OnSpace.AI vs Natively for Building Mobile Apps

The Quick Answer

If you need a native mobile app — one that feels like a real app on someone's phone, passes App Store review, and has access to device features — Natively is the better tool. It's purpose-built for that single thing: turning your idea into a React Native + Expo app that compiles to native iOS and Android code.

OnSpace.AI is a broader platform. It can build web apps, internal tools, SaaS products, and yes, mobile apps too. But when a platform tries to do everything, the mobile output is often not the same quality as what you get from a tool dedicated entirely to mobile.

Why This Distinction Matters

An app that runs on a phone and a native app are not the same thing. A web page can run on a phone. A PWA can run on a phone. But neither of those will give your users the experience they expect from a real mobile app — native navigation, smooth 60fps animations, push notifications, offline support, and access to the camera, GPS, and other hardware. Apple and Google both have guidelines around this, and wrapped web apps get rejected regularly. For a broader look at how different no-code platforms handle native mobile development, see our breakdown of the best no-code mobile app builders.

What OnSpace.AI Actually Builds

OnSpace.AI describes itself as a no-code AI app builder. You give it a prompt — or import a Figma design — and it generates an application. The platform supports deploying to iOS, Android, and the web from a single project.

A General-Purpose Platform

OnSpace.AI positions itself as a unified builder for SaaS products, web apps, and mobile apps. It has built-in backend features like database management, authentication, and payment integration. It's designed for a wide range of use cases — from internal business tools to customer-facing products.

The Mobile Side

On the mobile front, OnSpace.AI can generate apps for both iOS and Android. The platform automatically selects tech stacks based on your requirements — sometimes using React Native for cross-platform, sometimes using web-first approaches like Next.js. This flexibility is a strength for general app building, but it also means mobile isn't always getting the native-first treatment.

Limitations to Be Aware Of

OnSpace.AI works best for simple to moderately complex applications. Reviews note that once you need deeper customization, persistent logic across sessions, complex multi-step workflows, or production-grade control over deployment, the platform starts to feel limiting. It's also a more technical product in some ways — it exposes configuration and deployment options that may be overwhelming if all you want is a mobile app.

What Natively Builds

Natively does one thing: it builds native mobile apps. You describe your app in plain English, and the AI generates a complete React Native + Expo project. The output is real native code that compiles to iOS and Android apps — the same technology used by Instagram, Shopify, and Discord.

Fully Online — Nothing to Download

One of the biggest practical differences: Natively runs entirely in your browser. There's no IDE to install, no CLI tools to configure, no local development environment needed. You open your browser, describe your app, watch the AI build it, preview it live, and deploy — all without leaving your browser tab.

This matters because mobile development has traditionally required a lot of setup. Xcode for iOS. Android Studio for Android. Node.js, Watchman, CocoaPods, Gradle — the list goes on. Natively eliminates all of that.

What You Get

When the AI finishes building your app, you have a complete React Native + Expo project with:

• Native UI components — not HTML elements styled to look like a mobile app, but actual native views, text inputs, scroll views, and navigation stacks
• Built-in backend — Liquid Backend provides authentication (email, password, Google OAuth), database, file storage, WebSockets, and serverless functions out of the box
• Full source code ownership — you can export your code to GitHub at any time, with no vendor lock-in
• One-click deployment — deploy directly to the App Store and Google Play through Expo Launch
• APK builder — generate Android APKs directly from the platform at no extra cost

Preview on Your Actual Phone

Because Natively builds real Expo apps, you can preview your app on your phone while developing. Scan a QR code with Expo Go and see your app running natively on your device — with real native navigation, gestures, and animations. Not a web preview. Not a screenshot. The actual app.

Key Differences at a Glance

Two approaches to mobile apps

General-Purpose Builder vs. Native Mobile Builder

General-Purpose Builder

Web + Mobile + SaaS

Cross-Platform Output

Web-first, mobile as a secondary target

App Store

May not feel fully native

Mobile is one of many targets

Limited native API access

Natively

Purpose-built for native mobile apps

Real Native Code

React Native + Expo SDK 54

App Store

Passes Apple review

Real native experience

Full native API access

The Core Difference: Specialist vs. Generalist

This isn't about one platform being "bad" — it's about what each is designed for. OnSpace.AI is a Swiss Army knife. It can do a lot of things. Natively is a scalpel for mobile app development. If you're building a SaaS dashboard or an internal business tool, OnSpace might serve you well. If you're building a mobile app that people will download from the App Store and use on their phone every day, Natively is the right tool.

Why "Mobile Too" Isn't the Same as "Mobile First"

When a platform adds mobile as one of many targets, the mobile experience tends to be an afterthought. Navigation patterns get approximated rather than implemented natively. Animations run through web bridges instead of the native rendering engine. The result works, but it doesn't feel right on a phone — and users notice. They may not know why, but they feel the difference between a native app and something that's pretending to be one.

The App Store Reality Check

Here's where this really matters in practice. Both Apple's App Store and Google Play have quality guidelines. Apple in particular is strict about rejecting apps that are essentially repackaged websites or don't provide a native experience.

Why React Native Apps Pass Review

React Native — the framework Natively generates code for — renders using actual native UI components. A <View> in React Native becomes a real UIView on iOS and a real android.view.View on Android. The navigation uses the native navigation stack. Animations run on the native thread. From Apple's perspective, the app is native, because it is native.

Native Features That Matter

The apps Natively generates can access everything a native app can:

Which One Should You Choose?

It depends on what you're building. Honestly.

Choose OnSpace.AI If...

• You need a web app or SaaS product, and mobile is secondary
• You're building an internal business tool or dashboard
• You want one platform to handle both web and mobile for a project where mobile doesn't need to feel fully native
• You're building an agentic AI application that runs across platforms

Choose Natively If...

• You need a native mobile app on the App Store or Google Play
• You want your app to feel like a real app — native navigation, smooth animations, device API access
• You don't want to install anything locally — no Xcode, no Android Studio, no CLI tools
• You want full source code ownership with React Native + Expo that you can take anywhere
• You need to pass Apple's App Store review without worrying about guideline 4.2 rejections
• You want to start at $5/month instead of $20+

The Bottom Line

If your project is mobile-first — meaning the primary way people will use your product is on their phone — go with Natively. The apps it produces are genuinely native, the workflow is simpler (no local setup), and the price is lower. If you're building a web-centric product where mobile is a nice-to-have, OnSpace.AI's broader platform may be a better fit.

Evaluating other no-code platforms too? See how Natively compares for converting Bubble projects to mobile apps and Adalo projects to mobile apps.

Frequently Asked Questions