Instead of the typical technical comparison between React Native and native development (Swift for iOS, Kotlin for Android), I’m going to do the calculation that really matters: how much will the app cost you at 3 years, not just today. Because the right question isn’t “how much does it cost to build the app?”, it’s “how much will it cost me to maintain it over the next 3 years?”.
And spoiler: the 3-year difference between React Native and native is brutal, in favour of React Native for 90% of apps. It’s not an opinion, it’s the real financial calculation with data from my clients and the market.
If you have to decide between React Native and native for your app, this post gives you the numbers to decide with criteria, not marketing.
The setup: how much does it cost to build the app from scratch
Suppose you want an internal management app (appointments, stock, admin panel) for your business. Serious app, multi-platform, with backend, login, push notifications, and a couple of external integrations. What I call a “standard business app”.
Option A: React Native + Supabase + TypeScript
- 1 developer (me, or an equivalent senior): €50-80/h.
- Setup hours: 350-500 hours (3-4 months part-time).
- Setup cost: €17,500-40,000 (with developer at €50-80/h).
Option B: Swift (iOS) + Kotlin (Android), two developers or one sequential
- 2 developers: one iOS (€60-90/h), one Android (€60-90/h). Or 1 sequential developer.
- If 2 developers: 350-500 hours each = 700-1,000 total hours.
- If 1 sequential developer: 700-1,000 hours = 7-10 months (double the time).
- Setup cost: €42,000-90,000 (with 2 developers) or €42,000-90,000 (with 1 sequential developer, same cost, double time).
Setup difference: €24,000-50,000 in favour of React Native.
Annual maintenance: what you pay each year to keep the app alive
An app in production needs maintenance. This includes: updates for iOS/Android changes, bug fixes, small improvements, user support, etc.
Option A: React Native
- Annual maintenance hours: 80-150 hours/year.
- Cost: €4,000-12,000/year (with developer at €50-80/h).
Option B: Native (Swift + Kotlin)
- Annual maintenance hours: 120-250 hours/year (higher because you have to maintain 2 codebases).
- Cost: €7,200-22,500/year.
Annual maintenance difference: €3,200-10,500/year in favour of React Native.
Why does React Native require fewer maintenance hours? For 3 reasons:
- One codebase. Any change is made once, not twice.
- The JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem is more mature. More maintained packages, more documentation, more ready-made solutions.
- iOS and Android updates adapt faster in React Native than rewriting native parts.
The cost of changing developer (when the original leaves)
This is the variable almost nobody looks at, and it’s the one with the most impact in 3 years. Because developers change. They leave the company, change country, retire, or simply become unavailable. And when that happens, how much does it cost to find someone to continue the project?
Option A: React Native
- Search time: 1-3 weeks.
- Candidates interviewed: 3-5.
- New developer learning curve: 1-2 weeks.
- Process cost: €3,000-8,000 (search hours + onboarding + learning curve).
Option B: Native (Swift + Kotlin)
- Search time: 3-6 weeks.
- Candidates interviewed: 1-3 (Swift and Kotlin developers are different pools, you have to search 2 if you want to cover both platforms).
- New developer learning curve: 3-6 weeks.
- Process cost: €6,000-20,000.
Developer change difference: €3,000-12,000 in favour of React Native.
The total 3-year calculation (with real numbers)
Let’s add everything. Let’s assume a realistic scenario: internal management app, developer at €60/h average, setup in the medium range, medium maintenance, 1 developer change during the 3 years.
| Concept | React Native | Native (Swift + Kotlin) |
|---|---|---|
| Setup (350-500h vs 700-1000h) | €24,000 | €60,000 |
| Maintenance year 1 (100h vs 180h) | €6,000 | €10,800 |
| Maintenance year 2 (100h vs 180h) | €6,000 | €10,800 |
| Maintenance year 3 (100h vs 180h) | €6,000 | €10,800 |
| Developer change (1 time) | €5,000 | €13,000 |
| Total 3 years | €47,000 | €105,400 |
3-year difference: €58,400 in favour of React Native. 2.2x cheaper.
And this assumes the project is successful and stays 3 years. If it fails before (which is the most common in small business apps), the loss is proportionally smaller with React Native. And if it pivots, React Native allows iterating faster.
The alternative calculation: if the app is simpler
If your app is simpler (an MVP, a single-screen app, a booking app without much logic), the numbers change, but the proportion stays.
Simple MVP app (100-200 setup hours):
- React Native: €6,000-12,000 setup, €1,500-3,000/year maintenance.
- Native: €12,000-24,000 setup, €3,000-6,000/year maintenance.
- Total 3 years: €13,500-23,000 (RN) vs €24,000-48,000 (native). Difference: 1.7-2.1x.
Complex enterprise app (1,000+ setup hours):
- React Native: €60,000-100,000 setup, €12,000-25,000/year maintenance.
- Native: €120,000-200,000 setup, €25,000-50,000/year maintenance.
- Total 3 years: €130,000-205,000 (RN) vs €250,000-450,000 (native). Difference: 1.8-2.2x.
In all scenarios, the difference is 1.7-2.2x. React Native is consistently cheaper at 3 years for business apps.
When the difference reverses (and native wins)
There are 3 cases where the calculation reverses and native wins:
1. Apps with extreme performance requirements: 3D games, AR/VR, real-time video/photo editing. Here performance matters more than cost, and native wins by a landslide.
2. Apps with deep hardware integrations: IoT, complex Bluetooth LE, advanced NFC, specific wearables. Here direct access to low-level native APIs is necessary, and React Native adds friction.
3. Companies with large pre-existing native teams: if you already have 5 Swift developers and 5 Kotlin developers in your company, you’re not going to migrate to React Native just to save €50,000 in 3 years. The migration cost would be higher than the savings.
For the remaining 90% of business apps: React Native wins in total 3-year cost.
What technical comparisons don’t tell you
Typical React Native vs native comparisons focus on:
- Performance (native wins, but the difference is getting smaller).
- API access (native wins, but 95% of the APIs a business app uses are already wrapped in React Native).
- User experience (native wins in subtle things, but 90% of users don’t notice the difference).
- Stability (native wins slightly, but React Native in 2026 is very stable).
What they DON’T tell you is the real 3-year cost. And that’s what really matters for a small business or self-employed professional that has to take care of every euro.
The real case of Westside Wellness
For the Westside Wellness app, we did this calculation before starting. Sarah had a total budget of €7,000 for 3 years (not forever, just for the first 3 years). With React Native, that budget was enough. With native, she would have needed €14,000-18,000 in the same period. Sarah didn’t have that money, so the decision was easy.
3 years later (we’re on it, in sprint 4 of 6), the app is in production, with 4 iOS/Android updates adapted without problems, 1 developer change (the junior who was helping me left for another company, I replaced him in 2 weeks), and a real cost of €4,680 (less than budgeted). Sarah is happy, the app works, and the business is doing well.
If we had done native, Sarah would have had to choose between (a) paying €14,000 in 3 years and risk the business not generating enough, or (b) make a smaller MVP that probably wouldn’t have validated the hypothesis. With React Native, she validated without financial risk.
If you’re deciding between React Native and native
If you’re reading this and have to decide, I summarise my recommendation:
- Do the 3-year calculation, not just today. Use the tables above with your real numbers.
- If your app is 90% views with data + API calls + storage (90% of business apps), React Native wins in cost.
- If your app has extreme performance, hardware or native UX requirements, native wins. But make sure you really need them, and they’re not “nice to have”.
- Consider the cost of changing developer. It’s the variable with the most impact at 3 years and the least looked at.
- If your team already masters Swift/Kotlin, stay with native. The learning curve is already paid.
If you want me to help you do the concrete calculation for your app, write to me at landinowebs@gmail.com or via WhatsApp. I’ll send you a personalised analysis in 30-45 minutes. No commitment.
And if you want to see the Sarah case (which is React Native, with all the numbers), you have it here: Westside Wellness — case study (under NDA, contact for the version I can share).