Web App vs Mobile App: 7 Key Differences You Need To Know

Mobile is the primary source of online traffic today. With 53.42% of traffic coming from mobile and smartphones in the last quarter of 2023, you can expect most businesses to try to leverage it for success. This is where the debate of web apps vs mobile apps begins.

Web apps are attractive because they require minimal development effort compared to mobile applications. However, developing mobile apps makes more sense if you have a specific target audience.

So, which one to choose?

This article will help you decide between a web app and a mobile app development approach. It includes an overview of both methods, differences, examples, use cases, and pros and cons. Let’s begin with an overview of web apps and mobile apps.

What is a Web App?

A web application is the app version of a website that can be accessed through a browser. When accessed on a smartphone, it behaves like a mobile app. So, if you want to build a web app, the first step will be to ace your website development. Further, a web app allows users to interact with the business to exchange information or get services remotely.

For example, if you have an eCommerce web app, the shopping cart, product search feature, filtering products, instant messaging, and social media news feeds are all web apps. Similarly, an online retail fashion company using pre-loaded HTML, JavaScript, or CSS code in the browser are also web apps often known as the Single Page Applications (SPA).

How Does a Web App Work?

A website is a group of web pages, mainly static ones. However, if your website has static and dynamic web pages, it becomes a web application. This is an approach where you turn your website into a mobile app.

So, what’s the differentiation?

An analysis of web application architecture can help you understand how it differs from your website. Plus, it also enables you to know how the web will work.

When a user makes a data request to a web or mobile app, different components, such as the UI, middleware systems, databases, servers, and browsing, interact with each other. The web app architecture is the standard framework that ties everything together.

This framework defines the relation between different web app components. To ensure security across these interactions, developers often work with experts for web application penetration testing. Web applications run on the client side and server side. So when a user makes a request, two programs run on both the client and server sides,

• Code that runs in the browser and works as per user input
• Code in the server that responds to each user request

Defining the client and server functions is essential when you develop a web application. It allows you to establish a correlation between the client-side and server-side functions.

The server-side function creates the page on which the user requests data storage types. Most server-side code remains hidden from a user. Client-side code, on the other hand, is parsed by the browser and is easily editable by the users.

Now that you know how it works, here are some pros and cons.

Pros And Cons of Web Applications

Knowing the pros and cons of web vs mobile apps for your project is essential.

Pros of Web Apps

• Cross-Platform Accessibility– Web applications offer accessibility across platforms like Android and iOS.
• Reduced Costs– Centralizing deployment and maintenance efforts minimizes the cost of managing several iterations.
• Consistent User Experience– Web mobile apps provide a uniform user experience across platforms.
• Easy to Update– Code centralization makes Updating web apps more straightforward for developers.
• Better Visibility– Web apps offer higher rankings on search engines, ensuring better visibility for your business.
• No Need for Downloads– You don’t need to download a web application on your device to access it.

Cons of Web Apps

• Lack of Integrations With Devices– Web mobile apps have restrictions regarding native features.
• Slower Loading– Most web apps experience slow loading due to variations in web browsers.
• Does Not Work Offline– Web apps depend on the internet, so users can’t use them if no network is available.
• Safety And Security Issues– Due to the lack of vetting and approval processes in a web app inherently, it has security issues.

The pros and cons will help you decide whether developing a web mobile app makes sense. However, many web apps are already in the market, which will help you understand how the successful development of web apps makes a difference.

Examples of Web Applications

Web apps have specific limitations but offer several benefits for startups and enterprises.
Here are some examples of web apps built by giants like Google.

You now know what a web application is and its pros and cons. Plus, you also know how it works and what famous examples are. These data will help you decide whether to build a mobile web app. However, there is one more aspect to consider- “Use Cases!”

When to Build a Web App?

You must choose web apps over mobile apps if,

• Your audience mostly prefers desktops.
• You have to update information regularly (eCommerce)
• You want to scale your business to millions of users
• You need an app that can load faster
• Your time to market needs to be lower.

The first contender in your web app vs mobile app battle is set, and now it’s your turn to examine the challenger (mobile apps).

What is a Mobile App?

Mobile applications are specific software developed for smartphones and tablets. One significant difference between mobile and web apps is native compatibility. Mobile apps have more native capabilities based on the platform, ensuring a better user experience.

Different categories of mobile apps exist that you can develop based on business requirements. For example, native apps are built based on the requirements of specific platforms. Android and iOS applications are native applications.

Other types of mobile apps are,

• Hybrid apps are mobile app types that combine elements of native and web applications with a single codebase that runs across platforms. Understanding how to build a hybrid app is crucial to ensuring that the shared codebase offers a uniform user experience.
• Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are mobile applications that provide a native-like experience with design cues from web applications.

It is important to note that despite several differences between web and mobile applications, web apps are also considered one type of mobile app. Knowing the types of mobile apps without understanding how they work can be detrimental.

How Do Mobile Apps Work?

Mobile applications have different layers that work cohesively to offer a unique user experience. A mobile app is like a well-oiled machine. The functionality will suffer if you shuffle anything in its structure!

What users interact with is the presentation layer. It has a user interface and a presentation logic that ensures that data sent from the “Data Layer” is presented optimally. However, you can directly provide live data to the presentation layer for real-time access. For example, live scores in matches or stock updates on your mobile app often fetch real-time data to present in UI.

The business layer determines how any function will be executed within the app. It executes the business logic and determines how a mobile application must behave in specific scenarios. So, the business layer decides what to do if a user asks the app to perform a particular function or provide data.

Lastly, the data layer is where your app server will be. This layer is also a key access point for your business layer to fetch data from external resources. The primary purpose of a data layer is to gather data from different sources and provide it to the business layer.

The business layer received raw data from the data layer that needed processing. Only after processing will the required data be sent to the user.

How mobile apps work differs from how web applications work. However, if you are looking for the difference between mobile and web apps in terms of architecture, both differ in many ways. Especially mobile app architecture patterns offer much more efficient performance.

Some of the mobile app architecture patterns that you can use are,

1. Model-View-Controller (MVC)

In MVC architecture, the model part handles data, the controller part processes data, and the view components represent it. This architecture is one of the most used in iOS apps.

2. Model-View-Presenter (MVP)

MVP architecture pattern used for app development is similar to MVC. However, a significant difference is the “Presenter,” which is analogous to the controller component in MVC.

So, the view part takes the charge rather than the controller component. Plus, you have a reusable view part, which makes the entire architecture modular.

3. Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM)

MVVM architecture separates the code logic by minimizing UI element manipulation. This architecture employs data binding to bridge the View and ViewModel parts.

ViewModel has the application logic, which allows it to work without the View part.

You can use these architectures to make your mobile app modular and efficient. But before you decide whether to build a web or mobile app based on architectural advantages, here are some pros and cons.

Pros and Cons of Mobile Apps

Pros of Mobile Apps

• Higher Speed and Performance– Mobile apps offer users faster content loading and peak performance because they can access the platform’s native capabilities.
• Offline Accessibility– Mobile apps provide offline access to users not dependent on the internet.
• Wider Audience– Businesses can reach a broader smartphone audience using mobile applications. Offline access audiences with low-intensity internet can also be targeted.
• Personalizations– Mobile applications allow businesses to customize services for their audience based on set preferences, personal accounts, and other details.

Cons of Mobile Apps

• Native Compatibility– Because these apps are built according to native platforms, they offer only better experiences on specific devices. For example, using an iOS app on the iPhone is much better than using a web app.
• Support and Maintenance– You need separate apps for different platforms, especially using the native app approach. So, you must maintain two apps simultaneously, one for Android and the other for iOS, which is costly and challenging.

Knowing the pros and cons of mobile applications provides insight into key drivers that will impact your decision. Understanding the benefits becomes crucial, especially when comparing the differences between mobile and web apps.

However, nothing beats the good old relativity factor—yes, analyzing real-life examples helps you better understand mobile apps’ approach.

Examples of Mobile Applications

The mobile app market has increased, with more daily applications published. Mobile app usage is also rising, with over 257 billion downloads in 2023. Giants like Microsoft, new startups, and small businesses are tapping into a massive market. Some of the famous mobile app examples are,

Knowing these examples must have been inspirational for you, and deciding whether to develop an app must have become a tad easier. But should you create a mobile app for all your projects or go for web apps? Here is the answer to whether to build a web or mobile app.

When to Build a Mobile App?

You must choose a mobile app over web apps if,

• You need to add mobile payment features like in retail eCommerce businesses.
• You want to build a mobile application where remote accessibility is crucial.
• You need an app that is more secure and can be accessed offline.
• You want to create mobile apps for virtual learning purposes.
• You need an app to track data in real-time across locations worldwide.

Knowing the use cases is crucial when developing a web or mobile app. This overview covered everything for both contenders, so choosing either can be challenging. Here are seven key differentiators to clarify the differences between web and mobile apps.

7 Key Differences To Compare Web App vs Mobile App

1. User Experience

Maintaining user experience uniformity is a challenge in web applications. When you design the web app, even if you use a responsive approach, it does not always work on all platforms. For example, allowing users to add comments on images shared on your web application should be visible across all platforms, such as laptops, desktops, and others.

At the same time, if you compare mobile apps vs web apps solely based on the user experience, mobile applications have the upper hand. Mobile apps have a consistent UI across Android and iOS. Maintaining a uniform experience is also a challenge in mobile apps. Leveraging an expert mobile app development company can ensure consistency in UX across iOS and Android.

• Round 1: Web App vs Mobile App – User Experience (0:1)

2. Development Costs

Developing web mobile apps can take 3-7 months, depending on complexity and other factors. Considering the 3-7 months, the average web app development cost is between $20,000 and $75,000. However, this cost can go beyond $75,000 if you are developing a fairly complex web application.

At the same time, mobile app development costs can range from $25,000 to $150,000 and even exceed $300,000. Such variations are due to the complexity of app features, the need for separate native applications for each platform, and other factors. So, there is no denying that converting your web app ideas into reality costs less than developing mobile apps.

• Round 2: Web App vs Mobile App – Development Costs (1:1)

3. Performance and Speed

Web applications, especially progressive web apps (PWAs), can offer performance comparable to mobile apps. However, web apps don’t match up with mobile applications because of their native-like capabilities. A test conducted at the University of Seattle showed that PWAs had better rendering speeds than mobile apps.

PWAs have a 10ms loading speed and 31ms rendering performance compared to mobile apps. While mobile apps have 9ms of loading speed, which is lower than web apps, a rendering speed of 44ms is higher.

The above test results indicate that web apps have the upper hand, especially in rendering content for users, compared to mobile apps. However, what makes mobile apps effective is the native-like look and feel, which is difficult for web apps to achieve.

• Round 3: Web App vs Mobile App – Speed & Performance (2:1)

4. Accessibility and Reach

Accessing a web app is far easier than accessing a mobile app due to compatibility across different platforms through browsers. Mobile devices, on the other hand, have accessibility restrictions.

Users can access mobile apps by installing them from app stores. For example, Android has the Google Play Store, and Apple has the App Store, from which users can download and access applications. In terms of reach, mobile applications do have an edge over web apps. However, this is debatable because web and mobile apps are accessible on mobile devices.

However, web apps still have the upper hand due to cross-platform compatibility and quicker access. Because users don’t need to download a web app, it becomes more convenient for them to access.

• Round 4: Web App vs Mobile App – Accessibility & Reach (3:1)

5. Maintenance and Updates

Web application maintenance is easier because you have a centralized repository to make changes and maintain the code. However, with native mobile apps, there will be separate codebases, making the maintenance much more tedious.

If you compare the web vs mobile app development process for ease of updates, web applications win. With reusable code and a centralized approach to web apps, introducing new updates becomes easy. On the contrary, you have to update two apps separately when introducing updates to a mobile application.

• Round 5: Web App vs Mobile App – Maintenance & Updates (4:1)

6. Development Environment and Tools

Web applications use text editors, integrated development environments (IDEs), and web development tools. At the same time, mobile applications are built using platform-specific IDEs like Xcode for iOS and Android Studio for Android.

If you consider the deployment of mobile apps vs. web apps, the latter has the upper hand. Web apps can be deployed on web servers that are accessible to users through a URL, while mobile apps are deployed on app stores from where users can download them. The technology stack for web app development is linear compared to mobile apps, making it more attractive to businesses.

• Round 6: Web App vs Mobile App – Development Environment & Tools (5:1)

7. Programming Languages and Frameworks

Web application development requires standards and frameworks based on website technologies. For example, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript can be used for web app development. There is no need for a specific framework or technology to build web apps.

Mobile application development requires specific technologies and frameworks. For example, if you want to develop an iOS app, you need Swift. Similarly, you need Kotlin for Android app development. A cross-platform app development project can leverage React Native or Flutter.

• Round 7: Web App vs Mobile App – Programming Languages & Frameworks (6:1)

After seven rounds of fierce battle, the winner is web mobile apps! Is that it?

You can now decide between a mobile app vs web app.

Before you choose either, here are some factors to consider to end the web vs mobile debate.

4 Key Factors to Consider When Choosing Between Mobile App vs Web App

Apart from the difference between mobile and web apps, you must consider the following factors before deciding.

1. Target Audience and User Behavior

Before you select the best approach to web or mobile development, it is crucial to assess the target audience. First, evaluate your solutions and how they solve the problem for the target audience. Then, analyze which platform users are present on.

For example, if you target the US audience, iOS is a significant platform. So, it makes more sense to develop native mobile applications. Similarly, creating a web application makes more sense if your audience uses multiple platforms.

2. Budget and Resources

Considering the budget constraint, developing a web application is the right decision. However, if your budget permits, you can create native mobile apps. Cross-platform mobile apps do provide some reduction in development budget, but web apps are still economical in comparison.

In terms of resources, web apps have the upper hand because you will need a web server most of the time. Mobile app development needs dedicated resources for each platform. So, web app development offers a more practical option.

3. Timeline and Urgency

Time to market is an essential factor for every startup and enterprise. Introducing the product at the right time can make all the difference. So, if your project timeline is short, web apps are the best choice.

4. Long-Term Business Goals

Keeping a future-proof solution in mind, app development makes more sense. Evolving technologies like artificial intelligence need specific resources for a better user experience. This is why developing a mobile app with local computing capabilities can be fruitful for such innovative features.

These factors help you determine which one to choose between mobile app vs web app but if you when is the right time to switch?

When Should You Switch From a Web App to a Mobile App?

For any startup the ideal scenario is to begin with a web application. Especially if entrepreneur already has a website creating web app becomes easier. However as the business scale you reach a point where app development become inevitable.

But, what is this inflection point?

Short answer- the point where current web app can no longer accommodate new users!

But is that all?

Nope there are other aspects to consider,

Need For Native!

Each platform has specific capabilities which can be extended for your apps with native integration. What stops you is a web app! On the contrary, developing a mobile app in the native environment allows businesses to integrate unique functionality.

Take Apple for example. Apple is set to introduce AI capabilities to the iOS. If you are looking to integrate the popular Apple Intelligence features, native mobile app development makes more sense.

Growth Probability

Estimating the growth probability is not easy! However if your web app is limiting the growth of business, it’s time to rethink. Web apps can have scaling issues especially with infrastructure costs. For example if you are handling more than 500 requests parallely on the web application.

If you scale to say 5000 requests, the overhead can make site crumble leading to disruptions in user experience. Native apps with cloud-based infrastructure can help you process requests in millions.

Take instagram for example, a social media native app which began as Burbn(web app). On October 16th 2010, Instagram was officially launched as a native iOS app. On the launch day itself app registered 25,000 new users and by the end of first week it was 100,000x. So, if you are looking for an option that suits your scaling needs you can switch from a web app to mobile app. Further, you can consider leveraging SaaS app development to scale even higher than mobile apps by using cloud-based services to your advantage.

Security & User Trust

Web apps are safe to use but if a single plugin or theme element gets corrupted in your website, it can have cascading effect. So if you are looking to improve security of your app and ensure smoother business operations, switching from web apps to mobile app makes more sense.

But, do mobile app have no security issues?

Nope, mobile apps can have issues of security but what makes native apps more secure is the operating system requirements. Each OS platform, Android and iOS has specific set of security requirements that developers need to fulfill and then only they can publish apps on the app store. So, in inherently the apps are secure.

Plus, native apps need regular security patches that make them more secure. On the contrary, web apps can face security risks due to outdated plugins that lack updates or security patches over time. This is where cloud app comes into play and offers an advantage. So, when comparing web apps vs cloud apps, cloud-based applications often provide better security measures, auto-updates, and data protection. If security is your priority, transitioning from a web app to a native or cloud-based application can be brilliant.

Time To Decide Then!

Deciding between a web app and a mobile app is a layered decision. To make a comprehensive comparison, you must analyze differences, pros, cons, key examples, and architecture. You must also consider the development cost, timelines, and target audience. Considering everything, the decision to choose either a web app or a mobile app has its challenges.

Fortunately, Excellent Webworld can help you overcome these challenges through tailored solutions and a team of web and app development experts. Contact our experts to determine whether a web or mobile app suits your project requirements.

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Article By

Mayur Panchal

Mayur Panchal is the CTO of Excellent Webworld. With his skills and expertise, He stays updated with industry trends and utilizes his technical expertise to address problems faced by entrepreneurs and startup owners.