---
title: "What is the difference between React Native and React?"  
description: "What is the difference between React Native and React?"  
author: "Ashutosh Patel"  
published: 2025-03-24  
updated: 2025-04-08  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/161343/what-is-the-difference-between-react-native-and-react  
category: "React js"  
tags: ["reactjs", "react native application"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# What is the difference between React Native and React?

What is the [difference](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/157114/good-news-or-bad-news-and-the-difference-is) between [React Native](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/298269/7-react-native-mistakes-you-shouldn-t-make) and React?

## Replies

### Reply by Khushi Singh

The main distinction between [React](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/337381/a-comprehensive-guide-on-state-management-in-react) and React [Native](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/43346/what-did-almost-all-native-american-societies-have-in-common-in-the-1400s) stems from their intended usage domain as well as their mechanism for component output.

## 1. Purpose and Platform

- Users can create user interfaces using the JavaScript library called React, which focuses on web application development, also known as ReactJS. The browser implements HTML output through its use of the virtual DOM.
- Mobile applications built for iOS and Android systems work through React Native software, which operates with JavaScript and React programming resources. The native components and APIs of React Native implement UI element rendering functions instead of traditional HTML, along with CSS programming methods.

## 2. Rendering

- The browser DOM serves as the rendering platform for React, where it generates HTML alongside CSS.
- The platform of React Native renders user interface elements through native components like View, Text, as well as Image components that directly correspond to actual native interface components of mobile applications.

## 3. Styling

- When building applications with React, developers usually select between CSS and CSS-in-JS styling libraries for design purposes.
- The styling mechanism in React Native functions through JavaScript objects that match CSS syntax, yet operate with slight deviations, such as the use of `camelCase` formats like `backgroundColor` rather than background-color.

## 4. Navigation and APIs

- The React application depends on web-based routing solutions that employ React-Router.
- The mobile navigation features of React Native rely on solutions provided by React Navigation.
- Through the use of packages along with native code bridging, or through packages, developers gain access to native device features (camera, GPS, etc.) in React Native.

## 5. Code Sharing

- The same part of code is incompatible between React and React Native because both frameworks utilize JavaScript and React-based components along with props and state capabilities, yet need unique platform-specific properties.


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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/161343/what-is-the-difference-between-react-native-and-react

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