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React Native VS raylib

Compare React Native VS raylib and see what are their differences

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React Native logo React Native

A framework for building native apps with React

raylib logo raylib

Cross-platform, open-source game development library in C.
  • React Native Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-16
  • raylib Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-08

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  • Potential for outdated documentation
    As React Native evolves quickly, some documentation or tutorials might become outdated, leading to confusion and extra effort to find up-to-date information.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.

raylib features and specs

  • Simple and Easy to Use
    Raylib offers a straightforward API, making it ideal for beginners and those looking to quickly prototype game ideas without dealing with complex set-up or configurations.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Raylib supports multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and HTML5, allowing developers to build games that can run on different operating systems.
  • Lightweight
    This library is lightweight and requires minimal dependencies, which makes it fast to compile and easy to include in various projects.
  • Modular Design
    Raylib's modular design allows developers to use only the modules they need, which can help to optimize the application and reduce its size.
  • Growing Community
    With an active and growing community, raylib provides a support network of enthusiasts and developers, as well as a variety of tutorials and shared projects.

Possible disadvantages of raylib

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Raylib may lack some of the more advanced features found in other mature game development frameworks, which might be a drawback for experienced developers looking for advanced functionalities.
  • Smaller Ecosystem
    Compared to more popular engines, raylib has a smaller ecosystem, meaning fewer third-party tools, plugins, and extensions, which could limit development options.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Topics
    While it's beginner-friendly at a basic level, mastering more advanced development with raylib may require digging deeper into C programming and understanding low-level details.
  • Limited Official Documentation
    The official documentation, although available, might not be as comprehensive or detailed as what’s offered by larger frameworks, potentially leading to reliance on community support.
  • Lack of Built-in UI Tools
    Raylib does not include extensive graphical user interface tools, so developers might need to implement their own UI system or integrate third-party libraries for complex UI tasks.

React Native videos

React Native in 2019 & Beyond

More videos:

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

raylib videos

Raylib 3.0 Released -- The Best Way to Learn C or C++ Game Development*

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Raylib tutorial | Episode 1 | Setting up Raylib and Creating a Window
  • Review - RayLib Receives An Epic MegaGrant!

Category Popularity

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

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...

raylib Reviews

  1. Diliup Gabadamudalige
    · Partner at EMorphusGames ·
    Raylib, a hidden Powerhouse

    I got to know Raylib just a few days ago taking a course on learning C++ to start using Unreal Engine. I have a background with assembler(a long time ago), Python/Pygame, C#/Monogame, and Unity/C#. Within the few days I used it, I am simply blown away by the simplicity but yet extremely powerful Raylib library. The routines and functions are very clear and access is very simple. Everything is well documented. I am yet to go in-depth with the library but I never had such an experience in the past building games, which is my main interest. If you stumbled upon this by chance stop and give it a go. You'll never regret it. Right now I am thinking of the many ways I can use this with the languages I know.

    🏁 Competitors: MonoGame, Pygame

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, React Native seems to be a lot more popular than raylib. While we know about 232 links to React Native, we've tracked only 7 mentions of raylib. 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 / 24 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 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 / 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 / 5 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

raylib mentions (7)

  • New Year, New Game Engine - Nikola Engine Devlog 0
    You see, for the past several years I have used many programming languages and many more game frameworks and libraries. Programming languages like Java, C#, C++, and even, sadly, JavaScript (I know...). Game frameworks like LWJGL, SDL2, Raylib, MonoGame, SFML, and many more. Essentially, I have seen it all. Out of all of them, I think SDL2 was closer to what I was looking for, though, Raylib was the one I used the... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Are there any game engines that support 3D that are more code orientated?
    It sounds like you're maybe asking for code frameworks/libraries instead of engines? Something like https://raylib.com/ might be better suited? Source: over 2 years ago
  • How can I make graphics games using cpp?
    I would recommend SFML or Raylib, they're both excellent and fairly easy to set up, plus have really good documentation. And if you decide to really dig into them you'll eventually be able to create any game you want. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Best C++ libraries for 2D game development
    I'd also recommend raylib as an option. Check out its website: http://raylib.com/. It is beginner friendly enough with good cheatsheet and examples. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Question about graphic/game libraries
    Finally, you can use raylib.com , a C library but it has a great interface and multiple examples. Howeve, it is not wide-spread like SDL. Source: almost 4 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

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

SFML - SFML provides a simple interface to the various components of your PC, to ease the development of games and multimedia applications. It is composed of five modules: system, window, graphics, audio and network.

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

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

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 …

SDL - Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform multimedia library designed to provide low level...