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Ionic vs React Native: Which One is Better?

Alexander Prokopiev
Alexander Prokopiev CEO of ARTJOKER
12 min read

Nowadays, developers tend to gradually put aside building web apps, the final range of capabilities of which is considered to be too limited. The preference is given to either hybrid or native applications. The top two hybrid and native program creation frameworks are Ionic & React Native. In this article, we provide you with a quick overview of the Ionic vs React Native comparison. Find here our personal verdict on which platform to choose.

Why Choose Ionic or React Native?

The drastic problem of application development is a fundamental dissimilarity between the Android & iOS platforms. Written on differing coding languages (Swift & Java respectively), they need the developers to duplicate existing code so that it works equally productively for both operational systems. However, such platforms as RN & Ionic can resolve this issue easily. In the React Native vs Ionic framework battle, it is very hard to determine the winner because both frameworks are good in their own way. Among the greatest advantages of the React Native, Ionic, and other similar frameworks (for example, Xamarin) is the availability of such useful capacities as:

  • The ability to make a developer's working routine significantly more convenient. Using any of them while building a cross-platform piece of software, one isn't required to learn and use two different technologies.
  • The possibility of creating the customized design that will organically apply to both of the developmental environments in discussion.
  • JavaScript as a base. Both Ionic and React Native have the by far most renowned programming language as a foundation.

However, each of these frameworks has a unique range of strong points and drawbacks that make them more or less attractive in accordance with your demands and possibilities. We are going to compare and determine the winner of the Ionic framework vs React Native battle for you to decide which one would be better to use.

Ionic Framework Review

So, here's the question - what's Ionic? The pros and cons of Ionic seem to continue to cause a buzz, so let us have a look at them. It is a free HTML5 software development kit, backed by Google. Ionic was created on the base of AngularJS, which is regarded to be the second most popular web framework. As the HTML5 coding language works only by employing the powers of PhoneGap or Cordova, Ionic needs both of them to function. It is now updated to version 3.0 (and quickly approaches the 4.0) as Ionic 2, despite being highly innovative, was released as an alpha software and constantly improved further.

Ionic vs React Native: Which One is Better?

Ionic is usually involved into the hybrid application development. However, one of the most recent innovations and advantages of the Ionic framework was the development of the so-called Ionic Native - a set of Cordova plugin TypeScript wrappers that smooths the functioning of native elements and makes them launch change detection in Angular.

Benefits of Ionic

To help you understand which is the stronger in the Ionic 5 vs React Native battle, let's take a look at the main advantages of Ionic.

Developer Friendly

Ionic is built on standardized web technologies, so developers can easily create different kinds of applications, including mobile apps, desktop apps, and PWAs. Ionic makes it easy for web developers to create apps without having to master new skills, learn new languages or hire developers for one project. The ability to leverage the experience and knowledge developers already have helps companies do a better job, as well as reduce project timelines and costs.

One Codebase

Often when customers order the development of a new app, they want it for all platforms. Ionic allows developers to create multiple apps from a single code base, instead of having to create separate code bases for iOS and Android. Apple now has 1.8 billion active devices and Android has beyond 3 billion active devices, which is a considerable audience of users, so having one code base for all platforms is a significant advantage.

If a bug or vulnerability arises in an application, developers will be able to resolve it in one place rather than in many. This approach helps tremendously with long-term software maintenance. Developing for Android and iOS devices is much cheaper within a single codebase compared to native development. Thus, Ionic will save your resources, money, and time.

Open-Source and Free

Ionic is a modern, free open-source framework licensed under MIT. Despite being free, Ionic is a stable, fast, and reliable framework. The open-source code makes Ionic available to all developers. The framework allows any developer to make any bold idea a reality. What's more, Ionic provides developers with mobile-optimized component codes and reduces the need to rewrite code.

Tools With Native Compatibility

Ionic offers developers a library of many components and plugins, including various frontend building blocks, UI components, application icons, and so on. With these tools, developers can connect to native APIs without having to create their own integrations.

Furthermore, Ionic can integrate with many technologies, including security systems, analytic tools, payment systems, testing tools, and so on. With the framework's access to native APIs and plugins, applications are provided with a native user experience.

Easy Testing

Ionic works via WebView, so developers can use a browser to test an application. Any modern browser has built-in testing and debugging tools, so the testing process is easy and convenient. Developers don't need to waste time deploying an application to a device for previewing. An Ionic developer can directly test Android and iOS apps using Cordova commands. Moreover, developers use the Angular CLI to test Angular components used in older versions.

Frontend Independence

With the Ionic SDK, developers can work with Angular, React, and Vue. Moreover, developers can work without the framework and write code only in JavaScript. This feature has allowed Ionic to be used by a wide audience of users.

Developers who already use Angular, React, or Vue to develop web apps will be able to migrate to develop apps on Ionic quickly and seamlessly. Ionic used to rely on Angular, but with Ionic 4, the developers have fixed that, and it's now completely independent.

Huge and Supportive Community

You won't have any problems understanding Ionic's capabilities and how to use it because the community of this framework is large and includes developers of different levels. Even if you are a novice developer, you can always contact more experienced and competent developers to get a solution to your issue.

The Ionic developer community is very friendly, with users helping each other, solving issues, and sharing ideas on Ionic app development. Most of the issues you might encounter during app development have already been solved and are common in the community. The community has GitHub, a Slack channel, YouTube, a forum, a blog, and many social media groups for mutual help.

Built on AngularJS

The Ionic is based on the AngularJS framework. AngularJS is supported by Google and is one of the most popular JavaScript frameworks worldwide. If you encounter any issues while developing the application on Ionic, you can always contact the AngularJS developer community for help in solving them. Based on AngularJS, Ionic offers a lot of functionality to developers. With AngularJS, you can develop hybrid applications.

React Native Review

RN was launched by Facebook two years after Ionic release. It is based on React, a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It is actually one of the most renowned advantages of the React Native, as it gained many fans among developers who have already used React for Web. RN appears to be a familiarly looking tool building mobile applications with the performance and feel of the native ones. That is why RN appears to be one of the most popular platforms for the application development. It also seamlessly covers both iOS and Android, and is hence regarded to be an excellent tool for creating hybrid and native applications.

Ionic vs React Native: Which One is Better? - 1

React Native runs the JavaScript code called JSX that resembles HTML a little. It blends the display logic with the business logic. Every so often it may cause some troubles for the designers as it doesn't support all the CSS rules. However, it is fully manageable for an experienced team. We will address this and other pros and cons of React Native further.

Advantages of React Native over Ionic

Many novice app developers are curious about the advantages of React Native over Ionic. React Native allows developers to create advanced native mobile apps using JavaScript that are supported on both Android and iOS. A single codebase for iOS and Android platforms helps save development time and budget. React Native is supported by a large community of developers around the world. Now that we are familiar with the basic information and principles of React Native, we can discuss the advantages and pitfalls of the framework. Let's take a look at the main advantages of React Native over Ionic to help you figure out whether to convert Ionic app to React Native.

Performance

React Native is the most popular and performant framework for developers who want to create an application that is close to native. Compared to Ionic, React Native is a more productive, scalable, and stable framework and is suitable for large-scale projects. One of the weaknesses of Ionic is the slow performance that results from rendering applications using WebView.

React Native is similar to native frameworks in that it converts all code elements into native APIs. React Native allows developers to use native modules written in native languages to write code. Furthermore, React Native allows programmers to use native modules written in native languages to write code.

Popularity & Community Support

The community support factor is especially important for novice developers. React Native is based on React, which has been around for a long time and has a large community. React Native is also popular because it is used by Facebook and Instagram. With a large and active developer community, you can always easily find answers to your questions during React Native app development and get advice on fixing bugs. Moreover, React Native also has a significant base of plugins for all purposes.

Ionic is undoubtedly popular too, but if we compare these two frameworks, React Native is twice as popular. React Native has 106k GitHub stars and, 2408 contributors, while Ionic has 48k stars, and 438 contributors. In addition to technical documentation, there are many online courses, video tutorials, YouTube channels, tutorials, and articles available on the Internet to learn React Native.

Encryption

Encryption is the process of converting readable text, such as a text message, into an encoded format so that only authorized parties can understand the information. To provide encryption, React Native developers can use third-party libraries to store sensitive data locally. The most well-known libraries are react-native-encrypted-storage, react-native-keychain, expo-secure-store, react-native-secure, and react-native-sensitive-info.

In Ionic, when working with iOS, developers provide security with the Secure Storage Cordova plugin. And when developing on Android, the main condition for encryption is the presence of the swipe set on the device. React Native provides better encryption and security features than Ionic.

User Interface

The user interface is one of the main factors based on which users decide whether to use your application. The user interface of an app should be easy to use, pleasing to the eye, and modern because users start judging an app as soon as they open it.

Ionic's user interface does not use native elements, and just renders everything in HTML and CSS, so it relies entirely on web technologies to create a native type of app. Moreover, Ionic accesses Cordova to get the look and feel of native apps.

React Native modules are linked to native UI controllers, providing a remarkable user experience close to native apps. Furthermore, React Native uses the ReactJS library, which greatly simplifies the UI development process. So, when comparing React Native and Ionic user interfaces, you get a better user interface with React.

Language Set

React Native and Ionic are based on different approaches. React Native follows the "Write once, run anywhere" approach, while Ionic uses web technologies to create cross-platform applications. Ionic uses the HTML5, CSS, and JS languages. This framework needs Cordova to access control on native platforms. Ionic uses a minimal codebase for app development and is based on Angular, so for developers with knowledge of Angular, Ionic will be more convenient.

React Native uses JavaScript and allows developers to write components in Swift, Objective-C, and Java. With native modules and libraries in React Native applications, visual or video editing is available. React Native uses native UI components, resulting in a seamless experience for users. React Native blends display logic with business logic. So, React Native has greater functionality and a better language set than Ionic.

Difference between Ionic and React Native

Foremost, the difference between React Native and Ionic framework lies in the fact that they propose dissimilar approaches towards the application development. Ionic helps you, for example, to build a typical hybrid app that performs rendering in WebView for Android or UIWebView for iOS. It is typically used for creating so-called SPAs (single page applications). In case you need the API platform, you will have to apply additional plugins - the abovementioned PhoneGap or Cordova.

Unlike the Ionic framework, React Native lets you build a mobile application with the standard UI blocks. The application on RN uses the templates designed specifically for each platform. It is mostly used for native programs, as its design is as close to the native's as possible. React Native involves the native rendering APIs in Objective-C or Java for iOS and Android, respectively. With it, the application renders with real UI components, not WebViews.

Ionic and React Native have a different technology stack. Ionic developers create one application on top of a browser and can use all the npm packages available for React.js. And React Native has a more limited technology stack because the code is translated into native code.

Which is Better Ionic or React Native?

It is impossible to answer unequivocally which is better Ionic or React Native. Both frameworks are good in their own way, and the choice between them depends on the requirements for the project, functionality, and target audience. To help you choose between React Native and Ionic for app development, we have prepared some basic principles to assist you in your choice.

Ionic vs React Native: Which One is Better? - 2

Choose React Native if:

  • You are working on an application that is built on React Native.
  • Your development team has a better understanding of React Native than Ionic.
  • You have a large budget and a lot of time to develop your project.
  • High application performance is crucial for you.
  • You are going to build a multifunctional and scalable native app for Android and iOS.
  • You need native mobile features.
  • There's no need to develop a website along with a mobile app.
  • You want to create a high-performance, feature-rich application with a user-friendly interface and a remarkable user experience.

Choose Ionic if:

  • You are working on an application that is built on Ionic.
  • You are going to develop a progressive web application.
  • There is a need to leverage web development capabilities to provide web and mobile experiences.
  • You have a considerable web development experience and will be developing an application for a startup business.
  • For Progressive Web Apps, Enterprise-Level Apps, Hybrid Apps, and Mission-Critical Apps, Ionic is the best choice.
  • Your development team has no experience with native apps, but has experience with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • You need to develop an application in a short time and don't need high performance.
  • You don't need native mobile features.
  • There is a need to keep a single code base between the website and the mobile.

It is impossible to make a definite statement about which framework is the best Ionic or React Native. If you require lower development costs, a faster development process, and ease of building an application, Ionic is the best option. But if you require plugins for every occasion, a strong community of developers from all over the world, smooth and fast app operation even with big data, then you should take a closer look at React Native. React Native uses JavaScript, which makes the development process fast and the application high-performance.

React Native is easily mastered by developers who already have knowledge of iOS or Android app development. The learning curve of React for developers is higher than that of Ionic. Moreover, React Native has access to native features of mobile devices, so mobile applications developed on React Native will have a more native look and feel.

In summary, if we compare the two frameworks in terms of overall results, React Native has a slight advantage. The main pros of React Native are high performance, high efficiency, good quality, fast development time, and a strong community that actively supports it. Due to the strengths of React Native, many big brands such as Bloomberg, Facebook, Uber Eats, Discord, Instagram, Skype, Pinterest, Salesforce, and others are using it for app development. Many developers switch from Ionic to React Native every day. The gap in the popularity of these frameworks is widening every day in favor of React Native.

Conclusions

In this article, we provide you with a quick overview of the React Native comparison with Ionic. We hope that it was helpful for you. Our personal verdict is - if you are a self-confident and highly experienced developer seeking new ways of application development, try React Native’s new features and build a beautiful fast program. If you are a person in love with HTML and Angular, rely on the web-resembling hybrid applications from Ionic. Both platforms have numerous advantages to please you.

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