In short
The web app is the normal case: reachable straight away, no installation, on every device, and findable on Google. A mobile app pays off when you need something the browser does not provide. That comes down to three things: device functions such as camera, GPS and push, dependable offline use, and a place on the home screen that people return to daily.
- No installation
- Web App
- Camera, GPS, push
- Mobile app
- Both from one codebase
- Cross-platform
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Access
You open a web app with a link. A mobile app has to be installed first, and every step along the way costs you a share of the people interested. In return it is one tap away afterwards.
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Depth
What the device can do, the native app can do. The browser opens up a section of that, and the browser vendor decides which section, not you.
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Control over releases
Web: you decide when something goes live. Store: Apple and Google have a say, and your users decide when they update.
| Mobile app and web app compared by criteria | Mobile app | Web App |
|---|---|---|
| iOS and Android from one codebase | Any device with a browser | |
| Through the App Store | No download necessary | |
| Full access to camera, GPS and push | Limited, through browser APIs | |
| Dependable to build | Partly, through a PWA | |
| Close to native | Good, but bounded by the browser | |
| Full control, the system's sandbox | Depends on browser and hosting | |
| Not possible | Fully optimisable | |
| Depend on users downloading them | Automatic on next visit | |
| Store fees and a review process | No fees, no review | |
| Only after installation | Straight from a link | |
| One codebase, two stores | One codebase, no store | |
| Needs its own integration | Through Plausible or Fathom |
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The app needs the hardware
Camera, GPS, Bluetooth, biometric sign-in or sensor data in real time. The browser reaches these functions only partially, and what it can do differs by device and browser version.
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It has to work without a connection
A PWA can cache content, but dependable offline use with local data and later synchronisation is considerably easier to build on the device.
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It gets used daily
Fitness, calendar, banking: applications people return to several times a day benefit from a place on the home screen and from push notifications.
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The store is part of the strategy
For some audiences it counts that a company is present in the App Store. For that, the app has to actually be there.
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Portals and tools
Self-service access, dashboards and public platforms. Users open a link and they are in, with no installation and no store account.
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The budget is tight
One codebase for every device, no store fees, no review. For an MVP that still has to prove it is needed, that is the shorter path.
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It has to be quick
Releasing without a review process means a correction is live the same day instead of the following week.
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Your users keep changing
B2B tools with changing participants, or publicly accessible content. Nobody installs anything to use the application once.
What is the difference between a web app and a mobile app?
Mobile apps are installed through the stores and run on the device. Web apps run in the browser, need no installation and work immediately on any device with an internet connection.
What is a PWA?
A progressive web app is a web application that comes close to a native one. It can sit on the home screen, works partly offline and can reach some device functions, without being in a store.
Can I build a web app and a mobile app from one codebase?
Yes. React Native and Flutter cover web, iOS and Android from one codebase. That saves effort, but it has limits: the deeper you push a single platform, the more platform-specific code you add.
Which device functions can a web app use?
Camera, microphone, location and in part push notifications. The range is smaller than with a native app and depends on the browser, which makes planning less certain.
How do updates differ?
A web app is current on the next visit. A mobile app has to pass review and then be downloaded by users. Part of your user base therefore stays on older versions permanently.
How secure are web apps by comparison?
Both can be secure, it depends on the implementation. A native app gives you more control over locally stored data, a web app rests on the browser's established security mechanisms.
Can I move from a web app to a native app later?
Yes, if the architecture is built for it from the start. What matters is that business logic and data access sit apart from the interface, otherwise the switch becomes a rewrite.
How do I increase reach?
A web app is reachable from a link and findable on Google. A mobile app needs app store optimisation and usually an advertising budget, because search will not find it.