Flutter Vs. React Native: Which is Best to Build Mobile Application?

Flutter was developed by Google and introduced in December 2018. It’s a free, open-source framework that is used to build native mobile apps to support both Android and iOS.

With the help of this framework, building a mobile app becomes easier with high performance because it allows developers to build a mobile app for multiple platforms (OS) by writing a single codebase.

Flutter uses a programming language called Dart, originally designed to replace JavaScript. This means it can build Android, iOS, Web, and Desktop applications simultaneously with a single codebase.

From startups to large enterprises, all sizes of businesses are using Flutter for cross-platform mobile app development. Some of the biggest companies that use Flutter mobile app development are Alibaba, eBay, Google Assistant, Philips, and Google Ads.

React Native is one of the most popular app development frameworks. It was developed by Facebook and is now used worldwide to create mobile apps for both Android and iOS with a single codebase.

It was launched in March 2015 as an open-source project, but its vast adoption and high demand make this framework the world’s most preferred mobile app development framework by developers.

React Native has a waste community, an extensive collection of third-party libraries, and flexibility for app development. Also, it mainly focuses on providing a native-like user experience by rendering native components directly and ensuring smooth and fast app performance.

Some giant companies are using React Native for app development, including Instagram, Facebook, Skype, Walmart, Uber Eats, and Tesla.

Here’s the key difference between Flutter and React Native:

Aspect	Basic Site	React Native
Definition	Flutter is an open-source app development framework that is used for building natively compiled apps for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase	React Native is a framework that is used to build cross-platform apps using its components
Programming Language	It uses Dart/td>	It uses JavaScript
Created By	Developed by Google	Developed by Facebook
Release Date	It was officially released in December 2018	It was officially released in March 2015
Free and Open-Source
Components Library	It offers a rich set of widgets and components for mobile app development	It uses native components with a variety of third-party libraries
UI Components	It’s highly customizable	It uses platform-specific native components
Learning Curve	Quite steep and requires learning Dart, which is not beginner-friendly	Easy to understand, mainly if you’ve used React or Javascript before
Performance	Faster due to Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation	Its performance can be vary based on how native components are used and optimized
Customization	Highly customizable	Limited customization
Ease of Use	It’s user-friendly and easy to use for beginners	It may require a good understanding of JavaScript for further easy learning
Hot Reload Feature
Platforms Support	Android, iOS, Web, Desktop and other platforms	Android and iOS and some community support for Web
Time to Market	It can quickly developed due to a rich library and pre-built components	It may build fast but take longer than Flutter
Main Architecture	BLoC	Flux and Redux
Maintenance	Easy maintenance with built-in tools	Quite challenging and required more efforts due to compatibility issues
Community Support	Growing community with increase resources	Large and active community with extensive resourcing and libraries
When to Choose	Choose Flutter, if: You need fast development You need high customization UI High performance is essential You are familiar with Dart	Choose React Native, if: You are comfortable with JavaScript and React You need native-looking UI You prefer large community and robust ecosystem 3D graphics are essential

Let’s compare head-to-head and find out the key difference between them!

1. Ease of Installation

Flutter is generally much easier to install because it has a complete package of all tools. So you can simply down it and set up the tool. Also, the installation process is well-documented, which helps it be set up quickly. However, Flutter required additional installation of the development kit to install the complete package, which is considered an extra task in the installation.

On the other hand, React Native app development supports Node Package Manager (NPM) for easy and quick installation. However, it’s easy to install for those familiar with Node.Js. Sometimes, the installation environment can also impact the complexity.

2. Language

Flutter uses a programming language called Dart. It was created by Google in 2011 as a replacement for JavaScript. But the popularity of Dart is much less than JavaScript. However, it offers features like strong typing and async programming, leading to better performance in mobile app development.

In contrast, React Native is one of the most widely used frameworks, built using JavaScript, and is more popular than Dart. This means most developers worldwide prefer JavaScript for development and use React Native.

3. User Interface

Flutter has high customization options because it uses customizable widgets to help developers quickly make customizations and details in the UI. With a single codebase, an app can be customized for Android and iOS.

React Native uses native components to give the app a more authentic look and feel. But it also leads to inconsistencies across platforms if it’s not managed correctly.

4. Performance

Generally, Flutter performs better because it compiles code ahead of time, which makes the app perform much faster. It also has its rendering engine for smoother interactions.

On the other hand, React Native mainly relies on bridging JavaScript to native components, which can slow down the performance, especially with complex UIs.

5. Development Time

Flutter is a new development framework that stands for its simplicity and usability. Once developers are families with Dart, working with Flutter is much easier and reduces development time.

React Native has existed longer than Flutter, so developers globally know it. Which means developing apps with React Native is much easier for them. However, React Native uses a bridge to connect with native components, and developers need to keep optimizing apps separately for each platform, which leads to additional development time.

6. Community Support

Flutter is a new framework with a rapidly growing community with strong support and resources. And more and more developers are adapting it. On Stack Overflow, it has 89,638 questions.

On the other hand, React Native is older than Fluterre and is worldwide popular. So it’s a much larger and established community with more pre-built libraries, tutorials, and an active community to find support quickly.

React and Flutter are the most popular frameworks for app development, and developers widely accept them to make the development process much easier, faster, and optimized. However, most businesses confuse these two frameworks and don’t know which one suits their business needs. Here’s how:

Choose Flutter, if:

• If your app doesn’t need special features that require native functionality
• If you’ve a limited budget and need to finish app development faster
• If you prefer having one code base that supports both platforms (Android & iOS)
• If you want your app to run smoothly at 60-120 frames per second (FPS)
• If you need a user-friendly and customizable UI widgets

Choose React Native, if:

• If you want to expand your existing project using cross-platform
• If your cost to develop react native app and time is flexible
• If you are looking to build the simplest and lightest native app
• If you want to develop an app with highly attractive and fast responsive UI
• If you need to easily create shared react native chat APIs

In comparing Flutter and React Native, we find that Flutter has an advantage in performance, cost, and future demand. However, developers currently prefer to react native for development because of its easy development. So, businesses need to understand their project needs and then consider a framework matching them.

Choosing the right framework between Flutter and React Native is essential for app development. Because Flutter is known for high performance, customization, and fast development under budget, React Native has the benefits of easy development, large community support, and expansion of existing projects. We hope this guide helps you determine which framework matches your project needs. Now, it’s your turn to Hire Flutter developers or Hire React Native developers to let the professionals build your project.