares to React.js and how to start working with both. If you’d like to learn how to use React in relation to JavaScript libraries and frameworks, the Meta Front-End Developer Professional Certificate is a good place to start. With no degree or experience needed, you can build in-demand, job-ready skills at your own pace.

What is React Native vs. React.js?

React Native is an open-source framework for creating cross-platform mobile apps, while React.js, often known simply as React, is a JavaScript library for creating web interfaces. They may use the same fundamental ideas, but they bring very different results.

As Meta (then Facebook) developed both and gave them similar names, many people understandably conflate React.js with React Native. While they share further similarities, it’s essential to note their distinctions. For instance, React.js creates websites with browser-based elements, while React Native powers mobile apps with native components. 

Moreover, React Native converts components into native mobile elements, such as <View>, <Image>, and <Text>, that function like the iOS and Android user interfaces. React.js, meanwhile, operates in a browser and displays content using HTML and CSS.

Although the user interface and output are platform-specific, developers frequently reuse logic between the two. Simply put, React Native is fluent in mobile languages, while React.js speaks the language of the web. 

Key similarities

To further highlight some of the key similarities, consider the examples below:

• Component-based architecture: Both encourage modular and maintainable code by building user interfaces (UIs) using encapsulated, reusable components.

• Shared JavaScript foundation: React Native builds on React.js’ JavaScript foundation, reusing core concepts like hooks, state, and props (short for “properties”) to support mobile development.

• One-way data flow: Both React.js and React Native follow a one-way data binding model, making state management predictable and debugging easier.

• Strong developer community and ecosystem: Meta’s backing and a sizable developer community provide a wealth of libraries and tooling support for both React.js and React Native.

Key differences

Apart from the previously mentioned primary distinctions, where React Native, a mobile framework, targets native components, and React.js, a JavaScript library, targets browsers with HTML/CSS, the technologies also vary in the following ways:

• Navigation: React Native makes use of mobile-specific libraries like React Navigation, while React.js depends on web routing libraries like React Router.

• Rendering environments: React.js renders in browsers using the virtual DOM, or document object model, for quick UI updates, while React Native compiles to mobile environments and renders native components on Android and iOS using platform APIs, such as Java and Objective-C.

• Customization: While React.js is broadly flexible for tailoring features, React Native offers a more moderate level of customization with some native limitations.

• Syntax: React Native renders native components using tags like <View> and <Text> designed for mobile platforms, while React.js uses HTML-like tags like <div> and <h1> via JavaScript XML (JSX).

Can React Native be used for web?

Yes, you can use React Native for the web, but not directly. To use React Native on the web, you will need React Native Web. This is a library that connects React Native components to web-compatible technologies like HTML and CSS, which are compatible with browsers. By enabling developers to use React Native components, such as <View>, <Text>, and <Image>, directly in the browser, React Native Web essentially bridges this gap. In essence, it’s a web-compatible layer for mobile-first code. 

What is React Native used for?

Created specifically for making mobile applications, React Native enables programmers to use JavaScript and React frameworks to create cross-platform mobile applications. Meta launched React Native in 2015 to help developers build mobile applications using JavaScript and React principles. 

React Native is one of the more popular frameworks globally, with 35 percent of the global cross-platform mobile development market, according to a Stack Overflow study [1]. As such, it’s been embraced by big businesses, including Bloomberg, Shopify, Microsoft, and Wix, to expedite cross-platform mobile development. This attests its feasibility for high-performance, production-grade apps.

Advantages of React Native

Alongside Meta’s support and the use of APIs, some additional advantages to using React Native include:

• JavaScript usage: This is probably one of the more obvious advantages for developers; by using their understanding of JavaScript, they can start creating native mobile applications.  

• One codebase: Developers can save time and resources by using React Native to create iOS and Android apps from a single codebase. This means you can essentially “learn once and write anywhere,” according to React Native’s motto.

• Hot reloading: This expedites development by instantaneously previewing code changes. 

• Native UI components: React Native uses platform-native components to deliver a consistent user experience across iOS and Android, even when the app requires platform-specific code.

• Ongoing improvement: The community is continually striving to improve iOS and Android support for new features.

Read more: React Developer Salary: From Entry-Level to Senior Engineer

Disadvantages of React Native

While the advantages seem to outweigh the challenges, some worth noting include:

• Slow startup: Even on high-performance devices, React Native apps may take longer to launch than fully native apps, which can slow down development.

• Tricky learning trajectory: React Native can pose a steep learning curve for newcomers, especially when navigating third-party libraries and platform-specific behaviors.

• Security considerations: React Native’s open-source nature may reveal flaws that render it less appropriate for high-security applications, such as financial platforms.

• API restrictions: React Native may limit access to certain native device features, requiring developers to implement workarounds for advanced functionality.

What is React.js used for?

Developers use React.js to create responsive, dynamic web apps with efficient rendering and reusable components. By staging updates in memory before applying them to the actual DOM, React’s virtual DOM maximizes performance, leading to faster interface updates and more seamless user experiences.

Whether you refer to it as “React,” “React JS,” or “React.js,” it’s all the same thing and interchangeable; each term describes the same JavaScript library that Facebook developed for creating user interfaces. Meta also developed React.js, which it released two years before React Native in 2013. 

Advantages of React.js

Along with it being accessible for JavaScript developers thanks to its syntax and structure, some of the other advantages of using React.js include:

• Developer-friendly tools: React streamlines debugging and development by offering built-in tools that let developers inspect component state and props directly.

• Simple dynamic interfaces: By reducing boilerplate (i.e., repetitive, standardized code or text that developers use with little to no change in different projects or sections) and optimizing functionality, React makes it easier to create interactive web applications.

• Optimized rendering: By storing updates in memory before implementing them in the real DOM, the virtual DOM improves performance and produces more fluid interactions.

• Modular architecture: React uses a modular architecture, assembling applications from self-contained components that promote reuse and simplify maintenance.

Disadvantages of React.js

From constant updates to UI layer limitations, the potential challenges of using React.js include:

• Frequent updates: Due to React’s quick development, developers may find it difficult to stay up to date with new tooling and conventions.

• Sparse documentation: Developers must fill in the blanks on their own when rapid changes made by third-party developers surpass official documentation.

• UI layers limitation: React focuses solely on managing the user interface, so developers must integrate additional tools to build fully functional applications.

• JavaScript dependency: Although React’s dependence on JavaScript libraries allows for flexibility, this can also lead to complexity and fragmentation.

• SEO restrictions: React, like many JavaScript frameworks, can face SEO challenges unless developers implement server-side rendering to ensure content is crawlable by search engines.

Should you learn React Native or React.js first?

If you’re new to JavaScript or front-end development, it's best to learn React.js first since it sets the foundation for understanding React Native. While React.js powers both web and mobile interfaces, React Native expands on its fundamental ideas of components, props, state, and hooks. In short, it’s easier to switch to React Native on mobile platforms once you’re familiar with React.js. 

Getting started with React Native and React.js

Having an understanding of the fundamental ideas of React, such as components, JSX, props, and state, is the first step toward getting started with React and React Native. 

Components allow you to specify what will show on the screen; in the React Native beginner tutorial, this is demonstrated with a cat [2]. JSX, meanwhile, enables you to write UI elements directly in JavaScript, like <Text>Hello, I am your cat!</Text>.

React Native then expands on these ideas to produce mobile applications by using the prebuilt components <Text> and <View>. These, again, render as native UI elements but behave similarly to HTML elements. For instance, React Native will render <Text> and <TextInput> together if you nest them inside a <View>. Developers pass JavaScript objects to the style prop to control layout and visual styling in React Native components.

The resources on the React Native website suggest using Expo for setup. A production-grade React Native framework, Expo streamlines development with integrated libraries and file-based routing [3]. 

Expo is a free open-source framework that the Discord and GitHub communities support. Expo maintains its software development kit (SDK) in close collaboration with Meta’s React Native team to ensure compatibility with the latest platform updates. Additionally, Expo provides add-on tools known as Expo Application Services (EAS) to facilitate development and deployment processes [3]. 

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