An opinionated guide to image caching in React Native, from battle-tested classics to the blazing-fast newcomer built for the New Architecture.
Caching images in React Native has always been painful. The default <Image> component is slow, flickers on reloads, and offers almost zero control.
For years developers have relied on a handful of libraries but most of them were built before the New Architecture, before Turbo Modules or Nitro Modules, and before apps started demanding smooth video caching and zero-copy performance.
In 2026, the game has changed. Here are the Top 4 image caching libraries I recommend today, ranked by real-world usage, performance, and developer experience.
Make sure you check out the last one!
1 react-native-fast-image - The Veteran King (Still Dominant)
The library is no longer actively maintained but still being used by many. I strongly recommend the fork - @d11/react-native-fast-image
Pros
- Battle-tested for years
- Excellent image prioritization and cache control
- Huge community
Cons
New Architecture support is patchy (community fork required)
Higher bridge overhead compared to modern Nitro solutions
Still the go-to for many production apps, but it's starting to show its age.
2 expo-image - The Expo Ecosystem Favorite
Pros
- Beautiful API and great DX
- Excellent New Architecture support
- Built-in memory + disk caching with cachePolicy
Cons
- Tied to the Expo ecosystem (less ideal for bare React Native)
- Limited programmatic control (no easy remove(url) or cache inspection)
Perfect if you're already in Expo.
3 react-native-turbo-image - The Modern Native Contender
Built on Nuke (iOS) and Coil (Android), this library delivers excellent native performance and is gaining traction fast.
Pros
- Very fast native image loading
- Good New Architecture compatibility
Cons
- Smaller community than fast-image
A strong option if you want native speed without Nitro.
4 react-native-nitro-cache - The Newcomer That's Stealing the Show
This is the one I'm most excited about in 2026.
Built from the ground up with Nitro Modules + C++, react-native-nitro-cache is a unified asset cache for images, videos, and any binary files. Has a very simple api interface, very easy to use.
Why it stands out:
- Unified caching (images + videos + arbitrary files)
- Zero-copy ArrayBuffer support for raw binary data
- Blazing-fast in-memory retrieval with safe atomic persistence
- Built-in TTL, programmatic remove(url) and cache inspection
- Full New Architecture support out of the box
It feels like someone finally built the cache library we've all been waiting for since the New Architecture landed.
Conclusion
react-native-fast-image and expo-image are still solid choices, they are battle tested and the community love them.
My 2026 recommendation:
- Expo-heavy project → stick with expo-image
- Need maximum battle-tested stability → react-native-fast-image (with the community fork)
- Want the future of unified, high-performance caching → try react-native-nitro-cache.
The library is brand new, actively developed, and already solving real pain points that the older solutions never addressed.
Have you tried it yet? Drop a comment below with your current caching setup. I'd love to hear what's working (or not working) for you in 2026.
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