[2025] PWA vs. Native App: Comparison and How to Choose

Mobile usage is essential for consumers today. Users consume twice as much content on mobile as on desktop, creating a huge opportunity for businesses to drive engagement and improve the customer experience.

For a long time, businesses had only two options for mobile app development. Now they have a third: Progressive Web Apps (PWAs).

PWA technology is often hailed as the best way to establish a mobile presence, but how good is it really? We'll cover that in detail in this PWA vs. native app comparison.

1. PWA vs. native apps, from an engineer's perspective

1.1. The development language differs depending on the purpose

Native apps are built to run on mobile devices, while PWAs are built to run inside a web browser.

Native apps are developed in each platform's programming language (Objective-C and Swift for iOS, Java for Android), while PWAs use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

1.2. Development cost is lower for PWAs than native apps

Building a PWA is cheaper than native app development.

With native apps, you need to learn a language and build a version for each platform.

That means at least two versions — for iOS and Android — plus resources to maintain and update each one. Depending on the app's purpose and complexity, that can require a lot of time and money.

PWAs are fast to build and update. Instead of a single codebase for just two common platforms, you can have one codebase for many different platforms. Instead of building an app from scratch, you can use a tool like Google Lighthouse to configure your existing website. With responsive design, you only need one app version that looks the same on every device.

1.3. How you deliver to users: PWA is easier

With native apps, you not only need to develop separate versions for each platform, but also submit them to different app stores. Apple's App Store and Android's Play Store are the most popular, but there's also Amazon's Appstore, the Windows Store, and others.

Each of these stores has specific requirements you must meet to publish, and in some cases you even have to pay a fee to register a developer account.

PWAs, on the other hand, can bypass all those cumbersome App Store requirements. All users need is a web browser and a URL. Many PWA features are supported by popular browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.

This makes it easy to reach many users quickly, and lets you roll out updates without waiting for approval. In that sense, PWAs are more convenient for both distributors and users.

Read more: Progressive Web Apps – Do PWAs Have a Future?

That said, app stores aren't a bad thing — they help prevent low-quality apps from being published. Publishing an app also boosts trust, letting users access it with more confidence than a simple URL link.

App stores can also promote your business. Being featured in an App Store can quickly boost branding and sales.

1.4. Discoverability: ASO for native apps vs. SEO for PWAs

Native app pages can't be indexed or registered with search engines. Users can only find your app through an app store or the app store's own website. Many factors affect an app's discoverability, but App Store Optimization (ASO) can help users find it faster.

※ ASO is the process of improving an app's rank in in-store search results. This includes keyword research, writing effective titles and meta descriptions, taking good screenshots, using the right categories, and reaching out to third parties for downloads and reviews.

Unlike native apps, PWAs work just like any other website, so they can be indexed by search engines. Compared to a normal/responsive web page, PWAs improve performance and engagement, boosting a site's ranking in search results.

1.5. Security: native apps offer more security options than PWAs

PWAs must run over HTTPS, so they're more secure than regular web apps.

These security protocols keep the exchange between client and server from being tampered with. In a secure environment, customers can enter personal or credit card information without worrying about theft.

Compared to PWAs, native apps let you build in many more security measures. If your app requires login, you can implement multi-factor authentication, and use certificate pinning for even more secure communication. Native apps also have to pass App Store security requirements before publication, so users tend to trust an app more than a URL.

Read more: Advantages and Disadvantages of PWAs

2. PWA vs. native apps, from a user's perspective

2.1. Download and install: PWAs install easily, no download needed

The average mobile user reportedly installs 0 apps a month. One reason is that using an app takes a certain level of commitment, from start to finish of the install process.

・First, users have to find the app in a store and confirm they want to install it.
・Then they have to wait for it to download and install.
・Finally, after granting the app certain permissions, they may use it once or twice before deleting it.
When a user uninstalls an app, it's usually final, and they may never come back.

PWAs, on the other hand, need no App Store and no install. From the browser, visitors can bookmark the app and add it to their home screen in just a few taps. A PWA appears in the home screen's app directory, sends notifications, and integrates with system settings.

PWAs also take up far less space than a native app. With just a URL, visitors can access and share the app with friends. Since it always shows the latest version when launched, there's no need to update it either.

2.2. Performance: both are good, but native apps perform better

Compared to a responsive site or mobile site, a PWA loads much faster. At the heart of a PWA is the service worker, a script that runs in the background, separate from the web page.

With a service worker, you can manage offline requests, prefetch and cache specific resources, sync data with a remote server, and more. That means once an app is added to the home screen, it loads instantly and can be used offline or on a poor network connection.

Also, because PWAs run from the browser, they have more latency and drain more battery than native apps.

Native apps, by contrast, can tie directly into the underlying operating system. They can access device hardware to do more computation and deliver a better customer experience. Native code is fast, and native apps are more powerful.

2.3. Native apps can do even more

PWA technology is gradually catching up to native apps, but compared to native apps, PWAs still have the following limitations.

Push notifications: push notifications keep users interested in your brand and more likely to come back. With native apps, you can build this feature from scratch or use a third-party integration. PWAs can also use push notifications since service workers support the API, but they don't behave identically across platforms.

Geofencing: geofencing lets developers set a virtual boundary in the real world. When a user steps inside that boundary, the app can trigger a phone action. Combined with push notifications, geofencing is a great option for reaching and engaging users. This feature is currently only available in native apps.

Mobile payments: for PWAs, how they interact with an NFC chip or other digital payment hardware depends on the platform.

Interacting with other apps: native apps can call other apps to make calls, log in, add events to a calendar, check out, and more.

Other smart features: PWAs can't access phone hardware for certain features such as the proximity sensor, ambient light detection, or smart locks.

3. PWA or native app — which is better?

Native apps and PWAs each have their own strengths and weaknesses. When choosing between them, you need to weigh where each option excels and how well it fits your app's vision.

Reference: Progressive Web Apps (PWA) vs. Native Apps (YouTube)

4. Final thoughts

Native apps and PWAs are two options for delivering a seamless experience to users, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Both are here to stay, and choosing between them should be based on your project's goals and resources.

At Miichisoft, we have a development team that handles both mobile apps and web systems (including PWAs). Since 2020, we've also built an IT consulting team based in Japan, providing end-to-end support — from requirements definition to design, development, and operation of the systems and apps you want to build.

If you need to build a PWA, a web system, a mobile app, or anything similar, feel free to reach out. We'll gladly put together a detailed proposal for you.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.