Ha! That’s a very good question! Which one is better for YOU? It will always depend on your needs as both approaches are great. However, one of them may suits your business better than the other one.
If you are looking for new clients or you care the most about the presence in internet or your product is “one time life event” or you already have a website but is not rendering to smartphones, then responsive website would be a better solution. Why? It’s because you can reach wider spectrum of clients (those using laptop or computer only) and it’s easier and less expensive to create and maintain website than mobile app. Let’s also remember that the website was created first and it had to evolve to accommodate current lifestyle trends. That why, the best versions of it is the responsive one. It enables your website to be viewed on smartphone which further leads to immediate access to it. Tania H. says that in 2017, about 64% of the Earth's population owns a mobile phone, and according to Statista, this percentage keeps increasing. Statista suggests that by 2019 the number of mobile phone users worldwide will reach 5.07 billion. (Tania H.)
Now, from the other hand if you are mostly dealing with reoccurring clients who are coming back regardless, if this is for making an order or to see some report or perhaps to play a game than it would be recommended to focus on native mobile app. It will give your clients better experience, it will be more personal, easy(no internet connection needed), easier(less and faster downloaded content) to use with focus on security and clients convenience. Yes, it will take more time to create it, get all permissions from the 3rd parties to publish it, which of course converts to higher cost of having own mobile app. The downfall is that only smartfon and Ipad users can have access to it.
So the best way to look at those choices would be first to establish your business goals then choosing the right approach would be a simple matter of fact.Tania, H. (n.d.). Pros and Cons of Mobile Websites and Mobile Apps. Retrieved from https://rubygarage.org/blog/mobile-app-vs-mobile-website
Murillo, Maria. “Responsive Web vs Native Apps: Which Is Better?” Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and More, 15 Oct. 2015, thinkapps.com/blog/development/responsive-web-vs-native-apps/.