Last Updated: February 20, 2024
Cordova Alternatives
Published On: February 20, 2024

Summary: With the availability of various Cordova alternatives, it’s tough for businesses and developers to choose the right framework for their projects. If you are one of those, this blog is for you. The guide aims to reveal top Cordova alternatives and help you make the right selection. 

Mobile app development is changing at a fast pace, which causes a rise in various cross-platform app development frameworks. It also causes a loss of demand and popularity of various existing cross-platform mobile development platforms – Apache Cordova is one of those. 

It encourages developers to look for Cordova alternatives that are available with a unique set of features, advantages, and disadvantages. Whether you wish to prioritize cross-platform compatibility, performance, or ease of use, you will explore in this guide some of the top Cordova alternatives. 

From Flutter to React Native, each framework is available with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. They cater to diverse ranges of needs and expectations. Let’s explore all these and find the best option for you.  

What is Apache Cordova?

Being an open-source framework, Apache Cordova enables developers to develop cross-platform mobile apps by using various web technologies, including HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and more. Earlier popular as PhoneGap, the frameworks facilitate developers to build apps for a variety of platforms such as iOS and Android. 

The major advantage of using Cordova for developers is it helps them use a single codebase for app development and thus minimizes both their time and effort.

It includes the possibility of accessing native device features with the help of plugins. It allows developers to incorporate different device functionalities, including GPS, camera, etc., into their apps. Apps developed on this framework deliver a native-like user experience. 

What Happened With Apache Cordova?

Launched in 2009 by Nitobi, Apache Cordova witnessed its significant rise as a top-rated cross-platform app development framework. As per AppBrain stats, Cordova claims 6.34% of applications and 1.09% of installations of the overall market and also approximately 1.20% of the top 500 US applications and installations. 

The overall result is unimpressive but good for Appcelerator. Statista claims that 40% of developers from all across the world use Flutter, whereas only 16% used Cordova in 2021.

With time, the popularity of Cordova went down. The decreasing weekly downloads of Cordova applications witnessed a huge drop. The major fall was 41% from November 2020 to November 2021.

Top 12 Best Apache Cordova Alternatives

Of course, Apache Cordova has been a popular framework for developing top-quality cross-platform applications for a long time. But, it also has certain weaknesses, which prompt developers to always look for the top Cordova alternatives that can match their project requirements.

1. React Native

Developed and maintained by Facebook, React Native comes as the most sought-after Apache Cordova alternative. It’s popular for having its enormous capability of developing native-like mobile apps by leveraging React and JavaScript

It provides a complete set of components and enables developers to get outstanding performance with the help of native API. React Native improves the overall experience of developers. 

2. Xamarin

Being a part of Microsoft, Xamarin is another Cordova alternative you can consider using for your application development. It facilitates developers to create native applications on both iOS and Android by leveraging C#. 

This Cordova Alternatives provides a single codebase that developers can share across a range of platforms, which makes the development cycles fast. It also minimizes the maintenance efforts. 

3. Flutter

Being a well-known cross-platform app development framework developed by Google, Flutter is a top-rated open-source UI toolkit. Developers can leverage this framework to create natively compiled apps for web, mobile, and desktop with a single codebase.

Based on the Dart programming language, Flutter comes with a vast set of customizable widgets. Developers can use it to build a high-performing and visually stunning application. 

4. Ionic

Ionic is another great alternative for Cordova used for building cross-platform mobile apps. It uses various web technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Whether you are looking for pre-built themes or UI components, it’s available with everything. Developers can use Ionic frameworks to build scalable and powerful apps. 

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5. PhoneGap

It’s another open-source framework that is used widely for cross-platform mobile app development with the use of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It’s quite similar to Apache Cordova and provides some additional services and tools to streamline the entire process of app development and deployment. 

6. NativeScript

As the name suggests, NativeScript is another high-grade framework that is the best option for building native mobile apps with the use of Angular and JavaScript. Developers using this Cordova alternatives framework can create a high-performing and enticing app by using various native APIs and UI components. 

7. Sencha Touch

Sencha Touch is a JavaScript framework that is an apt choice for creating cross-platform mobile apps that behave like native apps in terms of feel and appearance. 

It comes with robust data management capabilities, built-in themes, and various UI components for developing enterprise-grade applications. It also comes with various tools that make testing, rapid prototyping, and deployment quite easy. 

8. Vue Native

With Vue Native, you can use Vue.js and React Native to build cross-platform mobile apps. It lets you harness the simplicity of Vue.js and the capabilities and performance of React Native. 

It provides developers with an efficient and also highly flexible way of creating various native-like applications. Another advantage of Vue Native is it can be integrated with various existing libraries and React Native components. 

9. Onsen UI

When it comes to creating a visually enriched application, you should use Onsen UI, which is available with a range of UI components and templates, along with several built-in themes for developing visually appealing applications. 

This Cordova alternatives framework is popular for delivering outstanding performance and a complete native-like user experience across multiple platforms, which makes it the right choice among developers. 

10. Tabris.js

As an open-source framework, Tabris.js is used to create various native mobile apps with the use of TypeScript and JavaScript

Be it a range of layouts or UI components, the framework is available with everything while letting you get direct access to various native APIs for seamless integration with various device features. It allows you to get a real-time app preview along with live coding abilities. 

11. Framework7

Being a full-featured framework, Framework7 allows developers to create both hybrid mobile and web apps on native platforms like iOS and Android with a native look and feel. 

It’s available with a complete, rich set of various UI components and animation. It offers extensive community support and documentation, which makes it easy for developers to start and develop attention-seeking mobile applications. 

12. Appcelerator Titanium

Appcelerator Titanium can be the right choice when creating a native mobile app is your core priority. It lets you develop native mobile apps with the use of TypeScript, JavaScript, and others. 

Developers who use Appcelerator Titanium can access various native and UI components to build a high-performing application that delivers a completely native user experience. It’s available with deployment tools, built-in analytics, testing, etc.

Should You Use Cordova in 2024?

Yes, Cordova is still relevant in 2024. Its earlier market share was 30% in 2019 and then went down in 2022 with only 10% market share, which was mainly due to the rise of Flutter and other cross-platform mobile development frameworks. 

Meanwhile, Cordova is still popular among developers even in 2024 and is used to create a variety of cross-platform apps.

So, your decision to use this framework entirely depends on your project requirements and goals. To make the right decision to use this framework, you should also consider various other factors such as development team expertise, long-term support, target audience, and more. 

Conclusion

So, you have a complete list of top Cordova alternatives now. After getting an overview of all these, you may have already found the right option for your project. 

Your final selection of the best hybrid app development framework should be based on the type of project you are developing. You can also discuss and Hire our Dedicated PhoneGap Developer, consider their expertise in using a native platform, and make the selection based on this. 

FAQs

You can use Capacitor instead of Cordova to get various advantages such as development and performance efficiency. Capacitor is available with a native runtime bridge, which enables developers to get direct access to device APIs even without a WebView. It ensures an improved user experience and also quick execution.

Yes, you can use React with Cordova to develop cross-platform mobile apps. Cordova brings the possibility of packaging web apps as native mobile applications, whereas React provides a robust JavaScript library for creating user interfaces. The combination of these technologies enables developers to use React’s component-based architecture for building responsive and dynamic mobile apps within a Cordova ecosystem.

Well, both Cordova and Ionic are equally popular frameworks for developing cross-platform mobile apps by using various web technologies. Cordova offers wide platform support but needs more manual configuration for UI. Ionic, on the other hand, offers a more streamlined development experience with ready-made UI components and also ensures better performance.

Yes, Flutter is better than Ionic as it offers more control over UI and design and ensures a better performance. The frameworks can be the more suitable option if you wish to leverage web technologies that have wide access to device functionalities with their range of plugins.
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Jayanti Katariya

Jayanti Katariya is the CEO of Moon Technolabs, a fast-growing IT solutions provider, with 18+ years of experience in the industry. Passionate about developing creative apps from a young age, he pursued an engineering degree to further this interest. Under his leadership, Moon Technolabs has helped numerous brands establish their online presence and he has also launched an invoicing software that assists businesses to streamline their financial operations.

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