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Bun.sh VS React Native

Compare Bun.sh VS React Native and see what are their differences

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Bun.sh logo Bun.sh

Bun is an all-in-one JavaScript runtime & toolkit designed for speed, complete with a bundler, test runner, and Node.js-compatible package manager.

React Native logo React Native

A framework for building native apps with React
  • Bun.sh Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-11

Bun is a new JavaScript runtime built from scratch to serve the modern JavaScript ecosystem. It has three major design goals:

  1. Speed. Bun starts fast and runs fast. It extends JavaScriptCore, the performance-minded JS engine built for Safari. As computing moves to the edge, this is critical.

  2. Elegant APIs. Bun provides a minimal set of highly-optimimized APIs for performing common tasks, like starting an HTTP server and writing files.

  3. Cohesive DX. Bun is a complete toolkit for building JavaScript apps, including a package manager, test runner, and bundler.

Bun is designed as a drop-in replacement for Node.js. It natively implements hundreds of Node.js and Web APIs, including fs, path, Buffer and more.

The goal of Bun is to run most of the world's server-side JavaScript and provide tools to improve performance, reduce complexity, and multiply developer productivity.

  • React Native Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-16

Bun.sh features and specs

  • Speed
    Bun.sh is designed for performance and is optimized for running JavaScript and TypeScript quickly. This can lead to faster development cycles and more efficient runtime performance.
  • Built-in Tools
    Bun.sh comes with a built-in bundler, transpiler, and package manager. This reduces the need for additional tooling and simplifies the development setup.
  • TypeScript Support
    Bun.sh has native support for TypeScript, making it easier for developers who prefer strongly typed languages to work seamlessly without additional configuration.
  • Compatibility
    Bun aims to be compatible with existing npm packages, reducing friction in adopting it for existing projects.
  • Lower Resource Usage
    Bun is designed to use fewer resources compared to some traditional Node.js setups, which could lead to cost savings in a production environment.

Possible disadvantages of Bun.sh

  • Ecosystem Maturity
    Bun.sh is relatively new compared to established tools like Node.js and may lack the ecosystem maturity, comprehensive documentation, and community support available for more established platforms.
  • Adoption Risk
    Early adoption of new technology can be risky. As Bun.sh is still evolving, there might be breaking changes or unstable features in future releases.
  • Learning Curve
    Developers who are accustomed to traditional Node.js environments might face a learning curve when adjusting to Bun.sh’s different approach and built-in tools.
  • Debugging and Error Handling
    Given its relative youth, Bun.sh might not yet have the robust debugging tools and error handling practices that more mature ecosystems provide.
  • Platform-Specific Issues
    There may be platform-specific issues or limitations, especially in less common development environments, which might require workarounds or lead to inconsistent behavior.

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 Bun.sh

Overall verdict

  • Bun.sh is considered a good option, especially for developers seeking high-performance solutions and a streamlined tooling experience. Its focus on speed and integration can make it an attractive choice for certain projects.

Why this product is good

  • Bun.sh, often referred to simply as Bun, is a modern JavaScript runtime that emphasizes speed, performance, and efficiency. It is designed to provide faster startup times and lower latency compared to traditional JavaScript runtimes, like Node.js. Bun also offers an integrated bundler, transpiler, and package manager, which simplifies the development process by reducing the need for additional tools.

Recommended for

  • Developers focusing on performance-intensive applications
  • Teams looking for an all-in-one solution (runtime, bundler, transpiler)
  • Projects with the flexibility to adopt newer, cutting-edge technologies
  • Developers building applications with high startup time sensitivity

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.

Bun.sh videos

No Bun.sh videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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React Native videos

React Native in 2019 & Beyond

More videos:

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

Category Popularity

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JavaScript Runtime
100 100%
0% 0
Development Tools
0 0%
100% 100
JavaScript
100 100%
0% 0
Javascript UI Libraries
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

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

Bun.sh Reviews

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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

React Native might be a bit more popular than Bun.sh. We know about 233 links to it since March 2021 and only 203 links to Bun.sh. 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.

Bun.sh mentions (203)

  • SnipMail - AI Powered Summary and Sentiment Inbox WebApp
    This project uses Bun to develop and building the source code. - Source: dev.to / 8 days ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (June 2025)
    Bun (YC S19) | https://bun.sh | San Francisco, CA; on-site | Visa sponsorship available | Full-time Bun is an incredibly fast all-in-one toolkit for building, installing, running, and testing JavaScript and TypeScript. We were born out of frustration with the fragmented, slow JavaScript ecosystem and are on a mission to make JavaScript development faster and more productive. We are looking to fulfill the following... - Source: Hacker News / 13 days ago
  • Rove : Straight up PostgreSQL migration.
    Rove is a fast, no-fluff migration manager for PostgreSQL built with Bun and TypeScript. It’s built for devs who just want to write raw SQL, version it in folders, and run it with confidence. - Source: dev.to / 30 days ago
  • 🚀 Switching from Node + Express to Hono + Bun and I’m not looking back.
    Let’s talk real — Express had its moment. But the dev world? It's moving fast. I recently jumped into building APIs using Hono (tiny, fast, edge-native framework) with Bun (next-gen JS runtime), and honestly... The experience is smooth, fast, type-safe, and just way more modern. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Deno's Decline
    Https://bunny.net/ - a CDN, it has nothing to do with https://bun.sh/ as far as I can tell. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
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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 / 26 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 / 2 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 / 5 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Bun.sh and React Native, you can also consider the following products

Deno - A secure runtime for JavaScript and TypeScript built with V8, Rust, and Tokio.

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

Node.js - Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications

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

Next.js - A small framework for server-rendered universal JavaScript apps

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 …