A progressive web app is a website that can be installed, work offline and receive notifications. For a large class of products that is enough, and it avoids app stores, review delays and maintaining two codebases entirely. For another class it is not enough, and the boundary moves, which is why the decision has to be made against your specific capability list.
What you gain, and it is substantial
No store review, so you ship when you decide rather than when a reviewer agrees. No store commission on payments taken through the web. One codebase serving desktop and mobile. Instant updates for every user with no version fragmentation. Discoverable through search like any other page. For content products, tools, dashboards and most business applications these advantages are decisive and the native app would have been a distribution liability rather than an asset.
What you give up, and how to check whether it matters
Capability support differs by platform and changes over time, so the honest method is to list the specific capabilities your product needs, background sync, notification behaviour, hardware access, and verify each against current support on the platforms your users actually have. Do that before committing rather than accepting either the enthusiast claim that everything works or the sceptic claim that nothing does. Both are wrong at different times.
Performance is the whole argument, so contract for it
A progressive web app is judged against native responsiveness, which makes performance the product rather than an attribute of it. Google documents the signals: good Core Web Vitals, HTTPS, proper mobile display and no intrusive interstitials. Set explicit targets, measure them on real mid range devices rather than on a developer laptop, and make acceptance depend on them. A slow progressive web app has no argument left, because its entire case was that it feels close enough.
Offline is a design decision before it is an engineering one
Installability and a service worker do not make an application useful offline. Somebody has to decide what is cached, what a user may do without a connection, and what happens when queued actions reconcile with changes made elsewhere. That is product design and it should be specified in advance. Ask a bidder what the app does when a user edits something offline that was changed on the server, because a vague answer means it was not designed.
Questions people ask about progressive web application development services
Is a progressive web app good enough instead of a native app?
For content products, tools, dashboards and most business applications, usually yes, and it removes store review, commission and a second codebase. Decide by listing the specific capabilities you need and checking each against current support on your users' platforms.
What is the main risk?
Performance. The case for a progressive web app is that it feels close enough to native, so a slow one has no argument. Set measured targets on real mid range devices and make acceptance depend on meeting them.
Does installable mean it works offline?
No. Offline usefulness requires deciding what is cached, what users may do without a connection and how queued changes reconcile with server changes. That is product design, and a bidder without a clear answer has not done it.