A cross-platform app is an application designed and developed to run on multiple operating systems or platforms.

Instead of creating separate versions of an app for each platform (e.g., one for iOS, one for Android, one for Windows), developers use frameworks and tools that allow them to write code once and deploy it across various platforms. This is in contrast to native apps, where developers need to program code more than once if they seek multi-platform compatibility.

Cross-platform app development streamlines the app development process and reduces costs. However, these advantages come side-by-side with limitations. Cross-platform apps tend to perform less effectively because they often rely on an additional layer of code between the functional code and device features. Customizing cross-platform apps is also more of a challenge compared to native apps due to constraints on certain design elements.

Ultimately, cross-platform apps tend to work best in use cases that don’t require intensive third-party integrations, rich media, and other complex information-processing tasks.

Hybrid apps and web apps are two of the most common subcategories of cross-platform apps.