<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="dailydev" canonical="https://daily.dev/posts/5-common-react-native-mistakes-that-slow-down-your-app-and-how-to-fix-them--5lb7qagvu" -->

---
title: 5 Common React Native Mistakes That Slow Down Your App...
description: Common React Native performance pitfalls and how to fix them. Key issues covered include using ScrollView instead of FlatList for large lists, unnecessary...
canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/5-common-react-native-mistakes-that-slow-down-your-app-and-how-to-fix-them--5lb7qagvu
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:site: @dailydotdev
og:type: website
og:site_name: daily.dev
og:title: 5 Common React Native Mistakes That Slow Down Your App (And How to Fix Them) | daily.dev
og:description: Common React Native performance pitfalls and how to fix them. Key issues covered include using ScrollView instead of FlatList for large lists, unnecessary...
og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/5-common-react-native-mistakes-that-slow-down-your-app-and-how-to-fix-them--5lb7qagvu
og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/5Lb7qaGvU.png
og:image:alt: 5 Common React Native Mistakes That Slow Down Your App (And How to Fix Them)
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 630
og:locale: en
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 5 Common React Native Mistakes That Slow Down Your App (And How to Fix Them)

**[Medium](https://daily.dev/sources/medium_js)** · 3 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

Common React Native performance pitfalls and how to fix them. Key issues covered include using ScrollView instead of FlatList for large lists, unnecessary component re-renders (fixable with React.memo, useMemo, useCallback), loading unoptimized images, creating inline functions on every render, and leaving FlatList with default configuration. Bonus tips include enabling Hermes, removing unused dependencies, and profiling with Flipper or React Native DevTools.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://medium.com/@tahseenlabs/5-common-react-native-mistakes-that-slow-down-your-app-and-how-to-fix-them-bc9dc6ee814f>

## Questions this post answers

### Should I use ScrollView or FlatList for rendering a long list in React Native?

FlatList should be used instead of ScrollView for long lists because ScrollView renders every child component at once, increasing memory usage and slowing the app as the list grows. FlatList only renders visible items and can be further tuned with initialNumToRender, windowSize, removeClippedSubviews, and getItemLayout for better scrolling performance.

_daily.dev surfaces practical fixes like this for developers optimizing React Native list performance._

### How do I reduce unnecessary re-renders in a React Native component?

Unnecessary re-renders can be reduced with React.memo, useMemo, and useCallback, which prevent components and functions from being recreated when their underlying data hasn't changed. Applying these techniques leads to smoother navigation and faster UI updates, especially in large applications where components re-render despite unchanged data.

_Developers chasing smoother UI updates track re-render fixes like these through daily.dev._

### What FlatList props should I configure to improve scrolling performance beyond the defaults?

Beyond switching from ScrollView, FlatList performance benefits from configuring initialNumToRender, maxToRenderPerBatch, windowSize, keyExtractor, and removeClippedSubviews, since leaving FlatList at its default settings misses key performance gains. Properly tuned, these settings keep scrolling smooth even with thousands of list items.

_daily.dev helps developers keep FlatList tuning tips on hand when scaling large lists._

## Similar posts on daily.dev

- [6 React Server Component performance pitfalls in Next.js](https://daily.dev/posts/6-react-server-component-performance-pitfalls-in-next-js-0nalrupgs) · LogRocket · 6 upvotes · 0 comments
- [Why Your React App Re-renders Too Much \(And How to Fix It\)](https://daily.dev/posts/why-your-react-app-re-renders-too-much-and-how-to-fix-it--6tepumtep) · Medium · 4 upvotes · 0 comments
- [backend basics: what i learned\(part 11\)](https://daily.dev/posts/backend-basics-what-i-learned-part-11--9kxcloms5) · Medium · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
- [Here's What I’ve Learned from a Year of React Native Development](https://daily.dev/posts/here-s-what-i-ve-learned-from-a-year-of-react-native-development-bzq7nzrjp) · Atomic Spin · 1 upvotes · 0 comments
- [FlashList vs. FlatList: Understanding the Key Differences for React Native Performance](https://daily.dev/posts/flashlist-vs-flatlist-understanding-the-key-differences-for-react-native-performance-ncodklyxp) · Whitespectre · 29 upvotes · 1 comments

---

Tags: [#react](https://daily.dev/tags/react), [#performance](https://daily.dev/tags/performance), [#mobile](https://daily.dev/tags/mobile), [#react-native](https://daily.dev/tags/react-native)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/5-common-react-native-mistakes-that-slow-down-your-app-and-how-to-fix-them--5lb7qagvu)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"5 Common React Native Mistakes That Slow Down Your App (And How to Fix Them)","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/5-common-react-native-mistakes-that-slow-down-your-app-and-how-to-fix-them--5lb7qagvu","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/5-common-react-native-mistakes-that-slow-down-your-app-and-how-to-fix-them--5lb7qagvu"},"datePublished":"2026-07-22T18:08:19.106Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T07:01:33.481Z","description":"Common React Native performance pitfalls and how to fix them. Key issues covered include using ScrollView instead of FlatList for large lists, unnecessary...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/c9f4deea3a785f7c6a438444d9b76683?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/c9f4deea3a785f7c6a438444d9b76683?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Medium","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Medium","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/medium","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/medium_js"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/5-common-react-native-mistakes-that-slow-down-your-app-and-how-to-fix-them--5lb7qagvu","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"react,performance,mobile,react-native","timeRequired":"PT3M"}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Medium","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/medium_js"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"5 Common React Native Mistakes That Slow Down Your App (And How to Fix Them)"}]}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/5-common-react-native-mistakes-that-slow-down-your-app-and-how-to-fix-them--5lb7qagvu#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Should I use ScrollView or FlatList for rendering a long list in React Native?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"FlatList should be used instead of ScrollView for long lists because ScrollView renders every child component at once, increasing memory usage and slowing the app as the list grows. FlatList only renders visible items and can be further tuned with initialNumToRender, windowSize, removeClippedSubviews, and getItemLayout for better scrolling performance. daily.dev surfaces practical fixes like this for developers optimizing React Native list performance."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I reduce unnecessary re-renders in a React Native component?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Unnecessary re-renders can be reduced with React.memo, useMemo, and useCallback, which prevent components and functions from being recreated when their underlying data hasn't changed. Applying these techniques leads to smoother navigation and faster UI updates, especially in large applications where components re-render despite unchanged data. Developers chasing smoother UI updates track re-render fixes like these through daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What FlatList props should I configure to improve scrolling performance beyond the defaults?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Beyond switching from ScrollView, FlatList performance benefits from configuring initialNumToRender, maxToRenderPerBatch, windowSize, keyExtractor, and removeClippedSubviews, since leaving FlatList at its default settings misses key performance gains. Properly tuned, these settings keep scrolling smooth even with thousands of list items. daily.dev helps developers keep FlatList tuning tips on hand when scaling large lists."}}]}
```

