“We need an app: is native or a web app better?” This is one of the most common questions when a company wants to bring a service to the smartphones of its customers or employees. There is no absolute answer: it depends on your goals, budget and features. Let’s look at the concrete differences and how to choose.
PWA and native apps, in brief
A native app is developed specifically for iOS and Android (in practice two separate apps), is downloaded from the stores and makes full use of the device’s hardware. A Progressive Web App (PWA) is an advanced website that behaves like an app: it installs from the browser, can work offline, send push notifications and run on a single codebase valid for iOS, Android and desktop.
The numbers that matter
- Development costs: a PWA generally starts from around 5,000 to 30,000 euros, while a native app (iOS plus Android) ranges from 25,000 to over 120,000, depending on complexity.
- Maintenance: for a native app it can reach up to 20% of the cost per year, and it has to be done across two platforms. Over three years, the total cost of ownership of a native solution is often 2-3 times that of an equivalent PWA.
- Updates: a PWA updates instantly (you fix an issue and everyone immediately has the new version), while a native app goes through the stores’ review process.
- Visibility: the content of a PWA can be indexed by Google, whereas a native app lives only inside the store.
When a PWA is the better choice
A PWA is often the best choice for management systems, e-commerce, customer portals, productivity tools and event apps: all cases where you need fast release times, contained costs and a single codebase. If you don’t need very advanced hardware features, a well-built PWA offers an experience that is practically equivalent to native.
When you need a native app
A native app remains the right choice when high and consistent performance or deep integration with the device matter: gaming, video editing, augmented reality, intensive use of sensors, or when a presence on the store and full push notifications are part of your customer loyalty strategy.
The BIT perspective: how to choose
For most SMEs and hospitality businesses, the practical advice is: start with a PWA. You reach the market sooner, spend less, cover all devices with a single project and maintain a single codebase. You move to native, or add a native app alongside the PWA, only when a concrete need justifies it: extreme performance, specific hardware features or a retention strategy based on the store.
The right question is not “PWA or native”, but “what problem must the app solve and with what budget”. From there the choice becomes simple. We always start from goals and numbers, not from the technology of the moment.
How BIT can help you
BIT develops custom software, web apps and applications for businesses and hospitality operators. We help you understand which solution really suits your case, with a clear analysis of costs and returns before writing a single line of code. Discover our software development or let’s talk about your project.
