Introduction
React Native continues to dominate cross-platform mobile app development, and developers rely on powerful libraries to streamline workflows, enhance performance, and improve user experience. Whether you're building a banking app, an e-commerce platform, or a social media application, using the right libraries can save time and effort.
If you're planning to develop a high-performance React Native app, it's best to hire React Native developers who are experienced in utilizing these top libraries effectively.
1. React Native Reanimated (v3+)
For: Smooth Animations & Gestures Why Use It?
Provides low-level UI thread execution for animations.
Improves gesture handling and performance.
Works seamlessly with React Native Gesture Handler.
Install:
npm install react-native-reanimated
Best For: Apps requiring complex animations, custom gestures, and fluid UI interactions.
2. React Native Gesture Handler
For: Advanced Gesture Control Why Use It?
Offers better performance than standard React Native gestures.
Supports swipe, drag, pinch, and long-press gestures.
Works well with React Native Reanimated for seamless animations.
Install:
npm install react-native-gesture-handler
Best For: Apps with custom touch interactions, like swiping cards, pull-to-refresh, or interactive UI elements.
3. React Native Navigation (Wix) (v8+)
For: Native Navigation Why Use It?
Delivers true native navigation (not JavaScript-based like React Navigation).
Improves performance with native transitions and animations.
Offers deep-linking and screen lifecycle management.
Install:
npm install react-native-navigation
Best For: Large-scale applications needing fast and smooth navigation.
4. React Navigation (v7+)
For: JavaScript-Based Navigation Why Use It?
Flexible navigation structure (Stack, Drawer, Bottom Tabs).
Works well with Expo and vanilla React Native.
Now supports better deep linking and performance improvements in 2025.
Install:
npm install @react-navigation/native
Best For: Apps that need easy-to-implement navigation with dynamic routing.
5. React Native Paper (v6+)
For: Material Design UI Components Why Use It?
Provides beautiful, customizable Material UI components.
Includes buttons, cards, dialogs, and bottom sheets.
Fully compatible with dark mode.
Install:
npm install react-native-paper
Best For: Apps that follow Google’s Material Design guidelines.
Final Thoughts
These React Native libraries in 2025 will help developers build faster, more efficient, and feature-rich applications.
Which Library Should You Use? For UI Components: React Native Paper, NativeWind
For Navigation: React Navigation, React Native Navigation
For State Management: Zustand (lightweight) or Redux Toolkit (scalable)
For Animations: React Native Reanimated, Gesture Handler
For API Handling: React Query
For Graphics: React Native Skia
For Camera Features: React Native Vision Camera