What is the difference between a native app and a cross-platform app?
A native app is built separately for each platform, in the programming language and with the tools of that platform: one app for iPhone and one for Android. A cross-platform app is built once, with one shared base, and runs on both. Well-known frameworks for that are Flutter and React Native; the user does not notice which framework is used.
For you as the client the difference comes down to three things: what building costs, how soon new phone features are available and how demanding the app is. Take, for example, an installation company that wants an app in which technicians fill in work orders and customers see their appointment.
How do they compare?
One app for both phones and two separate apps differ on six points:
| One app for both (cross-platform) | Two separate apps (native) | |
|---|---|---|
| Building | Once | Build twice and test twice |
| Making a change | Once, reaches both phones | Twice |
| Maintenance | One base to keep up | Two |
| New iPhone or Android features | Arrive later | Usable straight away, per platform |
| Demanding graphics, such as a 3D game | Less suitable | Better suited |
| For most business apps | Enough | Usually not needed |
When is one app for iPhone and Android enough?
One app is enough for most business apps: a customer app, an app for staff, an app with forms, lists, notifications and the camera. You pay once for the build, keep one base up to date and a change is ready on both phones at the same time. The installation company’s app falls under this. So choose one app, unless yours needs heavy graphics or a new phone feature on the first day.
A simple app for both phones costs from €2,500: one purpose, a few screens and a sign-in. The screens and features are built once. What happens per phone is the testing on an iPhone and an Android device, and the publishing in the App Store and Google Play. Each extra screen costs €200 to €600, and you pay that once too.
Want to know what your own app for iPhone and Android together would cost? Request a quote and describe what technicians, customers or staff need to do with it.
When are two separate apps worth the cost?
Two separate apps are worth the cost in two situations, and the cost is high: expect nearly twice as much, because every screen is built and tested twice. The first is heavy graphics: a 3D game, or an app that depends on demanding graphics, is better built separately for iPhone and Android, best by a studio that specialises in games. The second is new phone features from day one: an app built once for both phones gets the new features of the iPhone or of Android later than an app built specifically for one of them. If your app has to use a new feature on the day Apple or Google releases it, you need a separate app for iPhone and one for Android.
Do you have to start on both platforms at once?
Not always. If your users nearly all have one kind of phone, for example because your company issues phones to staff, you build for that platform. For a customer app you usually do not know. Then look at your own visitor statistics and at StatCounter’s market shares for the Netherlands: the split between iPhone and Android differs strongly by audience, and what holds for the whole country need not hold for your customers.
How do you choose? Five questions
Go through the questions in order and stop at the first one that gives you an answer:
- Does the app need demanding graphics? If so: two separate apps, at a specialised studio. If not: go to question 2.
- Must the app use a new phone feature on the day it appears? If so: two separate apps. If not: go to question 3.
- Do your users nearly all use one platform? If so: build for that platform and add the other later. If not: go to question 4.
- Do you need notifications, the camera or information without an internet connection? If so: an app, built once for both. If not: go to question 5.
- Is a website or web application enough for your purpose? If so: build that instead of an app. The difference between a website, a web application and an app explains how to tell.
Did the first yes point to one app for both phones? Request a quote and we will work out what that app costs for your business.
What stays the same with one app or two?
The work around the app stays the same. Every app has to be approved by Apple and Google before anyone can download it, so allow for that in the planning of the launch and leave it to someone who knows what Apple and Google ask. For the developer accounts Apple charges $99 a year and Google $25 once. Google also sets testing requirements for personal accounts created after 13 November 2023, one more reason to put the accounts in your company’s name. And the running costs are an amount per account, hosting and maintenance; what an app costs is in the article on costs.
What happens to the app if you stop working with the developer?
What happens depends on how the project was set up. If the app is published from accounts in your company’s name, it stays in the App Store and in Google Play. If you also get the complete source code with a written explanation, another developer can continue the work. Ask for both before you start, whoever builds the app.
Frequently asked questions
What is cheaper: one app or two?
One app built once for iPhone and Android costs about half as much as two separate apps. You pay once for design, building and changes.
Is a cross-platform app worse?
For most business apps a user does not notice the difference. With demanding graphics, such as a 3D game, and with new phone features on the day of release, a native app is ahead.
Should I make an iPhone app or an Android app first?
Which you make first depends on your users. Look at their devices and not at the national average. If you do not know, choose one app for both.
What is a progressive web app?
A website that behaves like an app: it sits on the home screen and is partly usable without internet. It is a cheaper route if you do not need access to all phone features. Turn your website into an app explains what that costs and can do.
How long does it take Apple and Google to approve my app?
The time differs from case to case and from app to app, and nobody can promise a term. Plan well before the launch date and submit as soon as there is a working version.
What does an app for both phones cost?
A simple app for iPhone and Android together costs from €2,500, excluding VAT. If you want more, you pay per part: an extra screen costs €200 to €600. The cost breakdown shows what each part costs.
Having your app built for iPhone and Android
If a website or web application is enough for your purpose, you do not need an app, and we will tell you so. If you do want an app, we build it once for iPhone and Android, from €2,500, and publish it from accounts in your company’s name. If your app does need to be built separately for one phone, we say so before you pay anything. Request a quote and mention which phones your users have, if you know.
Want this built, or want to talk it through?
Write to us with what it is for, who will use it and when you need it. We reply within one working day.
Read next
- How much does it cost to build an app? From €2,500Where the price of an app starts, what each addition costs and how to work out a number for your own idea.
- Web app vs website vs mobile app: which do you need?The difference between a website, a web application and an app, with examples and a way to decide.
- Turn a website into an app: four ways and what they costHow to put a website on a phone as an app, when a web app is enough, what Apple accepts in the App Store and what a native app costs.
- Publishing an app: what the App Store and Google Play costWhat Apple and Google charge, what you must supply to register and what becomes public on the product page.
