A PWA runs from one web codebase, installs to the home screen, works offline and updates instantly, without store fees or review; since iOS 16.4 it can also send push notifications on iPhone. A native app reaches deeper device features and the app stores. Choose by the features you need, how users will find the app and how often it changes.
What a progressive web app is
MDN's guide to progressive web apps describes a PWA as an app built with web platform technologies that gives a user experience like a platform-specific app. It runs from one codebase on many platforms, can be installed, and can work offline and in the background through service workers. web.dev's introduction adds that a PWA reaches anyone on any device from a single codebase and, once installed, opens in its own window.
What a native app is
A native app is built for iOS or Android with each platform's tools, or for both with a cross-platform framework such as Flutter or React Native, and is installed from the App Store or Google Play. It has direct access to the device's features and follows each platform's design conventions; our guide to Flutter vs React Native covers the shared-code route.
Device features and the gap
The web's capabilities have grown: Chrome's capabilities project describes an effort to close gaps in what web apps can do. Push notifications, once the biggest gap on iPhone, arrived with iOS and iPadOS 16.4: the WebKit announcement (16 February 2023) says Home Screen web apps can receive web push, with permission asked after a user action. Features that reach deep into the device, such as some background processing, advanced Bluetooth use or tight integration with platform services, still favor native apps; check each feature you need on each platform before deciding.
Distribution and updates
How users get the app, and how fast you can change it, differ sharply:
- PWA: found on the web and through search, shared by link, installed from the browser; updates go live when you deploy, with no review.
- Native: found in the App Store and Google Play; each release passes store review, and users update through the store.
- Store fees: the Apple Developer Program costs $99 a year and Google Play charges a $25 one-time fee; a PWA needs neither.
- Store rules: Apple's App Store Review Guidelines (4.2, minimum functionality) reject apps that are little more than a repackaged website, so a thin wrapper around a site is not a shortcut into the store.
Cost and maintenance
A PWA is one codebase, built and maintained by web developers, so it usually costs less to build and change than two native apps. A cross-platform native app narrows that gap. Native apps also need yearly updates to meet store requirements; our guide to app maintenance cost sets those out.
Which to build
A rule of thumb from our own working practice:
- Build a PWA for portals, internal tools, booking and ordering, dashboards and content apps, where users mainly view, enter and manage information, change is frequent, and reach by link matters.
- Build a native app when you need deep device features, store visibility and trust, offline-first work in the field at scale, or the most polished interaction.
- Start with a PWA, add native later when demand is unproven: the web app's back end and APIs can serve a native app built afterwards.
Conclusion
A progressive web app installs from the browser, works offline, updates instantly and, since iOS 16.4, can send push notifications on iPhone, all from one web codebase with no store fees or review. A native app reaches deeper device features and the app stores, at the cost of separate releases, review and yearly platform updates. Choose by the features you need, how users will find the app and how often it changes.
PromotEdge International is an international strategy, technology, marketing and design company, and our delivery team is in India. Our web application team builds progressive web apps and portals, and our mobile app development team builds native and cross-platform apps, in your own accounts.
Facts we rely on: see our company facts for what we state about ourselves and where each fact comes from.