7th May 2025

Progressive Web Apps vs Native Apps: Choosing the Right Solution for Your Business

When considering a mobile presence for your business, you aren’t limited to developing a traditional native app. In recent years, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) have emerged as a compelling alternative. PWAs are essentially websites that behave like apps – users can install them on their home screen, they work offline or in low network conditions, and they can even send push notifications. Meanwhile, native apps (the usual apps you download from Apple’s App Store or Google Play) offer deep integration with device capabilities and (sometimes) a more polished experience.

Both approaches have their advantages and trade-offs. For an SME or public sector service, deciding between a PWA and a native app (or opting for both) depends on various factors like budget, required features, target audience, and the user experience you want to deliver. This article will break down the differences between PWAs and native apps, the pros and cons of each, and provide guidance to help you choose the right path for your business.

By understanding these options, you can make an informed decision that balances user needs with practical constraints – ensuring you invest in the solution that offers the best value and impact.

What is a Progressive Web App (PWA)?

A Progressive Web App is essentially a website built with modern web technologies but with abilities that make it act like an app:

• Installable: Users visiting your site can be prompted to “Add to Home Screen”. Once they do, it appears as an icon on their phone like any other app. (No need to visit an app store.)
• Offline-capable: Thanks to Service Workers (a script that runs in background), PWAs can cache content for offline use. So if there’s no internet, the app can still show previously loaded content or at least a custom offline page rather than a browser error.
• Push Notifications: PWAs can send push notifications (at least on Android and now in 2023, iOS Safari has begun support too). This was a big area where native had an edge, but it’s narrowing.
• Full-screen experience: When launched from home screen, a PWA can hide browser UI and look like a standalone app.
• Responsive and Fast: PWAs are generally built to be responsive (work on any screen) and performance-optimised, leveraging techniques like pre-caching resources to load quickly.

Technically, a PWA is just a web application with a manifest (a JSON file that tells the device about the app name, icon, colors, how it should launch) and a service worker (for offline and push). Many modern web frameworks can produce a PWA easily, or it can be added to existing sites.

Real-life example: Twitter Lite (mobile.twitter.com) is a famous PWA. It offers a lot of functionality of the native app with a tiny footprint and works offline for basic viewing. For smaller businesses, think of a PWA as turning your website into an app-like experience. Many e-commerce platforms (Shopify, Magento) now support PWA front-ends that make shopping smoother on mobile.

Advantages of PWAs

1. Cross-Platform with Single Codebase:
A PWA works through the web browser, so it’s essentially the same app for iOS, Android, Windows, etc. You don’t have to develop separate native apps for each platform. This can save a lot of time and money in development and maintenance. If you update your PWA (deploy new web code), all users get the update immediately next time they load it – no dealing with app store review delays or waiting for users to download updates.

2. No App Store Friction:
Users can discover your PWA through a simple web link (via search engine or you can direct them). They can start using it instantly without the hurdle of going to an app store, searching, downloading, and installing. That reduces friction; recall that many interested users drop off during the multi-step app install process. With a PWA, engagement can begin on first visit, and then if they find it useful they add it to home screen in one tap. Also, you don’t need app store approvals to launch or update, which is a relief for some.

3. Lightweight and Fast:
PWAs are typically much smaller in size than native apps. Think in kilobytes or a few megabytes versus tens or hundreds of MB for native. For users with limited storage or slow internet, that’s a boon. And since they are web-based, you can use adaptive loading (only load what’s needed). A well-built PWA can be very performant – and speed is crucial to user experience. There’s evidence that good PWAs have improved conversion rates for companies by making mobile experience faster (Alibaba saw significant increases in conversion after implementing a PWA, with page load times down​, etc.)

4. Cost-Effective for SMEs:
Given the single codebase and lower complexity, an SME might build a PWA as an extension of their website development. Skills required are web development (HTML, CSS, JS) which might be more readily available than specialised native app dev. There are also frameworks like Angular or React that can make building a PWA quite straightforward if you already use them for web. The ongoing maintenance (security, content updates) is unified with your website. If your PWA essentially is your website, you maintain one thing.

5. SEO Visibility:
A PWA is indexable by search engines because it’s web content. That means your app’s content can be found via Google, driving organic traffic. A native app’s content, on the other hand, is hidden inside the app (though you can do some deep linking and app indexing, but it’s more complex). If content discovery is important (like for a news outlet or a catalog), a PWA has advantage here.

6. Good Enough UX (in many cases):
Modern web technologies allow for smooth, app-like experiences including animations, navigation, and even access to some device features (camera, geolocation, etc.). While native can do more (we’ll discuss), for many common tasks like shopping, reading, forms, etc., a PWA can provide a nearly indistinguishable experience from a native app, especially as mobile browsers become very powerful. For instance, the ability to work offline and send push – traditionally reasons to go native – are covered by PWA now on many platforms.

Advantages of Native Apps

1. Full Access to Device Features:
Native apps can leverage any hardware or OS feature available through their SDKs. This includes advanced stuff like Bluetooth, sensors, file system access, contacts, background services, etc., often with fewer limitations than web. For example:

• If you need to integrate with other installed apps (like share content to WhatsApp), or intercept system events, native is better.
• For complex use of camera (like heavy AR, real-time video processing), native frameworks might perform better or have more libraries.
• Notifications on iOS were not possible via web until recently; even now, it’s new and might be limited compared to native push capabilities. If your application needs these kinds of deep integrations (maybe you’re building a companion app for a hardware device via Bluetooth, or a high-end AR experience), native is likely the way.

2. Performance and UI Smoothness:
While PWAs can be fast, native apps generally have the edge in raw performance, especially for graphics-intensive tasks (games, heavy animations) or data-intensive ones. Native code runs closer to the metal; web code runs in a browser sandbox. For a lot of business apps, this difference might be negligible, but for some experiences, users can notice (e.g., a complex scrolling interface might be more fluid natively). Also, native apps have access to high-performance UI components built-in (like optimised lists, gestures, etc.) that sometimes in web need more effort to match fluidity.

3. Better Offline Capability for Complex Apps:
While PWAs can cache pages or data, native apps can handle offline more robustly if the app is complex. They can use local databases (like SQLite) extensively to sync data, manage background sync when connection is back, etc., possibly with fewer constraints. For example, a sales CRM app that needs to work offline all day and sync later might do well as native for reliability.

4. App Store Discoverability and Trust:
Some users browse app stores for solutions. Being present there could gain you customers. Also, some customers inherently trust a product more if it’s in the official app store (validation effect). An app store listing can also be part of marketing (with screenshots, description, reviews) which might attract new users. Also, once installed, native apps integrate in the system – e.g., an iPhone user might search their phone for “insurance” and see your app if it’s installed (spotlight search). That visibility isn’t there for web unless they specifically bookmark or remember your site.

5. User Expectations and Habits:
Many consumers are accustomed to interacting via apps for certain things (banking, shopping from big retailers, etc.), and might expect a dedicated app for a service they use regularly. If all your main competitors have an app and you only have a PWA, some users might perceive you as behind, even if the PWA meets their needs. Also, features like being in the share menu (e.g., share a link to your app) or sending periodic enriched notifications may be expected in some contexts. Native apps often get more mindshare because they are “present” on the device interface while websites might be forgotten once user closes the browser tab.

6. Stronger Engagement Features:
While push is on both now, native apps still have a bit more flexibility in engagement. For instance, an app icon badge (that little number on app icon) can be set by a native app (to indicate new messages etc.), not by a PWA (on iOS, web push notifications might appear but no persistent badge count). Native apps can automatically start on device boot if needed for some background task, or use advanced scheduling for notifications. These nuances might or might not be critical to you.

Considerations to Choose

1. Functionality Needs:
List what features your mobile solution absolutely requires. If all can be done via web (GPS, camera capture, offline reading, etc.), a PWA is viable. If you list something like “needs to run in background to track location constantly” or “needs to integrate with phone contacts to send invites” – those point to native.

2. Audience & Usage Frequency:
If your service is likely to have casual or one-time users, a PWA is advantageous because people can use it instantly without commitment. Example: a public transport timetable – likely a PWA so anyone can quickly check it without needing an app. Conversely, if you expect your users to interact daily (like a team collaboration tool, or a social app), they might appreciate the convenience and fuller features of a native app (plus they’re likely willing to install it). Also consider audience demographics – if many are on older devices or regions where data is expensive, PWA’s lightweight nature helps. But if your audience is more tech-savvy or specifically asked “do you have an app?”, that indicates appetite for native.

3. Budget & Resources:
If budget is limited, PWA can give you presence on all devices at once for cheaper. It’s often the pragmatic choice for SMEs starting out, because you can always wrap it in a basic native shell later (there are tools to basically put a web app in a native container as a stopgap). On the other hand, if you have budget and the use-case demands it, native could be worth the investment for superior results.

4. Marketing & Presence:
Do you need that app store presence? Sometimes being in the app store can itself be a marketing point (press releases, etc., often hype a new app). If your industry expects it, there’s a perception benefit to having a native app. Also, consider if you can effectively get users to add the PWA to their home screen – many are unaware of this capability. Native apps piggyback on user habit of installing from app stores. PWAs require a bit of user education (“Please add our site to your home screen for quick access”).

5. Maintaining Experience Quality:
On iOS particularly, PWAs have a few limitations (Apple has been slower in adopting some features for web apps, likely to push native ecosystem, but they gradually improve). There’s also the risk that Apple or Android could change something that affect PWA behavior (less likely on Android which is pro-web, more on iOS historically). But generally, web standards are solid. However, test your PWA thoroughly on various devices. On older iPhones, for example, prior to iOS 15, web push wasn’t available at all. If a big chunk of your customers are iPhone users and push or offline is critical, that was a drawback (though in 2023, iOS 16.4 has enabled web push for installed PWAs, so progress is happening). Native apps, once built, will consistently have those capabilities across devices (if coded to handle different OS versions gracefully).

6. Combining Approaches:
Remember, it’s not strictly either/or. Some companies do both: a PWA to cover broad reach and a native app for power users. Or they start with a PWA to test usage patterns, then invest in a native app for better engagement. There’s also concept of using frameworks like React Native to build an app and also serve a web version from largely the same code (with some differences). That’s a more complex approach but possible.

Conclusion

Choosing between a Progressive Web App and a native app depends on your business goals, user needs, and resource constraints. For many SMEs and even some public platforms, a PWA offers an excellent balance of reach and functionality at a lower cost. It’s particularly compelling if you want to avoid the heavy upfront investment and maintenance overhead of native apps, or if your use case is mainly providing content and basic interactions without heavy device integration.

However, if your service demands high-performance, deep device integration, or you have a strategy that benefits from being in app stores (like a startup needing investor cred or user perception of being a “serious app”), then native might be the right call.

One approach we often suggest is: start with a responsive web or PWA to get your mobile experience out there and gather user feedback. If you find significant traction and identify features that would meaningfully enhance in a native environment, then consider adding a native app to your lineup (or evolving the PWA into a hybrid approach). This way, you validate with minimal risk and only scale up investment when justified.

Remember, user experience is king. Both PWAs and native apps can provide great UX if executed well. Whichever you choose, focus on smooth functionality, intuitive design, and fulfilling user expectations. A well-built PWA is better than a mediocre native app and vice versa.

At Gemstone, we’re well-versed in both modern web app development and native app development. We don’t push one solution for all – we evaluate each client’s needs to recommend what’s best. If you’re wrestling with the choice or looking to get a project off the ground, we’re here to help you weigh the options and implement the ideal solution. Our goal is to ensure your users get the best experience and your business gets maximum value.

In summary: PWAs vs native isn’t about which is universally better, but which is better for you. By considering the factors above, you can choose a path that aligns with your objectives and delight your users on their mobile devices – whichever method delivers that.