React Native vs Template App Builders for Shopify: A Technical Comparison (2026) Last updated: May 2026 | Reading time: 10 minutes When a Shopify brand decides to build a mobile app, they're choosing between two fundamentally different technical approaches: a template-based builder that generates a standardised native app, or a custom React Native app built from scratch. What template app builders actually build Template builders like Tapcart, Shopney, Vajro, and Appbrew generate native iOS and Android apps through a shared codebase with brand-specific configuration layers on top.…