Read about different databases for React Native app development and which one to use. Also, get insights into factors to consider while deciding the database.

1. Top Databases for React Native App
Development
React Native is one of the most used frameworks when it
comes to app development. It is a perfect solution for startups
as well as enterprise businesses to develop applications. Many
companies have already leveraged React Native and have
developed interactive applications.
When talking about React Native app development, there are
multiple things that go into it. One of the major and most
important parts is the database. More complex the data, the
more secure your database must be. In this article, I will walk

2. you through different factors one must consider while
selecting a database and which is the perfect solution for your
application.
Factors to Consider While Choosing Database:
Line of Codes:
Line of codes defines other things you use for React Native
App development. If you write less than 20 to 40 lines of code
for simple CRUD operations then prefer not to use any
advanced database. Because using advanced databases for
small CRUD operations will make your coding more
complicated.
Handling Data Conflicts and Concurrency:
More collaboration features means more possibilities of data
conflicts. Look for databases that share the conflict handling
policies on their website or repository pages. Learn more
about database documents and become aware of how they
handle data syncing and conflicts. This will help you decide on
the correct database for your application.

3. Memory Management:
Regardless of the database you use, you need to make sure
that it has good memory management. Inefficient database
memory handling can often lead to app crashes. If you think
your database is not managing memory efficiently, you can do
a compaction process.
Compaction is a proactive process for memory management in
which it deletes certain documents that are of no use. This will
empty some memory from the database and the app will work
better. This process is similar to the “Garbage Collection” part
of programming which makes sure the memory is available to
users.
Complexity of Data:
When working with server-side or client-side scripting
languages, key-value or JSON structure is the default option
for storage in most of the databases. React Native developer or
in-built library will serialize the strings. Oftentimes
serialization can cause serious halts and issues in application
performance because of its limited resources. This is one of
the major reasons behind companies using a database that

4. helps to store complex data like documents, objects, and other
complex data types.
Syncing Data Offline:
Today users want their applications to work offline as well.
Hence, it is important to use databases that sync with your
application when users connect with the internet. To do so,
you also need to make sure that the offline database is secure
as data will be stored on users’ phones.
These are some of the major factors you need to consider
when selecting the database. Understand your customer and
apps requirements and then make the decision of finalizing the
database.
Going further, let’s talk about different databases you can use
in your React Native app development:
Realm:
Realm is an object-oriented and open source database that is
useful to develop iOS and Android applications. Realm
databases gave birth to real-time and offline applications that
run on mobile devices and wearable devices. It operates 10

5. times faster than relational databases and supports
complicated data types too.
Realm also has its own database search engine which makes it
easy to access any sources or threads. Developers prefer to
use Realm databases to improve the performance of React
Native applications by dealing with huge amounts of data. As it
is a high-performing database, Realm has proven to fix the
queries better and easily, compared to other databases. Realm
is the best database choice for large-sized apps because of its
open-source nature and is easy to use. Some of the benefits of
using Realm are:
● It synchronizes in the background and saves users’
interaction.
● It has a great set of APIs.
● It is an offline-friendly database.
● Uses different encryption standards for different mobile
devices.

6. Firebase:
Google-based Firebase database has NoSQL and is a perfect
database if your application is more into offline data updating
and synchronization. It also manages MVC-based React Native
applications that have high data requirements. Additionally, it
even has a feature like tracking tools which helps you to find
bugs in your application and remove if any. Additionally, it will
even provide you full access to data removal from Google
servers whenever you need it.
Following are some of the major benefits of the Firebase
database:
● It can address users’ role that will help you to fix control
on files.
● You can integrate Firebase with any application.
● It caches data on devices to provide users offline access
to your software.
● It synchronizes the data from different platforms.

7. SQLite:
The main aim of SQLite was to offer users the capacity to
make local storage databases for mobile devices. Lite stands
for a lightweight database that needs minimal setup. SQLite
executes SQL policies with extra tools which help you to
manage data easily. The performance of the database is not
great but developers can make necessary changes as it is
open-source. Following are the key benefits of using SQLite:
● It saves data in a cross-platform database file.
● You can use it to store and synchronize data for offline
apps.
● Being ACID-compliant it executes all SQL standards.
PouchDB:
It is an open-source JavaScript database that preserves data in
JSON format and enables CRUD operations via simple JS API.
PouchDB allows apps to store data locally even when it is
offline and syncs with compatible servers and CouchDB when
the app connects with the internet. It keeps all users’ data
synchronized as it is lightweight. It also helps to secure data

8. easily for React Native applications and has an in-built
authentication system. This system provides features like
password storing using the latest encryption algorithms.
Following are some of the major advantages of PouchDB:
● It syncs data with the supported server.
● PouchDB is built on CouchDB protocols and supports
offline and online capacities.
● It supports SSL, which means you can encrypt data using
the AES256 encryption technique.
● You can easily replicate data from PouchDB.
WatermelonDB:
WatermelonDB was built with an aim to optimize React Native
databases. It is developed on SQLite and works great with
React Native databases. WatermelonDB can scale thousands of
records in a minute and can create complex apps. This
database can handle cached and multithreaded async
functions. Following are some of the benefits of
WatermelonDB:

9. ● It has static typing with flow.
● You can offline the first system by synchronizing your
engine.
● Simple data can plug into components.
● If there are any changes in the database, the UI will reload
automatically.
Vasern:
Vasern is the most lightweight, open-source, and fast database
for developing React Native applications. The Vasern API is
useful for local storage as well as syncing and cloud storage
across the app users. The structures and design of
WatermelonDB get inspiration from different open-source
databases. Following are some of the benefits of Vasern:
● It operates fast.
● It has an end-to-end database and is developer-friendly
i.e. developers can customize it according to their needs.
● It provides better app performance and consistency.

10. BerkeleyDB:
It is an open-source, high-performance backend database for
React Native which allows developers to handle data in
multiple ways. It also offers an API for multiple languages
which includes iOS and Android. BerkeleyDB can also handle
data in multiple ways like SQLite. It uses Key-value pair data
and also has a byte array and supports multiple data items for
a single key.
AsyncStorage:
AsyncStorage is the asynchronous, unencrypted, key-value
pair database used in React Native instead of LocalStorage.
Persisting data in a mobile application has benefits like when
the user restarts the app, the data or the setting variable is
available to the user just the way they used before closing an
app.
Wrapping Up:
When starting with React Native app development, deciding
on a database is the most vital thing as it includes users’ data.
When deciding which database to use, take the above factors
into account and also apps’ requirements. The database is the

11. most crucial part as it needs to handle all the complex
operations and keep data secure, synchronized, and available
offline. If you need more guidance on which type of database
is perfect for your React Native application or need help with
development, you can reach out to us. Our team of
experienced developers will guide you for React Native app
development.
Source:
https:/
/www.biztechcs.com/blog/top-databases-react-native-
app-development/