Flutter vs React Native: Which is Better for Your Future App and Why

Creating mobile applications has been in the trend for a decade now. Everyone has a dream to launch their app on Play Store and App store together. But, the cost and time behind creating two different apps are stopping people from achieving this dream. This gave birth to cross-platform development solutions in which the apps will be developed in a single framework but they will run on both the OS, iOS, and Android like a native app only.

According to a report by Statista,  React Native and Flutter are the most popular cross-mobile frameworks currently. But which one will help you to achieve your objective faster? You will get to know that after reading this article as we compare the pros and cons of both languages. Let us have a look at both of them and decide accordingly.

What is Flutter: An Overview

Flutter is an open-source framework that was developed by Google in 2017 to work across multiple platforms. It is an enhanced UI software development kit (SDK) that functions with the help of Dart language to build cross-platform applications with a single codebase. Being open-source it is supported by Google developers and the Flutter community together.  

Flutter is used in the development of Google Ads, Alibaba, Tencent, eBay, and many others. It is mainly used to create MVP apps, SPA, and reactive apps mostly. 

What is React Native: An Overview

React Native is an open-source framework that was developed by Facebook in 2015 to develop cross-platform applications. It focuses on the native rendering of apps that are compatible with Android and iOS. React Native gives developers more flexibility by allowing them to use JavaScript side by side and ship products with a single codebase. It is backed by Facebook developers and a large React Native community. 

React Native is used in the development of Facebook, Skype, Tesla, Vogue, Walmart, Bloomberg, and many others. It is mainly used to create quick prototype applications, apps with simple AI, etc.,

Pros and Cons of Flutter

Pros: There are several reasons and benefits of using Flutter for mobile app development.

• Flutter has a hot re-load which means it provides fast coding which enables developers to make instant changes while debugging.
• It has a single codebase that helps in delivering apps faster.
• It has great UI and UX.
• Flutter has faster app development.
• Codes are easily written and shared across platforms and hence it is used mainly in developing MVP.
• It provides great widgets.
• Seamless integration happens as it easily integrates with Java for Android and Swift for iOS.

Cons: There are several disadvantages of using Flutter for mobile app development

• The Flutter community is not as large as React Native because it is relatively newer. 
• You have great libraries and support from Google but not every functionality is found in existing libraries and hence your developers have to create a customized functionality that will take more time. 
• Vector graphics and animation have some issues while rendering plugins on time.
• Cannot push the updates instantly into applications without going through a standard release process.
• App Size is bigger as compared to Native ones.

Pros and Cons of React Native

Pros: The list below was compiled to provide you with the most comprehensive list of React Native pros.

• React Native uses the host’s platform to render APIs.
• React Native also uses a similar hot coding is known as fast refresh that helps the developer to inject code into the live application.
• You can make two apps with a single codebase just as Flutter.
• It uses the most popular language for development, i.e., JavaScript, and hence it is easy to train persons for React Native as it is widely known.
• It has intelligent debugging tools for error reporting.
• React Native has great libraries and an ecosystem, as compared to Flutter because it's been there for a long time.
• It gives developers more freedom in choosing languages and libraries.
• React-Native has a larger community as compared to Flutter.

Cons: The list below was compiled to provide you with the most comprehensive list of React Native cons.

• It doesn’t match the experience of the native app as a native rendering of APIs may not support UI elements.
• A lot of times, third-party libraries that are used are outdated.
• It is slow performing as it doesn’t support multiprocessing and parallel threading.
• Debugging is a bit problematic in React Native.

Flutter vs React Native: What to Choose?

There would always be a lot of debate around flutter vs react native comparison. React Native has large libraries whereas Flutter is independent of native apps. Looking at the current scenario, Flutter is seen in a better position as Google SDK is getting regular updates and love from the community. But it is still not that viable for developing complex applications.

Facebook is looking to completely re-architecture the whole framework. It has to solve its outdated libraries issue and also decrease the dependence on native apps. It can be used to make large apps but lacks the UI and speed part.

Read More: What is the best alternative to React Native?

Conclusion

You can consider these reasons given below to choose Flutter: 

• If you want to write and deploy codes faster and within a limited time.
• If you have to write a single codebase platform and improve the UI of our app.
• Create multiple iterations and MVP applications.

You can consider these reasons given below React Native:

• If you want to develop lightweight native apps.
• If you have sufficient time and money to invest in a project.
• If you want to scale your current application.

We hope that you will be able to decide which language to use for your project after this article.

Jignen Pandya

Vice President at Expert App Devs

Responsible for creating a sales funnel, attracting top-of-the-funnel customers, and converting the target market.