Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Native Navigation VS Expo

Compare Native Navigation VS Expo and see what are their differences

Native Navigation logo Native Navigation

Application and Data, Mobile, and Cross-Platform Mobile Tools

Expo logo Expo

The fastest way to build an iOS and Android app 📱
  • Native Navigation Landing page
    Landing page //
    2020-02-25
  • Expo Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-11

Native Navigation features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Native Navigation provides a consistent experience across both iOS and Android platforms, which reduces the effort required for platform-specific adjustments.
  • Performance
    The solution is optimized for performance, resulting in a smooth user experience with fast loading times and responsive interactions.
  • Ease of Use
    Native Navigation offers a straightforward API that simplifies the implementation of navigation within mobile applications.
  • Community Support
    Being part of the React Native ecosystem, Native Navigation benefits from a large community of developers who contribute to its continual improvement and troubleshooting support.
  • Integration with Native Modules
    Allows easy integration with native code, facilitating complex features that require direct access to native APIs.

Possible disadvantages of Native Navigation

  • Limited Customization
    While it covers most standard use cases, there might be limitations when trying to customize complex navigation patterns beyond what is provided out-of-the-box.
  • Learning Curve
    Developers new to React Native or mobile navigation concepts may face a steep learning curve initially while trying to implement complex navigation arrangements.
  • Documentation Gaps
    There might be gaps or insufficient details in the documentation, potentially increasing the development time as developers figure out nuances through trial and error.
  • Dependency Maintenance
    As with many libraries, keeping the Native Navigation dependencies updated and compatible with the latest React Native versions can sometimes require additional effort.

Expo features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Expo simplifies the development process by providing a managed workflow that handles configuration and builds, allowing developers to focus on coding.
  • Cross-Platform Development
    Expo enables developers to write code once and deploy it on both iOS and Android platforms, ensuring a consistent user experience across devices.
  • Pre-Built Components
    Expo offers a library of pre-built components and APIs that streamline the development process and reduce the time needed to implement common functionalities.
  • Over-the-Air Updates
    Developers can push updates to users in real-time without needing to go through the app store review process, facilitating quick bug fixes and feature releases.
  • Strong Community Support
    Expo has a vibrant and active developer community, offering a wealth of resources, tutorials, and third-party packages to assist developers.
  • Integrated Development Environment
    Expo provides tools like Expo CLI and Expo Go that make it easier to build, test, and debug applications, particularly for newcomers to mobile app development.

Possible disadvantages of Expo

  • Custom Native Code Limitations
    Expo's managed workflow restricts the use of custom native code, limiting developers when they need to integrate with third-party native libraries not supported by Expo.
  • Larger App Size
    Expo includes additional libraries and dependencies by default, which can result in a larger application size compared to custom builds.
  • Performance Overhead
    The abstraction added by Expo can introduce performance overhead, making it less suitable for highly performance-sensitive applications.
  • Dependency on Expo's Updates
    Developers are dependent on Expo's update cycle for bug fixes and new features, which may not always align with their project timelines.
  • Limited Configuration Options
    Expo's managed workflow abstracts many configurations for build processes, which can be a hindrance for developers needing granular control over app settings.
  • Ejection Complexity
    Ejecting from the managed workflow to a bare workflow for more customization can be complex and time-consuming, potentially negating some benefits of using Expo.

Analysis of Expo

Overall verdict

  • Expo is a solid choice for developers looking to quickly build and deploy mobile applications using React Native. Its ease of use and comprehensive toolset make it particularly attractive for rapid prototyping and development of small to medium apps. However, some advanced native functionalities might require ejecting from Expo, which can introduce additional complexities.

Why this product is good

  • Ease of use
    Expo is known for its user-friendly interface that allows developers to quickly prototype and build apps with React Native without needing to set up native development environments.
  • Cross platform
    Expo simplifies the process of building cross-platform applications, giving developers tools to deploy apps for both iOS and Android effortlessly.
  • No native code
    With Expo, developers can build applications entirely in JavaScript, which is beneficial for those who may not be familiar with native coding languages.
  • Developer tools
    It provides a suite of tools such as an interactive development environment, error reporting, and debugging services that enhance the development experience.

Recommended for

    {"beginners" => "New developers who are just getting started with app development will find Expo's simplicity and comprehensive documentation helpful.", "rapid_prototyping" => "Teams seeking to quickly prototype and iterate on ideas can benefit from Expo's convenient tools and cross-platform capabilities.", "react_native_developers" => "Developers familiar with React Native who want a streamlined solution to deploy apps without deep diving into native code."}

Native Navigation videos

4. Ega Software Development Review - React Native Navigation

Expo videos

Scenes from the 2019 National FFA Convention & Expo | Review Video

More videos:

  • Review - Auto Expo 2020 Film | Real-life review
  • Review - Expo Dry Erase Set Unboxing & Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Native Navigation and Expo)
Developer Tools
16 16%
84% 84
Development Tools
16 16%
84% 84
Application Builder
0 0%
100% 100
Programming
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Expo seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 35 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.

Native Navigation mentions (0)

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

Expo mentions (35)

  • Video player with React Native. Part 1: Expo
    We are going to review it in a series of two articles. This is the first one, where we will touch on Expo. Expo is quite popular and is even recommended in Getting Started guide for React Native. But it differs a lot. Here we will go through the process of building an app with Expo and then make technology comparison based on the results. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • State Management Nx React Native/Expo Apps with TanStack Query and Redux
    This workspace is created using @nx/expo (Nx and Expo). - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • New OAuth Vulnerability (CVE-2023-28131) impacts hundreds of websites and Apps
    Just be clear this isn't an OAuth vulnerability. It's an vulnerability in expo.io. It doesn't even really have anything to do with OAuth. They've just terrible return url handling so it probably impacts a lot more than just stealing OAuth tokens. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Convert Reactjs + Firebase Project to a Mobile apk app. Please help
    I haven't messed with React Native in a hot minute, but it should be rather easy to port your React app to React Native. I recall using expo.io in uni for react native development. Hope that helps. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Form Validation in React (Native) using Formik
    Expo: Expo is a free and open source toolchain built around React Native to help you build native iOS and Android projects using JavaScript and React. Expo is a great way to get started with React Native. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Native Navigation and Expo, you can also consider the following products

CodePush - CodePush is a cloud service that enables Cordova and React Native developers to deploy mobile app updates directly to their users' devices. 

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

React Navigation - Description will go into a meta tag in <head />

Thunkable - Powerful but easy to use, drag-and-drop mobile app builder.

Expo Sketch - Prototype and deploy React Native code faster than ever

Android Studio - Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA