# Kivy vs React Native

**Leader by Vioscale score:** React Native

| Attribute | Kivy | React Native |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 49.8 (62% (medium)) | 80.4 (70% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 12 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 709 | 111,015 |
| adoption.github_stars | 19,009 | 126,415 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 12,774,951 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | - |
| description.long | Open-source framework for creating user interfaces with Python, deployable to mobile devices, desktop operating systems, and embedded platforms from a single codebase. | 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. |
| features.capabilities | `{"targets":"Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, macOS, embedded platforms","language":"Python","web_target":false,"desktop_support":true,"official_ui_kit":true,"single_codebase":true,"typescript_first":false}` | `{"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"}` |
| language.primary | Python | C++ |
| license.spdx | MIT | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"android":true,"windows":true}` | `{"ios":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"android":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Completely free and open source. Community supported through optional donations.","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://kivy.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-16T21:32:29.621Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://reactnative.dev","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T16:36:21.048Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | 342 | 6 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/2.3.1","date":"2024-12-26T18:37:03Z","type":"stable","version":"2.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/2.3.0","date":"2024-01-05T13:53:17Z","type":"stable","version":"2.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/2.2.1","date":"2023-06-17T17:37:56Z","type":"stable","version":"2.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/2.2.0","date":"2023-05-20T14:20:47Z","type":"stable","version":"2.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/2.1.0","date":"2022-03-06T10:55:38Z","type":"stable","version":"2.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/2.0.0","date":"2020-12-10T00:57:59Z","type":"stable","version":"2.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/1.11.1","date":"2020-07-19T19:42:19Z","type":"stable","version":"1.11.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/1.11.0","date":"2019-06-01T23:46:40Z","type":"stable","version":"1.11.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/1.10.1","date":"2018-07-09T00:33:57Z","type":"stable","version":"1.10.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/1.10.0","date":"2017-05-07T22:44:16Z","type":"stable","version":"1.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/1.9.1","date":"2016-01-01T01:01:40Z","type":"stable","version":"1.9.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/1.9.0","date":"2015-04-02T11:30:06Z","type":"stable","version":"1.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kivy/kivy/releases/tag/1.8.0","date":"2014-10-20T21:37:38Z","type":"stable","version":"1.8.0"}]` | `[{"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"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.86.0-rc.0","date":"2026-05-07T09:45:03Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.86.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.85.3","date":"2026-05-05T15:30:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.85.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.83.9","date":"2026-04-27T14:54:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.83.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.83.8","date":"2026-04-24T13:23:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.83.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.83.7","date":"2026-04-24T09:31:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.83.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/react/react-native/releases/tag/v0.85.2","date":"2026-04-20T17:22:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.85.2"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 4.7 | 4.4 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=kivy&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"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 | Kivy | React Native |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Target platforms | Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, macOS, embedded platforms | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web |
| Approach | - | Cross-platform native render |
| Primary language | Python | 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 | - | Full native |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| Bundled UI component library | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T14:59:23.853Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*