Saket ShuklaWeb, mobile or desktop? The short answer
Build a web app first unless something rules it out: it reaches every device from one codebase and updates instantly. Choose a mobile app when people will use it daily on their phones and need the camera, location, notifications or offline use. Choose a desktop app for heavy local work – large files, specialist hardware or long sessions offline. A progressive web app (PWA) often covers the middle ground.
The choice shapes your budget, your release process and how people find the product, so make it on purpose. Start from three questions: where are your users when they need the app, what does the app need from their device, and how often will it change?
Key takeaways
- One web codebase reaches phones, tablets and computers; add native apps when the use case needs them.
- Device access, offline use and how often people come back decide whether a mobile or desktop app is worth it.
- App stores bring reach and trust, but also review queues and a commission on digital sales.
Devices and platforms by the numbers
- Mobile devices accounted for 58.99% of web page views worldwide in September 2026, desktops for 39.26% and tablets for 1.76% (StatCounter, 2026).
- 4.7 billion people – 58% of the world’s population – used mobile internet in 2024, while 3.1 billion lived within coverage but did not use it (GSMA, 2025).
- 91% of US adults have a smartphone (Pew Research Center, 2026).
- Apple charges a 15% commission on paid apps and in-app purchases to developers in its Small Business Program, open to those with up to US$1 million in proceeds in the previous calendar year (Apple).
The four options
Web app
A web app runs in the browser on any device. You ship one codebase, updates reach everyone at once, people can find it through search and share it with a link, and no app store sits between you and your users. Its limits are deeper device access and long offline use. It is the right default for business tools, customer portals, marketplaces and most B2B products.
Progressive web app (PWA)
A PWA is a web app that people can install on their home screen. It can keep key screens available offline, and since iOS and iPadOS 16.4 it can send push notifications on iPhone and iPad too, once added to the Home Screen (WebKit, 2023). It suits an app-like experience without two app store releases. Some device features and background tasks remain more limited than in native apps, especially on iPhone.
Mobile app – native or cross-platform
Native apps (Swift for iOS, Kotlin for Android) and cross-platform apps (React Native, Flutter) give the fullest access to the camera, location, sensors, payments and background tasks, and the most reliable notifications. They suit products people open every day on their phones. The costs: two platforms to support, a store review before each release, and a commission on digital goods sold in the app – 15% under Apple’s Small Business Program, with Apple’s standard rate above its threshold.
Desktop app
Desktop apps – native, or built with frameworks such as Electron or Tauri – suit heavy local work: large files, specialist hardware such as scanners or lab equipment, long offline sessions and tight integration with the operating system. They need installers, updates and code signing for each operating system, so choose them when the browser cannot do the job.
Web, PWA, mobile or desktop: side by side
| Question | Web app | PWA | Mobile app | Desktop app |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who can use it? | Anyone with a browser | Anyone; can be installed | iPhone and Android users who install it | Computers where it is installed |
| How do people get it? | A link or search | A link, then add to home screen | App Store and Google Play | An installer or company deployment |
| How do updates reach users? | Instantly | Instantly | After store review and an update | Through each installation’s updater |
| Offline use | Limited | Key screens | Full | Full |
| Device access | Basic, with permission | Basic, plus notifications | Full: sensors, background tasks, payments | Full: files, hardware, operating system |
| Cost to build and run | Lowest: one codebase | Low: one codebase | Higher: two platforms or a cross-platform team | Higher: packaging and signing per operating system |
| Best for | Business tools, portals, marketplaces | App-like experiences without the store | Daily consumer use, field work | Heavy local work, specialist hardware |
Seven questions that decide it
- Where are users when they need it? At a desk points to web or desktop; on the move points to mobile or a PWA.
- How often will they use it? Daily use justifies an installed app; occasional use rarely does, because few people install an app for something they do twice a year.
- What does it need from the device? Camera, location, Bluetooth, payments or background tasks favour mobile; large files and specialist hardware favour desktop.
- Must it work offline? For a few screens, a PWA can keep them available; for whole workflows, choose native mobile or desktop.
- How will people find it? Search and shared links favour the web; app store discovery favours mobile.
- How often will it change? Weekly releases are easiest on the web, where there is no review queue.
- What can you maintain? Every extra platform adds testing, releases and support. Start with one and add others when usage proves the need.
You rarely need all of them at once
Most products start on one platform and grow. A common path is a web app for everyone, with a mobile app added for the users who come back every day. If the back end is built as an API from the start, the second front end costs much less than the first.
Two projects show both ends. For Culapp’s social network for college students, we built the front end as a progressive web app, so students got an app-like experience without an app store install. For Manning Tutors, where students and tutors needed to find each other on their phones, we built a cross-platform app for the App Store and Google Play.
Frequently asked questions
Is a web app cheaper than a mobile app?
Usually, at the start: one codebase serves every device and there are no store releases. A mobile app costs more to build and maintain, but can pay back when people use it every day.
What is the difference between a PWA and a native app?
A PWA is a web app that people can install, use offline for key screens and receive notifications from. A native app is built for each platform, with full access to the device and distribution through the app stores.
Should we build native or cross-platform?
Cross-platform frameworks such as React Native and Flutter let one team ship to iOS and Android from one codebase, which suits most business and consumer apps. Native makes sense for heavy graphics, complex background work or the newest platform features.
Can we start with a web app and add a mobile app later?
Yes, and it is often the best path. Build the back end as an API from the start, so a mobile app can reuse it when usage shows the need.
When does a desktop app still make sense?
When the work involves large local files, specialist hardware, long offline sessions or deep integration with the operating system – things a browser cannot do well.
How Assystant can help
We design, build and run custom software for web, mobile and desktop, with AI built in from the first release. We help you choose the platform from your users and your budget, then build the back end once so you can add the next platform when you need it. See AI-native custom software development or talk to us about your app.
Sources
- StatCounter Global Stats – Desktop vs mobile vs tablet market share worldwide
- GSMA – State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2025 (press release, September 2025)
- Pew Research Center – Internet use, smartphone ownership and digital divides in the U.S. (January 2026)
- Apple – App Store Small Business Program
- WebKit – Web Push for Web Apps on iOS and iPadOS (February 2023)