Choose a web to app converter when you want a listing on Google Play, push notifications that reach every Android phone, native tabs and a splash screen, or an APK you can hand to people. Choose a PWA when you want a home-screen icon and offline caching with no store, no build step and no second thing to maintain. If you can only do one and you have no reason to be on Play, start with the PWA; if discovery or push matters, convert. Most sites with any ambition end up with both.
What each one is
A Progressive Web App is your website with two additions: a manifest file (name, icon, colours, display mode) and a service worker (a script that caches pages so they load offline). Chrome on Android offers to install a site that has both, and the result is an icon on the home screen that opens the site full-screen. There is no store, no APK, no build — it is a property of the website.
A converted app is a native Android package containing a WebView that shows your site. It installs from a file or from Google Play, has its own package name and signature, and can carry native components around the web content: tabs, a splash screen, push notification handling, permissions. It is a second artefact, built and updated separately from the site.
Side by side
| PWA | Converted app | |
|---|---|---|
| Home-screen icon | Yes (Chrome install prompt) | Yes |
| Google Play listing | Not directly* | Yes (AAB, Pro) |
| Install from a file / link | No | Yes (APK) |
| Push notifications on Android | Yes, via Web Push — with caveats on some phones | Yes, native (OneSignal/FCM) |
| Push on iOS | Only when added to Home Screen (iOS 16.4+) | Requires an iOS app — see options |
| Offline | Yes, via service worker cache | Yes for bundled content; fallback page for URL apps |
| Native tabs / splash / onboarding | No (you build them in the site) | Yes (Pro) |
| Camera, mic, location | Yes (web APIs) | Yes (web APIs + app permissions) |
| Updates | Instant — it is the site | Instant for content (URL app); rebuild for the shell |
| Effort | Manifest + service worker on the site | A form; no site changes |
| Cost | Free | Free (APK); Pro for Play |
* A PWA can be published to Play as a Trusted Web Activity, but that is itself an Android app built with Bubblewrap or PWABuilder — a build step much like a converter, with stricter requirements on the site.
Where a PWA wins
- No second thing to maintain. Ship the site, and the installed version is the site.
- Offline caching, done properly. A service worker can cache exactly the routes and assets you choose, and refresh them in the background.
- No install friction of the file kind. No "allow from this source", no APK to send.
- iOS, sort of. Safari supports Add to Home Screen and, since 16.4, push for installed PWAs. It is the only free route to something app-like on iPhone.
Where a converted app wins
- Discovery. People search Google Play. A PWA is not there.
- Push that works. Web Push on Android is real, but some manufacturers throttle background browser processes and the permission prompt is easy to miss. Native push through FCM is what every other app on the phone uses.
- Native chrome. A bottom tab bar, a splash screen and onboarding built from settings, not from CSS.
- Distribution outside the store. An APK can go to a client, a staff device, an intranet — no store, no review.
- No changes to the site. A converter wraps the site as it is. A PWA needs a manifest, a service worker and HTTPS, and someone to write and test the caching logic.
The decision, in one table
| You mainly want… | Do this |
|---|---|
| An icon on the home screen and nothing else | PWA |
| To be found in Google Play | Converted app (Pro, AAB) |
| To send notifications to Android users | Converted app with push |
| Parts of the site to work offline | PWA, or a bundled HTML/ZIP app |
| An app for staff or a client, not the public | Converted app (free APK) |
| Something on iPhone this month, for free | PWA |
| Everything above | Both |
Doing both
The two are not in conflict. Add the manifest and service worker to the site so browser visitors can install it; convert the same site for Play and push. The converted app loads the same pages and benefits from the same service worker cache. The meta tags generator writes the manifest link and the theme tags that both need; the builder takes the URL from there.