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React Native VS Cocos2d-x

Compare React Native VS Cocos2d-x and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

React Native logo React Native

A framework for building native apps with React

Cocos2d-x logo Cocos2d-x

Cocos2d-x is an open-source and cross platform open source free 2D game engine for mobile game development known for its speed, stability, and easy of use
  • React Native Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-16
  • Cocos2d-x Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

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.

Cocos2d-x features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Support
    Cocos2d-x allows developers to build games that run seamlessly on multiple platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it highly versatile and enhancing its reach.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source framework, Cocos2d-x provides full access to its source code, which can be modified to suit specific project requirements. This fosters a collaborative community and encourages continuous improvement of the framework.
  • Performance
    Cocos2d-x is written in C++, which generally offers better performance compared to other languages commonly used for game development, such as JavaScript or C#. This can lead to smoother and more responsive gameplay.
  • Rich Feature Set
    Cocos2d-x comes with a robust set of features including physics engines, particle systems, skeletal animation, and more. These features make it easier for developers to create complex and visually appealing games.
  • Community and Documentation
    The framework boasts a large and active community, which can be invaluable for troubleshooting and getting help. Additionally, it has extensive documentation and tutorials which make it accessible to both beginners and advanced users.

Possible disadvantages of Cocos2d-x

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Given its extensive feature set and use of C++, Cocos2d-x can be intimidating for beginners. The complexity of its systems often requires a more in-depth understanding of programming concepts.
  • Limited Built-in Tools
    While Cocos2d-x is powerful, it lacks some of the built-in tools and editors provided by other game development frameworks like Unity or Unreal Engine. This often requires developers to rely on external tools for tasks such as level design and asset management.
  • Manual Memory Management
    Unlike some of the higher-level languages and frameworks that handle memory management automatically, Cocos2d-x requires developers to manually manage memory. This increases the risk of memory leaks and other related bugs.
  • Smaller Asset Store
    Compared to giants like Unity, Cocos2d-x has a relatively smaller asset store, which means fewer pre-made assets and plugins are available. This might lead to longer development times as assets often need to be created from scratch.
  • Lack of High-Level Scripting Support
    While Cocos2d-x does support Lua and JavaScript bindings, it is primarily a C++ framework. This can be a drawback for developers who prefer or are more efficient using higher-level scripting languages.

React Native videos

React Native in 2019 & Beyond

More videos:

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

Cocos2d-x videos

Cocos2D-x 4.0 Released

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to React Native and Cocos2d-x)
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Game Development
0 0%
100% 100
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0
Game Engine
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 React Native and Cocos2d-x

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...

Cocos2d-x Reviews

Best Game Engines for Linux in 2021
Cocos2d-x is an open-source game framework written in C++, with a thin platform dependent layer. It is widely used to build interactive apps and games for Android. There are also JavaScript and Lua bindings included.
Source: kerneltips.com
The Best 15 Mobile Game Engines / Development Platforms & Tools in 2020
Cocos2D-x is a package of 2D game development tools. released by Facebook. One of its best features is that Cocos 2D-x allows you to create very small size games: 1.5 MB. It comes with detailed documentation and it has a large support community. Read and learn how to use it.
Source: thetool.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, React Native seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 232 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.

React Native mentions (232)

  • Apprendre Flutter
    React Native: Assez faile à prendre en main si on maitrise React. - Source: dev.to / 20 days 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 / about 1 month 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 / 4 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 / 4 months ago
  • How Do I Start a New React Native App?
    React Native is a powerful framework for building cross-platform mobile applications using JavaScript and React. Whether you're a seasoned developer or a beginner, starting a new React Native project can be both exciting and challenging. This guide will walk you through the essential steps, tools, and best practices to set up your React Native project efficiently and effectively. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
View more

Cocos2d-x mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Cocos2d-x yet. Tracking of Cocos2d-x recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing React Native and Cocos2d-x, you can also consider the following products

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

Unity - The multiplatform game creation tools for everyone.

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

Godot Engine - Feature-packed 2D and 3D open source game engine.

Flutter - Build beautiful native apps in record time 🚀

Unreal Engine - Unreal Engine 4 is a suite of integrated tools for game developers to design and build games, simulations, and visualizations.