Is Swift dramatically better than React Native?
Article Summary
Swift vs React Native: the debate that never dies. But what does the data actually show?
A developer dives into the performance comparison between native Swift and React Native, testing real-world scenarios to see if Swift's reputation for speed holds up in practice.
Key Takeaways
- Swift showed 2-3x faster rendering for complex list views with heavy data
- React Native matched Swift performance for simple UI and basic interactions
- Memory usage was 40% lower in Swift for graphics-intensive operations
- Development velocity favored React Native for cross-platform feature parity
Critical Insight
Swift wins on raw performance and memory efficiency, but React Native closes the gap for most common UI patterns.
