Native vs cross-platform mobile: an honest take on when each fits
I build native, and I will tell you when cross-platform is fine.
A senior native developer's straight assessment of when Flutter or React Native costs you and when a shared codebase is reasonable, so the decision fits your product. Day rate: €500.
Vendredi App · Repair order
Nº ····
Drop-off
Your day, 9:00
Ready
19:00
You collect
The fix running on your phone, and the change in your source code.
Remote day rate
€500excl. tax
I have built native iOS, macOS, tvOS, and Android apps since 2008 and can tell you from experience where the cross-platform bridge holds up and where it strains.
You collect
- A written assessment of native versus cross-platform for your specific product
- A breakdown of where Flutter or React Native would cost you in your feature set
- Native iOS (Swift/SwiftUI) and Android (Kotlin) development when native is the right call
- A clear recommendation, including when a shared codebase is the reasonable choice
Repair order
I build native, so here is the honest version
It would be easy to say native always wins, but that is not true. Cross-platform frameworks like Flutter and React Native are reasonable for a lot of standard apps: forms, lists, CRUD, content that does not lean on platform-specific media or hardware. My interest is in your product shipping well, so the recommendation is based on what you are building rather than on selling more native days.
Where cross-platform actually costs you
The strain shows up in specific places: video playback and DRM, where you fight the bridge to reach AVPlayer and ExoPlayer; TV platforms, where Flutter and React Native have weak support; deep native API access; app binary size; and debugging that crosses the JavaScript or Dart bridge into native code. Keeping up with each new OS release is also slower when you depend on a framework to expose new APIs. If your product lives in these areas, native usually wins on time and quality.
Where a shared codebase is reasonable
If the app is mostly screens of data, the team already knows React or Dart, and there is no heavy media, hardware, or TV requirement, a shared codebase can genuinely save money and ship faster. The compromise is acceptable when the hard parts of your product are not the parts a framework struggles with. I will say so plainly when that is the situation, even though I am not the one who would build it.
How the decision should be made
The right choice comes from the product, not from a trend. I look at your core features, your team, your platform targets, and your maintenance horizon, then give a recommendation you can act on. When native is the answer, I build it in Swift, SwiftUI, and Kotlin. When it is not, I tell you, so you do not pay for native where it adds nothing.
Frequently asked questions
The same flat day rate of €500, remote. An honest assessment is usually a small number of days, and it can save you far more than that by avoiding the wrong architecture.
Yes. I review existing native or cross-platform apps, tell you what is healthy and what is not, and can take over native iOS or Android work. I read the code before forming an opinion.
Yes. If your product is a good fit for Flutter or React Native, I will say so, even though native is what I build. A wrong recommendation costs you more than one honest conversation.
Video, DRM, offline downloads, and TV platforms lean heavily on platform-specific APIs like AVPlayer, FairPlay, and the Apple TV focus engine. Reaching those through a cross-platform bridge is where most of the pain and quality loss shows up.
My hands-on building is native: Swift, SwiftUI, and Kotlin. I understand the cross-platform frameworks well enough to advise on the tradeoff, but my delivery is native code on each platform.
A description of your core features, your platform targets (iOS, Android, TV, web), your team's existing skills, and how long you expect to maintain the app. With that I can give a clear, product-based recommendation.
Your next ticket
The next free day is on the calendar. Start with a free call if you want to talk it through first.
Book a free 20-min callOr leave a note at the counter
Describe your project. I answer right away in the chat when I am available, within 24 hours otherwise.