Introduction

You’ve launched a successful SaaS product and now you’re looking to grow your user base. You could do this by continuing to offer your service online, or you could turn it into an app and make it available on mobile devices. Which is the best option? In this article, we’ll explore some of the most common reasons people choose native or hybrid apps for SaaS UX, then evaluate how each option stacks up in terms of cost, features and user experience before finally determining which is best for your business.

Costs

A hybrid app costs more than a native app. It has its own unique set of costs that you’ll have to take into account.

Because the apps are developed in different platforms, they each require separate development teams and tools. This makes it harder to manage your resources, as you’ll likely have developers working on two different code bases with no clear division between their responsibilities or knowledge base. It also means that every time you need something customized for your specific needs—a new feature added or a bug fixed—you have to hire another team member (or hire an existing one) who understands both platforms well enough to do the work properly.

The same goes for maintenance costs: whenever there’s a change made by one team member, some other team members may not know about it and could end up doing something that doesn’t fit within the boundaries established by these changes or fixes (for example, if someone updates their database schema but forgets about making those changes available through their API). This can result in bugs being introduced into both versions of the application until someone notices them

Features

In the case of a hybrid app, you can develop your application faster and get it out there quicker, because the hybrid framework provides your app with most of the features that would normally be developed by an additional team. This means you will spend less time creating an app from scratch and more time testing and improving it once it’s launched.

However, if you want to offer users an enhanced experience in terms of speed, performance and memory usage — or if you want to add new features such as push notifications — then native is probably the right option for you.

User Experience

There are a few key differences in the user experience between hybrid and native apps that you should consider before making your decision.

  • Native apps tend to be faster and more responsive. They can also feel more immersive, since they don’t have any browser-style chrome around the app that would make it look less like an actual app and more like a webpage with buttons.
  • Hybrid apps do have their own advantages though: they let you keep track of customer behavioral data so you can see what they’re doing inside your SaaS product, which could help with improving future versions of the app or customer service; plus, if your SaaS product is already available on mobile devices via desktop browser (and if not, why not?), then having multiple ways for users to access it can be beneficial for getting more users on board.

Security

When it comes to security, hybrid apps are no different from native apps. If you’re using a hybrid framework and want additional layers of security, there are many third-party software you can use to secure the app. Your IT team may even recommend one or more options for you. Likewise, native app developers also have access to various tools that can add layers of protection and prevent unauthorized access by hackers. In short: if you care about securing your SaaS UX app with additional layers of protection, then it doesn’t matter whether yours is a hybrid or native app—you can do this in either case!

App Store

The App Store is a great place to get your app in front of a lot of people. You can also rely on Apple and Google’s algorithms to ensure that your app gets in front of the right people at the right time—and this is something you can’t do on your own. Your platform choice may mean that some users are never exposed to what you’ve built (e.g., an Android user may not see an iOS-only app).

Hybrid apps are a viable solution if you’re looking to cut costs, but native apps have far greater potential for monetization and better user experience.

If you’re looking to save money and get a good user experience, a hybrid app can be a great solution. However, if your goal is to maximize the potential of your SaaS UX and generate revenue through in-app purchases or advertisements, you need to go with native development.

Hybrid apps are cheaper to develop because they use web technologies that allow developers to write the code once and then deploy it on multiple platforms. Native development uses languages specific to each platform (iOS Swift vs Android Java) so there’s additional work involved in creating separate versions of the same application for each platform. This translates into higher costs for you as well as less flexibility if you want future updates on all platforms at once—a luxury not afforded by hybrid apps because they’re built using web technologies like HTML5 and CSS3 which run in browsers instead of native operating systems like iOS or Android!

Conclusion

While hybrid apps have their benefits, for the most part, native applications are a better option. If you’re looking to improve your user experience, monetize your app more effectively or get more downloads from the App Store—choose native!