Flutter vs React Native: The Ultimate Comparison

So, you’re thinking about building a mobile app. Everything is in place. You know your budget and have a wireframe ready. The development phase is about to start, but you’re caught up in a major question.

Flutter vs React Native – which one is the best fit for your project? Both platforms have impressive development speed and offer cost-effective solutions. But which of these two frameworks should you choose?

If you’re feeling stuck in this debate, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about Flutter vs React Native. Read on for the ultimate comparison!

What is Flutter?

Flutter is an open-source framework that’s free to use on multiple platforms. It was developed by Google and focuses on developing user interfaces. Flutter uses the Dart programming language. It is an object-oriented language that’s popular for its ease of use and excellent performance. It allows you to create web and desktop applications from a single codebase. This is because it’s designed for cross-platform app development.

What are the features of Flutter?

Just imagine that you’re deep into coding your app. You were just adjusting the layout a little. But now you have to save, reload, and wait! But wait, you don’t have to do that with Flutter!

With its Hot Reload feature, you can make a change and see the results instantly without having to restart. This is just one of Flutter’s unique features. Here are some others:

• Flutter provides an inclusive library of pre-built UI widgets. These UI components allow developers to create custom layouts and interfaces.
• It is a great option when developing applications for embedded devices. Its features allow developers to create smart, connected devices.
• Built-in animation support is straightforward with Flutter. This makes it easy to add visual effects and transitions to your apps.
• Flutter is a popular option for developing Android apps. This is because the apps you create with Flutter quickly become known for their speed and performance.

In fact, around 500,000 apps published in the Google Play Store are written with Flutter.

What is React Native?

Just like Flutter, React Native is also an open-source framework. It’s a JavaScript framework developed by Facebook. It allows developers to build native Apple and Android apps by using a single codebase. This helps developers with cross-platform development and creates impressive apps.

What are the features of React Native?

Thanks to React Native’s connection with JavaScript, you get access to many features. This begins with JavaScript’s massive ecosystem of libraries.

JS tools and frameworks are diverse, and you’ll find packages for almost anything. Since all of them can work with React Native, you get a powerful tool.  Here are some other features:

• React Native’s fast refresh feature allows you to see changes easily. This allows developers to test and debug quickly, making the development process more efficient.
• When you use React Native, most of your app is built using JavaScript and React. Node.js can allow you to build full-stack mobile apps. However, it will enable you to write specific parts in native code.
• This framework lets you write platform-specific code whenever it’s necessary. Thanks to this, you don’t have to build separate apps.
• React Native uses a declarative syntax. With it, it’s easier to write and understand code. So you don’t have to worry about how to achieve your UI component.

React Native powers 30% of the top 100 iOS apps. This shows its efficiency.

Key feature comparison: Flutter vs React Native:

Now, we have a general idea of these cross-platform frameworks. Both frameworks are excellent choices for a front-end developer. They let you seamlessly create high-performance iOS and Android apps and web applications. But what differentiates them, and which one should you select? Let’s take a deeper look:

Programming Language

In Flutter vs React Native, both use distinct programming languages:

• Flutter: We’ve all heard names like Java, C++, Python, and more. This is because they have been prevalent for a few decades. But when it comes to Flutter, it was written with Dart. A young programming language that was introduced by Google in 2011. The apps you build with Flutter are written in Dart.
• React Native: React Native gets the upper hand here. How? It’s completely written with JavaScript. JavaScript is preferred by 62% of developers worldwide. Thanks to this popularity, React Naïve became popular in no time. React Native was built using React, a JavaScript library.

Architecture

In Flutter vs React Native, both are built on different architectures:

• Flutter: It uses a Widget-Based Architecture. This means that almost everything in Flutter is a widget. This helps developers create identical user interfaces for both iOS and Android apps. This makes UI testing easy and quick for cross-platform app development in Flutter.
• React Native: This framework does not have it so easy. It has a component-based architecture. In Native, you’ll often have to refer to third-party libraries. But it’s not entirely bad. While Flutter lets you access them directly, the third-party libraries in JavaScript provide customizable and ready-to-use UI components.

Learning curve

In Flutter vs React Native, the learning curve is generally easy, but it depends on your knowledge as a developer:

• Flutter: Which one is easier generally comes down to your experience as a developer. Flutter boasts both ease of learning and ease of use for new developers. Thanks to its widget-based architecture and declarative syntax. Cross-platform app development and UI testing are both easy.
• React Native: React Native can have both an easy and complex learning curve. How? Most experienced developers are already familiar with JavaScript, so learning React Native is simple. However, if you’re a new developer, you might find Native more complex to learn.

Performance

In Flutter vs React Native, communication works differently, which affects performance.

• Flutter: As a front-end developer, you’ll find that Flutter applications perform very well. They respond quicker. This is because of Flutter’s abilities. When you develop apps using Flutter, the app’s code communicates directly with the device’s features. It does not need anything to bridge both.
• React Native: In contrast, the Native framework uses a JavaScript bridge to communicate with the native components. For this, data has to travel back and forth to be exchanged. Naturally, this compromises the performance a little. It tends to slow things down.

Development tools

In Flutter vs React Native, both offer powerful development tools but differ in the features:

• Flutter: Flutter comes with several software tools. They improve the framework’s abilities. It’s a complete solution to build iOS and Android apps. Think of a language that allows you to develop and debug easily. You don’t even have to reload to check your changes. Additionally, you get strong IDE support and UI testing.
• React Native: The software tools in Native work differently. It offers its flexibility through third-party tools. It also doesn’t offer built-in testing tools for UI or integration testing. Node.js helps by providing a fast and scalable backend runtime. Other than this, you get the same fast refresh and debugging tools as Flutter.

Community support

In Flutter vs React Native, Flutter was launched in 2017. React Native was launched in 2015.

• Flutter: Google constantly updates and improves Flutter. Due to this, Flutter has a growing community. The young community has seen rapid adoption by both startups and enterprises. Several active forums, courses, and resources can help developers learn more about Flutter.
• React Native: Being launched in 2015 gives Native a more mature community. Facebook actively maintains and updates React Native to make it better. This has made it popular in various industries. Since Native has been around for longer, the active forums help you find solutions quickly.

A Deeper Look at Flutter’s Abilities

This powerful cross-platform framework lets developers get creative. Coding isn’t always fun, but with Flutter, it is. With Flutter, you can create graphically stunning and high-performing apps. You can use a single codebase for mobile, web, and desktop use.

Advantages of Using Flutter

• You don’t have to write separate code for Android and iOS. Just write once and run everywhere. This helps reduce development time and costs.
• Flutter provides beautiful, customizable widgets. This helps you create rich, animated User Interfaces. The best part? They look identical across all platforms.
• It lets you access built-in tools for UI testing and more. This reduces the need for any third-party solutions.
• Since Google also developed Firebase, Flutter easily integrates with it. This makes using cloud storage, push notifications, and analytics easy.

Limitations of Using Flutter

• These apps tend to be larger in file size than native apps. This is because they bundle the Dart runtime and rendering engine with the app.
• Dart is not as widely used as JavaScript. This means fewer developers are familiar with it. So, it’s rarely possible you encounter issues that you can’t find solutions for.
• iOS development isn’t always easy with Flutter. Sometimes, you might face compatibility issues. This can require extra effort for Apple-specific functionalities.
• Flutter apps are not native. They only provide near-native performance. Hence, some apps may need additional platform-specific code.

If these limitations damage your app’s plans, then Flutter may not be the best option for you. If you can compromise on something then Flutter is good.

A Deeper Look at React Native’s Abilities

Both cross-platform frameworks come with limitations and advantages. React Native might work better for some. While some might still prefer Flutter. It’s a lot about who is open to trying new things and who prefers the older ways.

Advantages of Using React Native

• React Native allows developers to mix JavaScript code with other native code. Think of Java, Kotlin, and more. This helps with better-optimized performance.
• Thanks to its third-party libraries, it’s easy to add additional functionalities. You don’t have to build them from scratch.
• This framework is built using React’s component-based structure. It makes the UI development more modular and reusable.
• It uses native APIs and components. This helps deliver an almost fully-native app experience. It also makes animations and transitions smooth.

Limitations of Using React Native

• The cross-platform framework uses a JavaScript bridge to communicate with native components. This slightly slows down performance.
• React Native’s UI can look slightly different across platforms. This harms consistency. So, you would need additional adjustments.
• These apps are also larger than fully native apps. It’s because they bundle JavaScript runtime and required libraries.
• It does not provide built-in support for UI and integration testing. This makes it require third-party tools.

These limitations may not entirely stop you from your goals. However, they can create a blockage. Be thoughtful and choose the right language.

Flutter vs React Native: Use Cases

Both Flutter and React Native have different areas of strength. This makes them ideal for most types of applications. Here is an example of when you should use either:

When should you choose Flutter?

• If your aim is to create high-performing apps with a smooth user interface.
• If you want to deliver a consistent experience across different platforms
• When you’re planning to launch an MVP to test your idea.
• When your app intends to handle high traffic and has heavy animations.

Example:

Google Pay India: It was redesigned using Flutter to handle complex UI and provide cross-platform support.

Alibaba: This huge e-commerce store wanted to boost its user experience. They chose Flutter for that!

When should you choose React Native?

• If your app needs live interactions, chat features, and complex UI animations.
• You’re aiming for strong community support and third-party libraries.
• You want to develop a mobile app for an existing web app.
• Iteration is easy and quick. This makes it ideal when you want a faster launch.

Example:

Facebook: It’s no surprise that Facebook uses React Native. Since Facebook developed it.

Shopify: This leading e-commerce platform delivers a smooth shopping experience. It uses React Native for this.

What are the Backend Development Options for Flutter and React Native?

Both Flutter and React Native focus on developing user interfaces and user experiences. This is why they’re excellent options for a front-end developer. But when building apps using either of these frameworks, what do you do about the backend development?

Both frameworks interact with the backend using APIs and libraries. This allows developers to create full-stack applications. But this requires them to integrate with backend tools. Let’s explore them together:

Flutter

Flutter was developed by Google. So was Firebase. It’s a BaaS platform also developed by Google. It provides lots of tools and services that help developers build and deploy mobile and web applications. This makes Firebase a popular option for Backend development with Flutter.

Firebase allows developers to build cloud-powered mobile and web apps quickly. These applications are scalable and secure. This is thanks to easy and simple authentication solutions. It also allows other solutions such as:

• Push notifications: makes it easier for users to stay engaged.
• Cloud storage: simplifies the process of handling large files.
• Web Hosting: It provides Fast and secure hosting for Flutter web apps.
• NoSQL database: Handle large-scale applications with automatic scaling

These features and Flutter’s easy integration with Firebase makes it the preferred option for backend development. However, there are other options as well. This includes:

• AWS Amplify
• Google Cloud Platform
• Parse Server

These solutions work excellently with flutter. They simplify cross-platform app development with Flutter. In the end, it comes down to your final project’s requirements.

React Native

React Native was built using React. It’s a popular library in JavaScript. The developer is Facebook. React Native uses third-party tools and frameworks to do better. For backend development, one popular option is Node.js.

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime. Developers build fast and networked applications with it. It helps create backend systems that can handle large amounts of traffic. They can also:

• Fast Performance: Handle multiple requests and easily scale for high-traffic apps.
• Managing Data: Improving app performance with optimized API requests.
• Microservices: It breaks down the backend into small, independent services for better scalability.
• Database Compatibility:js works well with both SQL and NoSQL databases

These features help build robust backend systems. They can handle large amounts of traffic and process heavy data. However, you’ll also find other options, such as:

• AWS Lambda
• Azure Functions
• Google Cloud Functions

Node.js is one of the best backend choices for React Native apps. But these other solutions can work perfectly with it, too. Your project requirements matter a lot.

Wrapping It up

Both cross-platform frameworks excel in their own ways. No matter which one you select, you’ll get powerful apps. This Flutter vs React Native comparison guide will surely help you choose the right one.

Yet, at the end of the day, there’s no universal winner—just the right choice for your specific project. At Linkitsoft, our developers are experienced with several frameworks and languages. This has helped us develop high-performing apps. These apps are able to handle complex loads and traffic.

Get in touch with us today for cross-platform app development. Whether you want a social app or an educational one, our developers know how to get around. If you want apps with easy navigability and strong UIs, contact us! Don’t wait around. Your competitors are competing to get ahead!