A specific hardware feature is not exposed to browsers
Certain background processing, deep camera or sensor integration, or OS-level push behaviour beyond what a PWA supports, are cases where native is not a preference, it is the only option.
PWA VS NATIVE APP
PWA vs native app
A progressive web app, PWA, is a website that behaves like an installed app: added to a phone's home screen, opens full-screen, works offline for content already loaded, and can send push notifications, without going through an app store. A native app is compiled specifically for iOS or Android, with direct access to device hardware a browser cannot reach.
Most functionality, including offline use and push notifications, does not need native. Native earns its cost when a specific device feature the product genuinely requires is not exposed to browsers at all, which is a narrower case than it is usually treated as.
THE REAL DIFFERENCES
What actually differs, line by line
Not a scorecard. Five things that behave differently in practice.
| PWA | Native app | |
|---|---|---|
| Distribution | A link, install is optional | App store, with an approval process |
| Store fee on transactions | None | A cut on in-app purchases in most cases |
| Offline use | Works for content already loaded, via a service worker | Works, natively |
| Device hardware access | Limited to what browsers expose | Full access, including OS-level features |
| Typical cost | Included in the standard | From |
WHERE THE ALTERNATIVE WINS
When native is genuinely the right answer
Not a hedge. Real situations where it wins.
App store presence itself is the product
Some products depend on discovery through app store search and rankings, where being absent from the store is a real commercial cost regardless of the technical comparison.
The organisation already has native mobile expertise
If a team already maintains native apps for other products, adding one more inside existing tooling and release processes can be less friction than it would be starting from zero.
WHAT IT COSTS
What it actually costs either way
The gap is real and reflects genuinely different scopes of work.
A PWA is included by default within the standard
STRAIGHT ANSWERS
Questions about PWAs vs native apps
The ones that come up before anyone signs anything.
It is a real, fully functional web app that behaves like an installed one: full-screen, installable, works offline for loaded content, and can send push notifications. What it does not get is OS-level hardware access a browser cannot reach.
A service worker, a small script the browser runs in the background, caches what has already been loaded, so the app still opens and shows recent content without a connection, rather than a blank error screen.
Included by default, within the
When a specific device feature required by the product is not exposed to browsers at all. That is a narrower case than most projects assume, which is why native is scoped deliberately here rather than assumed.
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Every website build here includes progressive web app behaviour by default. Native is scoped separately, only where the device feature genuinely requires it.