Are you looking to build a cross-platform mobile app but get confused about which one you need to choose, Flutter vs React Native? Then this blog will guide you about both platforms’ advantages and disadvantages. ...
Are you looking to build a cross-platform mobile app but get confused about which one you need to choose, Flutter vs React Native? Then this blog will guide you about both platforms’ advantages and disadvantages.
So read this blog and pick the best match for your Cross-platform app development process.
But before understanding the Pros and cons, let’s take a look at the Flutter and React Native platforms.
Overview Flutter vs React Native
When you start researching Flutter vs React Native, you find that frameworks are open source, which means you can get free source code to develop your website. Many developers has their own recommendation on selecting between Flutter vs React Native. But, do you know exactly what this is? Let’s drive to learn.
What is Flutter?
Google created the open-source mobile app development framework that is known as Flutter. From a single codebase, it enables developers to create native-like applications for Android, iOS, and web platforms. Flutter uses the Dart programming language and offers a rich set of pre-built UI components, widgets, and libraries, making it easier for developers to create visually appealing and interactive user interfaces.
Key Benefits of Flutter:
Hot Reload: This feature allows developers to see real-time code changes without restarting the application, drastically speeding up the development process and enabling rapid iteration. Fast Development Cycle: Flutter boasts a quick development cycle, fast build times, efficient testing, and easy debugging, further streamlining the development process. Highly Customizable: Developers can create custom widgets to meet their specific needs, ensuring full control over the application’s user interface. Excellent Performance: Smooth animations and fast rendering, thanks to the Skia graphics engine and native code compilation, provide a smooth and responsive user experience. Cross-Platform Development: Develop applications for multiple platforms (Android, iOS, web) using a single codebase, saving time and resources.Popularity and Adoption:
Flutter has gained popularity in the mobile development community due to its ability to create high-quality applications quickly and efficiently. Its cross-platform capabilities have also made it an attractive choice for businesses looking to develop applications for multiple platforms at once without having to maintain separate codebases.
What is React Native?
On the other hand, React Native is a powerful and flexible framework by Meta Platform, Inc.(formerly Facebook) that allows developers to create high-quality, native-like mobile applications for both iOS and Android with ease. Its ability to reuse code across multiple platforms, rich set of pre-built components, and excellent performance make it an attractive choice for mobile application development.
This platform is also an open-source mobile application development framework that was created by Facebook. It allows developers to build native mobile applications for iOS and Android using a single codebase. It is written in JavaScript and uses React, a popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces.
Key Features of React Native:
JavaScript-based: Leverage your existing web development skills and knowledge to build mobile applications. Native Performance: Delivers a native user experience with smooth animations and responsiveness. Large Community and Ecosystem: Benefit from a vast community of developers and a rich ecosystem of libraries and tools. Fast Development Cycle: Hot reload functionality similar to Flutter enables rapid iteration and quicker development. Component-based Architecture: Create reusable UI components for efficient development and consistent user experience.Popularity:
Overall, Flutter vs React Native needs a very deep discussion. The Flutter app development services and React Native app development services can provide excellent cross-platform app development services opportunities.
Let’s compare both to find the perfect match for your requirement.
Ultimate Comparison Form Experts: Flutter vs React Native
To understand better, let’s elaborate on which framework is better suited for your requirements.
#1: Popularity Battle
Flutter and React Native is an old technology that is used by so many popular big brands. Many of them you may use on a daily basis without knowing the technology behind their development.
Following is the list of top well-known apps that use Flutter or React Native framework.
Examples of apps built on Flutter:
Google Ads Grab Stadia eBay Motors Baidu Tieba Vivafit LifelyExamples of apps built on React Native:
Facebook Walmart Bloomberg Uber Eats Wix SkypeIt is difficult to determine which framework is more popular among businesses because both frameworks have a wide range of user bases. However, Statista data illustrates that interest in Flutter is consistently increasing.
Conclusion:- With a growing user base, Flutter is a winner for their popularity.
#2: Performance Battle
React Native is an amazing application development framework that gives developers the speed and agility for building creative Mobile apps.
React Native requires a JavaScript Communication Bridge for interacting with the Native Component. This leverages 3 main parts to run any framework, including the Native thread, the Javascript thread, and the bridge.
However, In the React Native app, when you pass one component from one thread to another, that takes unnecessary time and slows down the speed.
On the other hand, Flutter uses a powerful Skia Rendering engine. That makes this cross-platform app development platform a faster solution for mobile apps. Moreover, Google’s experimental impeller tool offers enhanced animation and rendering features for iOS only in the 3.0 version.
Conclusion:- In terms of performance, the Flutter wins the war again.
#3: Device compatibility Analogies
Both Flutter and React Native support ARM-powered Android smartphones as well as iPhone 4s and later Apple devices. For the development of apps, both also enable Android and iOS simulators.
Flutter apps need iOS 9 or later on Apple devices, and React Native apps need iOS 11 or later. For Flutter apps on Android smartphones, the API level must be 19 (Android 4.4) or higher; for React Native apps, the API level must be 23 (Android 6.0).
Android 5 or iOS 10 and above are the bare minimum supported versions for Expo-based React Native apps.
Conclusion:- in terms of Device compatibility check, both platforms are good.
#4: Designing Comparison
The fundamental idea behind Flutter is to create user interfaces using widgets. In addition to buttons, text, and cards, these widgets also offer animations, layout choices, and touch interactions. The widgets specify how they appear according to their setup and condition. A widget rebuilds its description and adjusts its look when its condition changes.
On the other hand, React Native leverages native UI components and renders them appropriately for the platform. Although this gives the UI a more natural feel, there may occasionally be very tiny differences between Android and iOS.
Conclusion:- No clear winner in terms of UI and design.
#5: Security Aspects
React Native builds on JavaScript, which is an accessible coding method. Consequently, React Native is unsuitable for highly restricted projects like fintech or banking apps that need top security solutions.
On the other hand, Decompiling Flutter apps is extremely difficult because its code compiles to machine code that cannot be reverse-engineered. This feature makes this platform a more Secure option for your mobile development projects.
Conclusion:- If you are looking for a secure option, Flutter is better for you.
#6: Ecosystem
Large corporations support the ecosystems for both technologies, with React Native being older than Flutter. Flutter is presently, however, gaining popularity quickly.
Despite the impression that Flutter’s ecosystem is rather constrained, there are more than 32,000 ready-to-use packages to choose from.
Aside from that, React Native offers a sizable collection of libraries, such as the awesome-react-native collection of premium third-party components.
Conclusion:- In terms of ecosystem, both frameworks hold a reputation place in the market, so there is no winner.
#7: Development Cost
Let’s find out how much it will cost you to use this technology now. What are the expected salary ranges, how simple is it to locate Flutter and React Native developers, and what other costs need to be considered?
Typically, people’s expenditures make up most of the costs associated with developing mobile apps. The accompanying figures will give you a general overview of the expected wage ranges for Flutter and React Native engineers in the USA and UK as of May 2023, if you intend to hire a permanent crew. The graphs were created using data from Glassdoor.
According to GlassDoor:-
| Country Name | Salary of Flutter Developer | Salary of React Native Developer |
| USA | $94275/year | $92580/yr |
| UK | £44,465 / yr | £47,855 / yr |
Hiring developers on an hourly basis is another affordable choice for app development. According to their location as of May 2023, the following chart shows the approximate hourly prices of Flutter and React Native developers. The information was taken from Upwork, and the developers were categorized by geographical areas, such as the USA and Eastern Europe.
| Country | Flutter Developer | React Developer |
| USA | $30/hr -$70/hr | $25/hr – $60/hr |
| Eastern Europe | $30/hr – $40/hr | $20/hr – $45/hr |
This is a standard price list; it can be increased or decreased by the developers according to your requirements. That’s why, to get a better idea about the cost of development with Flutter and React Native, you need to contact a professional Web development agency. They will also suggest elements that you might forget in your business.
Conclusion:- In terms of developers’ rates, you can say React Native is more cost-effective as compared to Flutter.
#8: Learning Curve
The programming language a framework is built upon frequently determines how simple it is to adopt. Although learning a language from scratch is possible, it is simpler to begin having a fundamental knowledge of the language.
Dart, which is not a commonly used language and can be difficult to master, is the foundation of Flutter. It might be simpler for Java developers to learn, though. Additionally, Flutter is becoming increasingly popular and includes a tutorial just for React Native developers. The Flutter developer community is also creating a ton of materials for self-study and different courses.
On the other hand, React Native is based on JavaScript, a very popular programming language used by front-end developers. It is one of the easiest languages, making it a fantastic choice for beginning developers.
Conclusion:- In terms of a learning curve React Native is better.
#9: Community
Flutter is a software development kit that is managed by a group of professionals at Google and a dynamic open-source community. Flutter Engage is an event organized by the community that provides an opportunity to gain knowledge about the latest advancements in Dart, Flutter, and Firebase.
Attendees can interact with leaders in these technologies and engage in various other activities. There exist two active communities on Slack dedicated to Flutter, comprising approximately 20,000 and 5,000 members, respectively. These communities engage in event organization and exchange of useful insights.
React Native is a cross-platform mobile application development framework that is managed by a team at Facebook in collaboration with an open-source community. In addition to that, there exists a Discord community called Reactiflux, several groups that resemble forums, and communities that are based on companies. React Conf is a prominent conference that focuses on React Native.
Conclusion:- Both offer a robust community to resolve the issues and get informative insights about the cross-app development platform; that’s why it’s a draw between the Flutter community and React Native community.
Final Note: Which Framework to Choose, Flutter vs React Native?
In brief, each framework boasts distinctive benefits and drawbacks. When it comes to cross-platform app development, Flutter outshines React Native as the preferred option. With its exceptional capability to manage intricate logic and multiple screens, Flutter offers faster performance and heightened security, making it the top choice for developers.
In the end, you know the major flows and advantages of Flutter and React Native. Review this information properly and hire React native app developers or Flutter mobile app development services according to your needs. However, if you are still unsure, you need to contact a person or an agency like Pixlogix Infotech Pvt. Ltd., who offer cross-platform app development services on both platforms.
You can also get a free consultation from our team. As we are one of the leading Web development companies in India, offering web & app development services on several technologies. To learn more, visit www.pixlogix.com or contact us now.
