React Native vs React JS: Which One is More Popular in 2025?

TL;DR – React Native vs React JS: Which One is More Popular in 2025?

• In the ongoing comparison of React Native vs React JS, React JS continues to dominate web development by powering dynamic, high-performance single-page applications.
• React Native leads in cross-platform mobile apps, offering near-native performance from a single codebase.
• React JS has a larger job market and ecosystem, while React Native is rapidly gaining ground in mobile roles.
• Meta’s backing fuels continuous innovation and long-term support for both frameworks.
• Developers often use both together, enabling full-stack JavaScript development across web and mobile.

Introduction

In the fast-evolving world of software development, React technologies have emerged as a powerful force. React JS and React Native are two of the most widely adopted frameworks, each catering to different aspects of modern app development. React JS is renowned for building dynamic, high-performance web applications, while React Native has gained immense popularity for enabling cross-platform mobile app development with a single codebase.

Whether you’re building sophisticated web applications and need to hire ReactJS developers or developing efficient, native-like mobile apps and need to hire React Native developers, both frameworks have proven their worth. As we move into 2025, understanding the unique features, advantages, and use cases of React JS and React Native will be essential for developers and businesses alike. This post explores the growth, popularity, and future prospects of both technologies and compares their strengths in meeting the diverse needs of today’s digital landscape.

What is React JS?

Definition and Core Concept

React JS is an open-source JavaScript library developed by Facebook. It’s primarily used to build user interfaces (UIs) for single-page applications (SPAs) by creating reusable components. React revolutionized front-end web development with its declarative and component-based architecture, making it easier to build dynamic, interactive web applications.

For a deeper understanding of React’s evolution and recent updates, you can explore ReactJS 19: A New Era of Front-End Development, which outlines the latest improvements that are influencing how developers approach UI building in 2025.

Use Cases

React JS is used predominantly in web development. It powers some of the largest websites and apps, offering fast rendering and a rich user experience. Common use cases include:

• E-commerce platforms
• Social media websites
• Content management systems (CMS)
• News and media websites

If you’re curious to see how leading businesses are leveraging React JS in real-world scenarios, check out this curated list of Top ReactJS Apps – it highlights some of the most successful applications built with React and how they utilize its features to enhance performance and user engagement.

Benefits

React JS offers numerous benefits, including:

• Virtual DOM: React’s virtual DOM ensures high performance by updating only the changed components, minimizing direct interaction with the real DOM.
• Reusable Components: Developers can create components that are reusable, making code maintenance and scalability much easier.
• SEO Friendly: React can be rendered server-side, which improves SEO for single-page applications

These strengths are part of the reason why so many developers and organizations continue to choose ReactJS for their next project, especially when scalability, performance, and development speed are key considerations.

Adoption Rate and Market Share

React JS continues to dominate the web development landscape. According to recent surveys, React JS is the most popular front-end JavaScript framework in use today. Companies like Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix rely on React JS for their web applications.

What is React Native?

Definition and Core Concept

React Native is a framework developed by Facebook that enables developers to use React JS to build mobile applications for iOS and Android. Unlike hybrid mobile development frameworks, React Native allows developers to write truly native apps with JavaScript and React.

The React Native 0.79 update brought considerable improvements in developer experience and performance optimization, pushing the framework further into the spotlight in 2025.

Use Cases

React Native is ideal for building mobile apps that need cross-platform support. Its use cases include:

• E-commerce mobile apps
• Social media apps
• Productivity apps
• Entertainment and streaming apps

One emerging trend is building multilingual mobile apps, which React Native supports efficiently with built-in internationalization libraries and robust tooling.

Benefits

React Native offers several advantages, such as:

• Cross-Platform Development: Write once and deploy on both iOS and Android, saving time and resources.
• Native Performance: React Native apps perform almost as well as apps written with native technologies, providing users with a smooth experience.
• Hot Reloading: Developers can instantly see changes in the app, significantly speeding up the development process.

For advanced app functionalities like seamless user routing, a deep linking setup in React Native ensures a smooth user journey even from outside the app environment.

Adoption Rate and Market Share

As the demand rises, it’s increasingly beneficial to hire dedicated React Native developers who specialize in native capabilities while leveraging the React ecosystem.

React Native vs React JS: Key Differences

Here’s a table outlining the key differences between React Native vs React JS:

Factors Driving Popularity of React Technologies

Both React JS and React Native boast thriving, active communities that continually contribute to their growth. Developers have access to a wealth of open-source libraries, tools, and forums, making both technologies highly attractive. Additionally, the emphasis on component reusability and modular architecture allows developers to build and scale applications more efficiently.

To ensure maintainability and performance, many teams adhere to established development conventions. Following React best practices not only accelerates development but also enhances code quality—something that plays a vital role in the long-term popularity of these frameworks.

Ease of Use and Flexibility

React’s declarative approach to building UIs makes it highly accessible for developers, while its flexibility allows for a wide variety of applications, from web apps to mobile apps.

Cross-Platform Capabilities

React Native’s ability to target both iOS and Android platforms with a single codebase is a significant reason for its rising popularity. The appeal of React Native is amplified by its ability to reduce development time and cost.

Corporate Support

The backing of Meta (formerly Facebook) ensures that both React JS and React Native will continue to be supported and evolve in the future. The robust community around React also contributes to its widespread adoption.

When to Use Both React JS and React Native Together

Many modern development teams are choosing to use React JS and React Native side by side—and for good reason. When building products that require both web and mobile experiences, combining these two technologies offers significant efficiency:

• Shared Codebase for Business Logic: You can reuse core application logic (like authentication, data processing, and state management) across web and mobile, reducing duplication and maintenance overhead.
  
• Unified Development Stack: Using JavaScript and React across platforms means your team doesn’t have to learn multiple frameworks or languages, speeding up onboarding and collaboration.
  
• Consistent User Experience: With design systems like React Native Web or shared UI libraries, it’s easier to maintain visual and behavioral consistency between web and mobile interfaces.
  
• Ideal for Startups and Agile Teams: Teams with limited resources can move faster by developing once and deploying everywhere, especially in MVP or iterative product builds.

This approach makes it even more compelling to hire ReactJS developers and hire React Native developers who can collaborate on a unified codebase, creating scalable, high-performance apps for all platforms.

Pros and Cons: React JS vs React Native

React JS Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Great for building interactive, dynamic UIs for web applications.
• Huge ecosystem and community support.
• Excellent performance for web apps due to the virtual DOM.

Cons:

• Limited to web applications.
• Not suitable for mobile app development.

React Native Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Cross-platform support, reducing time and cost for mobile app development.
• Near-native performance.
• Strong community and growing adoption.

Cons:

• Sometimes requires native code for specific features, adding complexity.
• Limited to mobile app development.

Conclusion: Future of React Native vs React JS in 2025 and Beyond

In 2025 and beyond, React JS will remain the top choice for web development, thanks to its performance, evolving libraries, and strong ecosystem. As demand grows, the need to hire ReactJS developers who can navigate these advancements becomes increasingly important.

React Native, backed by Meta and a growing community, continues to shine in mobile development by enabling cross-platform apps from a single codebase. Businesses looking to save time and cost will benefit from choosing to hire React Native developers skilled in building high-quality, platform-consistent apps.

Together, both technologies are set to define the future of digital product development.

React JS

React Native

Bhargav Bhanderi

Director - Web & Cloud Technologies