NativeScript vs. Node.js

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
NativeScript
Score 4.8 out of 10
N/A
NativeScript is an open source framework that allows you to create native iOS and Android apps, with one codebase, using ​the web skills you already have (JavaScript and CSS) and ​the libraries you already love​.N/A
Node.js
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Node.js is an open source, asynchronous event-driven JavaScript runtime, Node.js is designed to build scalable network applications.N/A
Pricing
NativeScriptNode.js
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
NativeScriptNode.js
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsThe NativeScript framework and CLI are completely free and open source. NativeScript Sidekick is a free download to improve developer productivity with optional paid tiers for power users.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
NativeScriptNode.js
Considered Both Products
NativeScript
Chose NativeScript
NativeScript was indeed a better experience at first than Ionic. But the real game-changer in 2022 for cross-platform applications is Flutter now. We changed to it shorty after NativeScript, as it is much more stable, more widely supported, has a ton of extra features, and does …
Chose NativeScript
First and foremost, the codebase on which the project application was developed in NativeScript on 90% can be shared with React Native framework. Moreover, the documentation of the framework is extensive in a manner to allow developers the easy low-level entrance for the …
Chose NativeScript
I have use AngularJS and Angular for many years, and when it came time to build a mobile app, I was asked to use Android Studio. I did not have any trouble in developing apps separately with these two technologies. By trying to combine web app development and Android app …
Chose NativeScript
I have several hybrid alternatives like Cordova + jQuery Mobile and ionic (which uses Cordova and angular). These alternatives always let you down in the long run because the performance and "feel" is never comparable to a true native app. Especially when the app's complexity …
Chose NativeScript
Ionic
Ionic is an excellent Angular-based framework for mobile, and it does give a lot of access to the native device api's. However, the technology is based on Cordova, which means the apps being built are just webviews, with html, css and JS all running on the UI thread, and …
Chose NativeScript
We have previously evaluated Xamarin, and the time it took us to get started, install all of the software, license it, learn Xamarin, and create a app that runs and debugs on connected mobile devices was painful. With NativeScript and the Playground, we're able to get started …
Chose NativeScript
I've looked into and worked with multiple frame works such as Phonegap/Cordova, Ionic, and React Native. While they all allowed developers to create multi-platform applications easily, with different degrees of performance, I found them all to fall short in once you reached a …
Chose NativeScript
Unlike its competitors, NativeScript offers its users 4 architectural choices. It shines in the area of offering 100% day zero Native API access. The development experience is great and feels like you are home, if you are a web developer coming from Angular or Vue background, …
Chose NativeScript
I was once a user of Ionic Framework which operates on Apache Cordova. At the time, Ionic was the obvious choice because it was lightyears ahead of the other cross platform frameworks. However, because Ionic Framework and Apache Cordova require a WebView component to function, …
Chose NativeScript
Ionic is based on an embedded WebView running an app looking website in the background. It has been around for a couple years, but it does not compare well to real native applications. In most cases the UI just doesn't have the feel of a real native app, and performance is …
Chose NativeScript
The direct native API access without having to write any Java or ObjC was the ultimate decision for us. We can drop in a native Android/Ios library and instantly code against that SDK without any special work. Whereas with Ionic or RN, you have to write some Java/ObjC (or …
Chose NativeScript
Ionic and Apache Cordova are hybrid tools, both based on Webview which is ok for mobile offline data apps but for high-performance enterprise apps that is the limit. NativeScript can go where the number of rules and processing required force us to gain access to the native …
Chose NativeScript
NativeScript is superior in every way:
Vibrant community - there is an open slack channel where you can get advice and talk to other nativescript developers
Active development team - The NativeScript development team reaches out to their user base consistently for feature …
Node.js
Chose Node.js
There is a smooth and seamless performance for multiple requests as the feedback received from users. and uses one platform to maintain UI and backend.
Chose Node.js
Node.js provides features that were used to solve the problem and overall there was no negative impact. That is why Node.js is selected.
Chose Node.js
In my opinion, Node.js is just so much cooler than anything .NET has ever done, even now. It far simpler to get started, you don't need to remember some obtuse class hierarchy which tends to make .NET good so much more complicated than it should need to be. Node.js is faster …
Chose Node.js
Node.js is easy to use and we don't need to set up the environment for using it as we do for making backend with Django and python,
It is also faster and causes less buffering unlike WordPress or other of the kind, and last but not least it is easy to use by beginners as syntax …
Chose Node.js
Other alternatives would be Python or Ruby, both of which are inferior in terms of performance, usability, scalability, and error handling.
Best Alternatives
NativeScriptNode.js
Small Businesses
Visual Studio
Visual Studio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Visual Studio
Visual Studio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Visual Studio
Visual Studio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Visual Studio
Visual Studio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Visual Studio
Visual Studio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Visual Studio
Visual Studio
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
NativeScriptNode.js
Likelihood to Recommend
4.8
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
1.0
(0 ratings)
6.4
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
NativeScriptNode.js
Likelihood to Recommend
NativeScript allows to easily integrate with native APIs by threading models. Moreover, the framework itself can be integrated with Angular, VueJS and JavaScript due to the fact that it was built on based on these frameworks. It allows you to easily maintain if you projects are based on these frameworks. Therefore, for the development of cross-platform applications it can be very handy!
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If you need a fast, robust and reliable server side framework that allows you to write JS on the backend and therefore have your project in one language - Node.js is a stand out choice. It can easily handle heavy traffic on very little resources (CPU and memory usage is very efficient). I can't recommend it enough, it is such a pleasure to work with - I feel it gave me back my career. I was so bored with the banality of .NET, I had also come to dislike it's overly convoluted and complicated class structure. Node.js was the fresh start I needed, it can be as simple or as complicated as you like - but even at it's most complicated it can still beat the pants off .NET core any day.
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Pros
  • True native app. The app uses native components and that is quite noticeable in the overall performance of the app. NativeScript is also awesome in the way we can access the native APIs, so we are never really constrained by the framework. If we need, we can just dive into the native APIs without leaving our environment and language (JS).
  • Cross-platform. Builds for Android and iOS. It deals with the platforms differences very well.
  • Support for Vue.js. Even though it is just a community effort, the NativeScript-Vue plugin is the best alternative to build native Apps with Vue.js. That was a major factor to go with NativeScript.
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  • Node.js using V8 engine that allows run both UI and server side using JavaScript.
  • Eliminates waiting time.
  • Cross-platform that can execute different platforms like android, web apps, and other IoT devices.
  • Uses Non-blocking property so that can be handled multiple requests with quick response.
  • Easy to install and maintained.
  • Open source.
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Cons
  • Nativescript runs everything on a single thread. i.e., the UI thread. If you want to offload some processing, you have to use web workers. This experience can be improved in the future releases.
  • Currently NativeScript only have hot reload when you change the UI file or Css file. There is no hot reload when you change Js/Ts file, unlike Google's Flutter. This is also something which NativeScript will get in the future releases.
  • In current version of NativeScript, there is no livesync when building with webpack. This feature will be added with NativeScript 4.x. (an RC version for 4.x is already available)
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  • Performance bottlenecks need to be profiled and ameliorated.
  • The Asynchronous Programming Model has a learning curve which isn't always intuitive to entry-level coders.
  • Much more suited to the cloud, as opposed to bare-metal installations.
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Likelihood to Renew
The hybrid is ok but native is better for performance and the right use case I want to go for is the performance without dealing with too many development tools.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
My focus has been, and must remain, with obtaining support from web resources over that of paid support programs. Many companies, including those of government agencies, do not have a budget sufficient for paying large sums of money to other organizations to answer questions. Even in cases where an organization did purchase support programs, developers often found that the delays in obtaining responses to development issues was excessive. I give NativeScript the lowest possible rating, due to the fact that their website content is severely outdated and of little use to a developer in a crunch. The NativeScript environment may be far better than I have been able to report, but held back from excelling due to poor support content. Being that I am often asked to push the boundaries in various areas, improper documentation is highly detrimental to a development team, and thuss a review. I would be more than happy to improve this review as the content of the support documentation provided by the NativeScript team makes its way to their website in the form of real-world examples which are applicable to all versions, or at least the most recent versions, of their product.
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Node.js is easy and good to use, their support team is also good they always tend to help you, and solve your problem, even we know that Node is free to use and opensource but then also we get support from them but for getting much better results we need to purchase standard or enterprises support provided by them.
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Alternatives Considered
NativeScript was indeed a better experience at first than Ionic. But the real game-changer in 2022 for cross-platform applications is Flutter now. We changed to it shorty after NativeScript, as it is much more stable, more widely supported, has a ton of extra features, and does not rely on JavaScript and Android knowledge as much as NativeScript.
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Node.js provides features that were used to solve the problem and overall there was no negative impact. That is why Node.js is selected.
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Return on Investment
  • We had built this particular app once already, during a 6 month time frame, using Ionic. When we hit the wall, we chose NativeScript, and built the whole app from scratch. We estimated another 6 months, but completed the work in 4 months due to the ease of use.
  • We have found collaboration with our client much easier because of the simplicity of releases and speed of development.
  • Having a tool like NativeScript has allowed us to make competitive quotes for mobile app development contracts, where previously that would have been closed to us due to our lack of native development experience. Being able to build iOS apps without a Swift-code expert has opened those doors for us.
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  • It let us to make lo budget projects easily and faster.
  • Node.js is easy and based on Javascript, so our interns and trainee could able to make projects using Node.js.
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ScreenShots

NativeScript Screenshots

Screenshot of Example of a styled NativeScript list viewScreenshot of Charts and graphs available as part of NativeScript UIScreenshot of Groceries – the app you build as part of the getting started tutorialScreenshot of Leverage native mapping systems with NativeScript