# Electron vs React Native

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** React Native

| Attribute | Electron | React Native |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 66.3 (60% (medium)) | 78.2 (71% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 93,246 | 111,015 |
| adoption.github_stars | 123,412 | 126,686 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 14,689,002 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Electron is a framework for building desktop applications by embedding Chromium and Node.js into its binary, allowing developers to maintain a single JavaScript codebase and create cross-platform apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is indexed under Mobile App Frameworks.","source":"https://www.electronjs.org","question":"What is Electron?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Electron is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.electronjs.org","question":"Is Electron free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Electron supports Windows, macOS and Linux. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.electronjs.org","question":"What platforms does Electron support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 3 integrations for Electron, including Mac App Store, Microsoft Store and Snap Store. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.electronjs.org","question":"What does Electron integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Electron is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/electron/electron","question":"Is Electron open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"React Native enables developers to write native applications for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and web using JavaScript and the React programming model. Applications use native platform UI components and APIs, delivering native performance without requiring separate codebases per platform. It is indexed under Mobile App Frameworks.","source":"https://reactnative.dev","question":"What is React Native?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"React Native is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://reactnative.dev","question":"Is React Native free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"React Native supports the web, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://reactnative.dev","question":"What platforms does React Native support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. React Native is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/facebook/react-native","question":"Is React Native open source?","confidence":0.99}]` |
| description.long | Electron is a framework for building desktop applications by embedding Chromium and Node.js into its binary, allowing developers to maintain a single JavaScript codebase and create cross-platform apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux. | React Native enables developers to write native iOS and Android apps using JavaScript and React, with UI rendering directly to native platform components. It provides a declarative API compiled to native code, supporting hot reloading during development and direct platform API access. |
| features.capabilities | `{"targets":"macOS, Windows, and Linux","approach":"desktop_webview","language":"JavaScript, HTML, and CSS","web_target":false,"ota_updates":true,"native_widgets":false,"bundled_runtime":true,"desktop_support":true,"single_codebase":true,"native_api_access":"plugin_bridged","auto_update_builtin":true,"code_signing_support":true,"native_look_and_feel":false,"mobile_target_support":false,"app_store_distribution":true}` | `{"targets":"iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web","approach":"native_render","language":"JavaScript","hot_reload":true,"web_target":true,"native_widgets":true,"desktop_support":true,"official_ui_kit":true,"single_codebase":true,"typescript_first":false,"native_api_access":"full"}` |
| integrations.count | 3 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Mac App Store"},{"name":"Microsoft Store"},{"name":"Snap Store"}]` | - |
| language.primary | C++ | C++ |
| license.spdx | MIT | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"ios":true,"android":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://www.electronjs.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T16:49:04.595Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://reactnative.dev","retrievedAt":"2026-10-15T20:24:58.210Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 7 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v43.7.9","date":"2026-10-07T03:14:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v43.7.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.16","date":"2026-10-07T03:13:54Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v43.7.8","date":"2026-10-06T18:05:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v43.7.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v42.11.11","date":"2026-10-06T17:41:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v42.11.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.15","date":"2026-10-06T01:39:20Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v44.6.0","date":"2026-10-06T22:31:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v44.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.14","date":"2026-10-01T22:06:03Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v43.7.7","date":"2026-09-30T10:48:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v43.7.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v42.11.10","date":"2026-09-30T11:00:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v42.11.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v44.5.1","date":"2026-09-30T02:12:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v44.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v44.5.0","date":"2026-09-29T19:09:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v44.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v43.7.6","date":"2026-09-29T19:00:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v43.7.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v42.11.9","date":"2026-09-29T19:05:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v42.11.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.13","date":"2026-09-28T22:05:51Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.12","date":"2026-09-24T21:48:05Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.11","date":"2026-09-23T05:15:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v44.4.5","date":"2026-09-23T06:45:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v44.4.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v43.7.5","date":"2026-09-23T06:15:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v43.7.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v42.11.8","date":"2026-09-23T06:37:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v42.11.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v44.4.4","date":"2026-09-22T18:38:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v44.4.4"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.88.0-rc.5","date":"2026-10-12T23:40:01Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.88.0-rc.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.88.0-rc.4","date":"2026-10-07T08:09:50Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.88.0-rc.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.88.0-rc.3","date":"2026-09-28T13:34:05Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.88.0-rc.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.88.0-rc.2","date":"2026-09-22T08:52:19Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.88.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.88.0-rc.1","date":"2026-09-16T09:35:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.88.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.88.0-rc.0","date":"2026-09-08T17:26:59Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.88.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.87.1","date":"2026-08-26T16:37:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.87.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.86.3","date":"2026-08-24T17:12:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.86.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.87.0","date":"2026-08-11T17:11:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.87.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.87.0-rc.4","date":"2026-08-05T13:24:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.87.0-rc.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.87.0-rc.3","date":"2026-07-27T18:47:17Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.87.0-rc.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.86.2","date":"2026-07-27T17:34:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.86.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.87.0-rc.2","date":"2026-07-21T18:13:16Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.87.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.87.0-rc.1","date":"2026-07-21T18:13:05Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.87.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.87.0-rc.0","date":"2026-07-08T14:21:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.87.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.83.10","date":"2026-06-26T14:42:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.83.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.86.0","date":"2026-06-11T15:27:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.86.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.86.0-rc.3","date":"2026-06-03T07:47:03Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.86.0-rc.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.86.0-rc.2","date":"2026-05-25T14:42:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.86.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.86.0-rc.1","date":"2026-05-18T18:52:30Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.86.0-rc.1"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.scorecard | 6.8 | 4.4 |
| security.trust_center | https://electronjs.org/docs/latest/tutorial/security | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":64,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=electron&per_page=100","last_12m":36,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40react-native-community%2Feslint-config&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Mobile App Frameworks)

| Capability | Electron | React Native |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Target platforms | macOS, Windows, and Linux | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web |
| Approach | Desktop WebView | Cross-platform native render |
| Primary language | JavaScript, HTML, and CSS | JavaScript |
| **Rendering** |  |  |
| Renders true native UI | ✗ | ✓ |
| **DX** |  |  |
| Hot reload | - | ✓ |
| TypeScript-first | - | ✗ |
| **Delivery** |  |  |
| Over-the-air code push | ✓ | - |
| **Portability** |  |  |
| Single codebase, multiple platforms | ✓ | ✓ |
| Desktop support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Builds for web | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Capability** |  |  |
| Native API access | Plugin / bridged | Full native |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| Bundled UI component library | - | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T18:55:46.451Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*