Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Anko VS React Native

Compare Anko VS React Native and see what are their differences

Anko logo Anko

JetBrains is a cutting-edge software vendor specializing in the creation of intelligent development tools, including IntelliJ IDEA – the leading Java IDE, and the Kotlin programming language.

React Native logo React Native

A framework for building native apps with React
  • Anko Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-13
  • React Native Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-16

Anko features and specs

  • Kotlin-based
    Anko is a Kotlin library, allowing developers to utilize Kotlin's concise and expressive syntax, improving code readability and maintainability.
  • Simplified Android Development
    It simplifies Android development tasks by providing a range of utilities and functions that reduce boilerplate code for UI design and common operations.
  • Lightweight
    Anko is lightweight compared to full-fledged frameworks, making it easier to integrate and use without adding significant overhead to projects.
  • Ease of Use
    The library's DSL for Android layouts allows developers to write more intuitive and declarative code for constructing user interfaces.

Possible disadvantages of Anko

  • Limited Community Support
    Compared to larger libraries and frameworks, Anko may have less community support, making it harder to find help and resources.
  • No Longer Maintained
    Active development and maintenance for Anko has been discontinued, potentially leading to compatibility issues with newer Android versions.
  • Fragmented Ecosystem
    Due to its discontinuation, developers may find it challenging to deal with a fragmented ecosystem and lack of updates or bug fixes.
  • Learning Curve
    For developers not familiar with Kotlin or DSLs (Domain-Specific Languages), there might be a learning curve when transitioning to using Anko.

React Native features and specs

  • Cross-platform development
    React Native allows developers to write code once and use it to build applications for both iOS and Android platforms, significantly reducing development time and effort.
  • Performance
    React Native uses native components under the hood, providing better performance compared to hybrid technologies like Cordova or Ionic.
  • Community support
    React Native has a large and active community, which means plenty of libraries, tools, and support are available to help developers solve problems and add features.
  • Hot reloading
    React Native supports hot reloading, enabling developers to see the results of the latest change instantly without losing the application's state.
  • Reusable components
    Developers can use React Native's component-based architecture to create reusable UI components, making code more modular and easier to maintain.
  • Strong backing
    Backed by Facebook, React Native benefits from continuous development, regular updates, and a high level of reliability and stability.

Possible disadvantages of React Native

  • Complexity for advanced features
    Implementing complex features and achieving deep integrations with native APIs may require more effort and a good understanding of native programming.
  • Performance limitations
    While React Native performs well for most use cases, it may still fall short in performance-intensive applications compared to fully native solutions.
  • Limited third-party libraries
    Some third-party libraries might not be available for React Native, or they may lack features compared to their native counterparts.
  • Platform-specific code
    Despite being cross-platform, certain features might still require platform-specific code, increasing the complexity when developing for both iOS and Android.
  • Potential for outdated documentation
    As React Native evolves quickly, some documentation or tutorials might become outdated, leading to confusion and extra effort to find up-to-date information.
  • Size of the application
    React Native applications tend to have larger file sizes compared to their native counterparts due to the inclusion of the JavaScript runtime and other dependencies.

Analysis of React Native

Overall verdict

  • React Native is generally a good choice for mobile app development, especially if you're looking for a cross-platform solution. Its ease of use, combined with the ability to leverage a single codebase for both iOS and Android, makes it a popular option among developers.

Why this product is good

  • React Native is considered good because it allows developers to build mobile applications using JavaScript and React, enabling code reuse between Android and iOS platforms. This can speed up development time and reduce costs. It also has a vibrant community and a strong ecosystem with numerous libraries and tools, making it easier to implement complex functionalities. Additionally, React Native provides a native-like performance for most use cases, which enhances the user experience.

Recommended for

  • Startups and small businesses looking to develop mobile apps quickly and cost-effectively.
  • Developers with a background in JavaScript and React who want to expand into mobile app development.
  • Projects that require rapid prototyping and iterative development.
  • Applications that need to maintain a shared codebase between web and mobile platforms.

Anko videos

Testing Kmart Polymer Clay │ Anko Clay Review

More videos:

  • Review - Kmart Air Fryer 5.3L Anko Review | TechManPat
  • Review - Unboxing, Setup and Review of Anko Bluetooth Body Analysis Scale

React Native videos

React Native in 2019 & Beyond

More videos:

  • Review - What Is React Native?
  • Review - Why React Native is garbage.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Anko and React Native)
Application Builder
100 100%
0% 0
Development Tools
2 2%
98% 98
Javascript UI Libraries
0 0%
100% 100
API
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Anko and React Native

Anko Reviews

We have no reviews of Anko yet.
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React Native Reviews

Explore 9 Top Eclipse Alternatives for 2024
Pioneered by Meta Platforms, Inc., React Native is a remarkable JavaScript framework that merges native app development with JavaScript libraries, offering a dependable solution for creating exemplary native apps for Android, iOS, and other platforms.
Source: aircada.com
Top 10 Flutter Alternatives for Cross-Platform App Development
Introduced in 2015 by Facebook, React Native is an open-source framework based on JavaScript. Being a developer-friendly framework, it’s a mobile-first platform that is capable of rendering mobile apps for multiple platforms, including iOS and Android.
Exploring 15 Powerful Flutter Alternatives
React Native is an open-source UI framework for writing native Android and iOS apps using JavaScript and React. React Native does deliver excellent prototyping capabilities, however. The React framework lends itself nicely to creating basic proofs of concept and experimenting with different interaction models and UI designs with little overhead. Features like Fast Refresh...
THE BEST 34 APP DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE IN 2022 LIST
Create native apps for Android and iOS using React. React Native combines the best parts of native development with React, a best-in-class JavaScript library for building user interfaces. You can use React Native in your existing Android and iOS projects or you can create a whole new app from scratch. Written in JavaScript—rendered with native code. React primitives render...
Top 10 Visual Studio Alternatives
React native is famous for enabling the users to develop the core native applications and offers the best quality. It does not compromise on providing the best customer services and support. The react-native components surround the codes that already exist and then interact with the native APIs. That, in turn, allows the developers to learn the development process and makes...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, React Native seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 233 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Anko mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Anko yet. Tracking of Anko recommendations started around Mar 2021.

React Native mentions (233)

  • How I Created and Deployed An iPhone (and Android) App Without A Mac, And So Can You Too
    This course was great for me because one, it was made within the last year (at the time I took the course anyway). It seemed anything older than this had out-of-date information (using an older version of React Native) and it would throw me off when I encountered something that wasn't done using the more recent versions of React Native/Expo. - Source: dev.to / 30 days ago
  • Apprendre Flutter
    React Native: Assez faile à prendre en main si on maitrise React. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Migrating from AngularJS to React
    React skills work for React Native development - Although React Native is a separate framework designed specifically for building mobile applications, many of the skills a developer gains working with the React framework are applicable here as well. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • The Mobile Development Tech Stack for 2025
    React Native (Official Documentation) allows you to create apps for both iOS and Android with a single codebase, while TypeScript adds type safety to your JavaScript, reducing bugs and improving code quality. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • React + AI Stack for 2025
    React Native is the powerhouse for cross-platform mobile development. Write once, run everywhere, get native performance when you need it, enjoy hot reloading for rapid development, tap into a huge ecosystem of libraries and tools, and integrate with native modules when you need platform-specific features. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Anko and React Native, you can also consider the following products

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jQuery - The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library.

SimPholders - A small utility for fast access to your iPhone simulator apps.

Babel - Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

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OpenSSL - OpenSSL is a free and open source software cryptography library that implements both the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols, which are primarily used to provide secure communications between web browsers and …