Flutter VS React Native: Introduction
- Flutter and React Native are two of the most popular mobile app development frameworks in the market. Both frameworks allow developers to create high-quality, cross-platform mobile apps for iOS and Android using a single codebase.
- However, each framework has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, making it important for developers to understand the differences and similarities between them to choose the best option for their project.
Flutter – Advantages
- Flutter, created by Google, is a relatively new framework that was first released in 2017. It uses the Dart programming language and provides a reactive programming model for building user interfaces.
- One of the key advantages of Flutter development is its fast development cycles, which are made possible using a “hot reload” feature that allows developers to see changes in the app immediately after they are made.
- This feature also allows for faster iteration and testing, which can significantly speed up the development process.
- Another advantage of Flutter is its expressive and flexible UI, which is built using customizable widgets. These widgets can be easily customized to create beautiful and responsive apps.
- Additionally, Flutter’s widgets are also highly optimized, which means that apps created with Flutter have native-like performance.
React Native – Advantages
- React Native, on the other hand, was first released by Facebook in 2015 and uses the JavaScript programming language. It is based on the React JavaScript library, which is widely used for building web applications.
- One of the key advantages of React Native development is its large and active community, which has led to the development of many third-party libraries and plugins that can be used to add extra functionality to apps.
- Another advantage of React Native is its ability to use the same codebase for both iOS and Android, which can save time and resources
- However, React Native does not use a reactive programming model, which can make it more difficult to build complex and dynamic user interfaces.
Flutter VS React Native Comparison
Category |
React Native |
Flutter |
| Created By | ||
| First Release | Jan 2015 | May 2017 |
| Main Architecture | Flux and Redux | Bloc |
| Programming Language | JavaScript | Dart |
| Components Library | Large inclusive library | Smaller, non-inclusive |
| Performance | Slower performance because of JavaScript bridging | High-performing, quick |
| Adaptive Components | Some are adaptive automatically | Components aren’t adaptive. Need to be configured manually |
| Learning Curve | Easy to pick up, especially if you are used to React or JavaScript before | Components aren’t adaptive. Need to be configured manually |
| Ecosystem | Quite mature, used in production in many big companies around the world, many packages available | Not yet mature, a fewer number of packages |
| Apps | Instagram, Facebook, Tesla | Google Ads, Philips Hue, Postmuse |
| Time-to-market | Comparatively slower | Comparatively faster |
Cross-platform capabilities
- Both Flutter and React Native have good cross-platform capabilities and can be used to build apps for multiple platforms, including iOS and Android.
- Both frameworks have a large and active community, with a wide range of available packages and plugins to help developers build their apps. However, Flutter has a more expressive and flexible layout, and its widgets are drawn by the framework rather than the platform, which allows for a more consistent look and feel across different platforms. React Native, on the other hand, uses native components, which can provide a more native feel to the app
In conclusion, both Flutter and React Native are powerful frameworks for building cross-platform mobile apps. However, each framework has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, making it important for developers to understand the differences and similarities between them to choose the best option for their project. If you are looking for fast development cycles, expressive and flexible UI and native-like performance, Flutter is the best choice. On the other hand, if you need a larger and more active community, ability to use the same codebase for both iOS and Android and are comfortable with JavaScript, React
