Creating mobile applications has always been a fundamental pillar of the tech industry but having multiple platforms for which different apps need to be developed has been an issue for some time. Apart from having to maintain two teams, one for Android and one for iOS, there’s always a gap between the applications developed as they are made by totally different teams. That’s what gave birth to the idea of creating cross-platform mobile applications.
There are many types and solutions but the most popular one right now is by creating compiled apps that give the closest performance to that of the real native applications. The most powerful contender in that field at this moment is Facebook’s React Native. And a new challenger entered the field recently, JetBrains’s Kotlin Multiplatform. Let's look at the strengths and weaknesses of both React Native and Kotlin Multiplatform and do an objective React Native vs Kotlin Multiplatform comparison.
React Native vs Kotlin Multiplatform: Head to Head Comparison
With this table below, you can get a quick look at the difference between React Native vs Kotlin Multiplatform before we dive deeper.
What is React Native?
React Native is a cross-platform native mobile app development framework created by Facebook based on their React JavaScript library. React Native mainly uses JavaScript with JSX, an extension of JavaScript, ES6 (ECMAScript 6), a major update to JavaScript that includes dozens of new features, and React.JS, a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. React Native allows you to build mobile apps using React Native components, which renders native UI components while bridging JavaScript logic to the native layer, delivering near‑native performance for most use cases. Let's look at some of the pros and cons of React Native vs Kotlin Multiplatform:
React Native Pros
Some of the advantages of cross-platform mobile app development using React Native include:
- Reusable Code: Develop an app and export it on multiple platforms from a single codebase.
- App Stores: Publish your app on the app stores of the respective platforms.
- Performance: React Native compiles your app into native apps, which are almost identical to apps created using native tools, making it faster than hybrid apps that have to run code inside a platform-specific web component.
- Native UI Components: React Native allows you to create views using React Native UI components, which are compiled into platform-specific UI components, unlike other cross-platform tools that use HTML tags. By offering ready-made components, you save a lot of time compared to writing everything from scratch.
- Hot Reloading: A feature available in React Native that allows changes in the code to take effect right away in iOS and Android apps so that you can visualize the changes immediately.
- Testing: Debugging React Native apps is fairly easy as it publishes native apps, which can be tested on physical devices using a tool like Expo, a free and open-source toolchain built around React Native, without the need to open them in Xcode or Android Studio.
- Native Code: Unlike most other cross-platform development tools, React Native allows you to further modify your published native apps separately and it gives you the option to even combine your React Native code and native code, whether it’s Swift, Objective-C, or Java. This is great in case you want to implement separate visual components for different platforms using platform-specific code.
- Reliability: React Native was created by Facebook and many of the world’s top mobile apps use React Native, including Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, and Skype. So needless to say, it’s very stable and reliable.
- Free and open-source: React Native is completely free to use, as opposed to other options like using an app builder or no-code solutions for your cross-development needs.
React Native Cons
While React Native is one of the best cross-platform development tools out there at the moment, it is certainly not perfect. Some of the disadvantages of React Native include:
- New Technologies: Learning JSX and ECMAScript isn’t as easy and would probably take more time than other familiar technologies like HTML and CSS.
- Native Code: In some instances, you might have to write native or platform-specific code in your mobile apps, especially if you need to access the device hardware like the camera or GPS, which can defeat the purpose of cross-platform development and can introduce additional complexity when advanced native features are required.
- Almost-Perfect Performance: While React Native excels in terms of performance compared to most other cross-platform development frameworks, it’s still never as good as native apps development using platform-specific tools and languages.
Make sure to check out our list of top React Native newsletters, blogs, and online communities to stay up-to-date with all that’s new in the world of React Native. Also, check out our essential React Native development tools blog post for more information regarding each tool.
What is Kotlin Multiplatform?
At first glance, comparing Kotlin and Flutter might raise some eyebrows due to Kotlin being traditionally known as a programming language. Kotlin Multiplatform evolved from an experimental feature into a production‑ready SDK, now used in large‑scale apps across multiple industries. Kotlin Multiplatform lets developers use a single codebase to develop apps for both iOS and Android.
Kotlin Multiplatform pros
- Modular integration: Probably the biggest benefit in favor of Kotlin is that it’s an SDK and not a framework. This means that teams with existing apps can simply add a module or migrate a small part to assess its viability without a huge commitment. This really helps Kotlin address the biggest deterrent when moving to a new codebase.
- Easy to learn: Kotlin as a programming language is very popular already and its syntax is very similar to other popular languages such as Swift and Java. This also helps reduce the barrier for entry and encourages developers to pick up Kotlin as an alternative.
- A single codebase for the business logic: Cross-platform development solutions by definition let you use a single code base for various platforms and Kotlin Multiplatform is no different. The advantage of Kotlin is that it lets you share logic and libraries below the UI layer. This enables developers to directly interact with their native environment (iOS/Android).
- Native UI experience: Kotlin Multiplatform unlike Flutter does not demand developers to follow its own UI. It lets you utilize native UI elements to its fullest as if you are developing natively.
- Native performance: This utilization of native components enables performance characteristics comparable to fully native apps. This is a much sought-after advantage for various developers looking to make something beyond an MVP.
Kotlin Multiplatform cons
- Production maturity and evolving features: Kotlin Multiplatform has matured into a production‑ready solution for sharing core business logic across platforms, and it is already used in large‑scale applications across multiple industries. The core language features, tooling, and build infrastructure are stable and well supported. That said, not every part of the ecosystem is equally mature. Some advanced features, integrations, and libraries are still evolving and may require additional validation, custom implementations, or ongoing maintenance. Teams adopting Kotlin Multiplatform should be deliberate about which parts of their stack they share and be prepared to adapt as the ecosystem continues to grow.
- Community support and libraries: While Kotlin Multiplatform’s ecosystem is smaller than more established cross‑platform frameworks, community support and third‑party libraries have grown rapidly. Most common use cases are now well covered, but teams may still encounter gaps for niche or highly specialized requirements, requiring custom solutions or native integrations.
- Not a closed solution: Kotlin Multiplatform requires teams to remain familiar with platform‑specific technologies. Because UI and many platform features are implemented natively, developers still need working knowledge of iOS and Android tooling alongside Kotlin. This approach provides flexibility and native control, but it also increases complexity compared to fully abstracted frameworks.
- Takes more development resources: Compared to more UI‑centric cross‑platform frameworks, Kotlin Multiplatform typically requires more development effort upfront. Its emphasis on shared business logic and native UI can slow early prototyping and increase initial development costs, especially for small teams. However, this investment often pays off for applications that prioritize native performance, platform‑specific behavior, and long‑term maintainability.
How to Choose Between React Native and Kotlin Multiplatform?
React Native and Kotlin Multiplatform take fundamentally different approaches to cross‑platform development, and neither is a universal winner.
React Native is a strong fit for teams that value rapid iteration, hot reload, and a mature JavaScript ecosystem. Kotlin Multiplatform shines when native performance, deep platform integration, and incremental adoption within existing apps are top priorities. Both are proven, production‑ready technologies used at scale.
However, framework choice alone doesn’t determine success. Once an app is in users’ hands, cross‑platform abstractions can make crashes, performance regressions, and platform‑specific issues harder to detect and resolve. Shared logic behaves differently across devices, OS versions, runtimes, and traditional debugging tools often fall short.
This is where agentic mobile observability becomes critical. Luciq provides real‑time visibility into how React Native and Kotlin Multiplatform apps behave in production, automatically surfacing issues, correlating them with user impact, and helping teams resolve problems faster across platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is React Native better than Kotlin?
React Native is better for rapid development, a mature ecosystem, and hot reload, while Kotlin Multiplatform excels in native performance and seamless integration with native code.
Is React Native good for cross-platform?
Yes, React Native is highly suited for cross-platform development, offering reusable code, a robust ecosystem, and near-native performance.
Is Kotlin good for cross-platform development?
Yes, Kotlin Multiplatform is effective for cross-platform development, allowing shared business logic and native UI experiences with high performance.