When a business says "we need an app", there are three quite different things it might mean. Each has a different cost, a different route to your customers and different limits on what it can do. Choosing well at the start avoids an expensive rebuild later.
Native apps
Built separately for iOS and Android using each platform's own tools. The result is the fastest, most polished experience, with full access to the device: camera, sensors, notifications, offline storage, and the latest operating system features on day one.
- Best for: products where performance and feel matter, heavy use of device hardware, or apps that are the core of the business.
- Cost: highest, because two codebases are built and maintained. Some businesses start with one platform and add the other later.
Cross-platform apps
Frameworks such as React Native and Flutter let one codebase produce both an iOS and an Android app. They are distributed through the app stores like native apps and can access most device features.
- Best for: most business apps. Customer-facing apps, internal tools, anything that needs both platforms on a sensible budget.
- Trade-offs: a little behind native on the newest platform features, and the occasional need for platform-specific code. For the majority of apps neither is a problem.
Web apps
An application that runs in the browser. It can be made installable on a phone's home screen as a progressive web app, works on every device, and needs no app store approval. Updates are instant because there is nothing to download.
- Best for: customer portals, dashboards, booking and ordering systems, and anything used mainly on a desktop or where getting people to install an app is unrealistic.
- Limits: restricted access to some device features, particularly on iOS, and no presence in the app stores if that matters to you.
How to decide
- Does it need to be in the app stores? If discoverability on the App Store or Google Play matters, a web app alone will not do.
- What device features does it need? Push notifications, camera, location, offline use and background processing push you towards native or cross-platform.
- Who uses it, and where? Staff on desktops lean towards web. Customers on phones lean towards an installed app.
- What is the budget for maintenance, not just the build? Every platform you support is one you must keep updated as operating systems change.
Our view. Most business apps are best served by a cross-platform build or a well-made web app, with native reserved for cases that genuinely need it. We will tell you which we think fits before any work is quoted.