Mobile app development has seen rapid growth in recent years, as cross-platform development solutions have become more popular. There are two solutions that have proven popular among developers: Flutter and React Native. Both platforms allow developers to build native apps for iOS and Android using a single codebase. However, there are significant differences between these two frameworks that should be taken into account by developers. Let's get started without further ado,
What is Flutter?
Flutter is an open-source mobile SDK (Software Development Kit) created by Google to build native applications for android, iOS, web, desktop, and embedded devices from a single codebase.
Flutter was announced at the Dart Developer Summit in 2015. At first, it was called “Sky”. Flutter alpha version (0.0.6) was released in 2017. Google launched the second preview of Flutter in September 2018.
Google announced the first stable version on 5th December 2018. Before Flutter was released as a stable version, it gained some popularity.
Features Of Flutter
Hot Reload
Flutter's Hot Reload feature allows developers to see code changes in real-time without restarting the app. In this way, the development process is sped up and code can be tested and iterated more quickly.
Widgets
A widget is the building block of a user interface in Flutter. Widgets are reusable UI elements that can be combined to create complex layouts, making it easy to build beautiful and responsive apps.
Cross-platform development
Flutter allows developers to build apps for iOS and Android using a single codebase.
Native performance
Flutter compiles to native code, resulting in fast and responsive apps with a native feel.
Material Design and Cupertino widgets
Flutter provides prebuilt Material Design and Cupertino widgets that make creating beautiful and intuitive user interfaces easy.
Fast development
The reactive programming model and Hot Reload feature allow developers to make changes quickly and see the results.
Open-source
Flutter is an open-source framework supported by a large developer community, which provides access to resources and support.
Customizable widgets
Flutter widgets can be easily customized and extended to meet specific app requirements, so it's easy to create unique and personalized user interfaces.
Support for multiple languages
Flutter supports multiple programming languages, including Dart, Kotlin, and Swift, making it easier for developers to get started with the framework.
Testing and debugging support
Flutter comes with built-in testing and debugging features, so problems can be detected and fixed sooner.
What Is React Native?
React Native is an open-source mobile application development framework created by Facebook that allows developers to build native applications for Android, iOS, and web using a single codebase.
React Native was first announced in 2015 and was released to the public in March 2015. It gained popularity quickly and is now one of the most widely used mobile development frameworks.
Features of React Native
Cross-platform development
React Native allows developers to build cross-platform mobile apps using a single codebase including Android and iOS.
Native performance
React Native compiles to native code using native components, resulting in quick and responsive apps that offer users a native-like experience.
Hot Reloading
The Hot Reloading feature of React Native allows developers to observe changes to the code in real-time without having to restart the app. This speeds up the development process and makes code testing and iteration easier.
Flexibility
React Native is extremely adaptable and can be used for a variety of app kinds, including enterprise, e-commerce, social, and gaming apps.
Large Community
React Native has a huge and active developer community that offers a plethora of tools, support, and third-party libraries.
Easy to Learn
React Native is developed on top of React, a popular web development framework. This makes learning and transitioning to mobile development easier for developers.
Code Reusability
React Native enables developers to reuse a large percentage of their codebase across several platforms, lowering development costs and time-to-market.
Component-based Architecture
The component-based architecture of React Native enables developers to easily build complex UIs by splitting the app down into reusable components.
Performance Optimization
React Native includes various speed optimisation techniques, such as lazy loading, code splitting, and asynchronous rendering, to ensure that apps run quickly and efficiently.
Third-Party Library Support
React Native has comprehensive support for third-party libraries, allowing access to a large range of pre-built components and functions, allowing for faster and easier app development.
Key difference between Flutter vs React Native
| Concept | Flutter | React Native |
|---|---|---|
| Developed by | ||
| Release | May 2017 | June 2015 |
| Programming Language | Dart | JavaScript |
| Architecture | Business Logic Component (BLoC) | Flux and Redux |
| User Interface | Custom widgets | Native UI controllers |
| Documentation | Good, organized, and informative | User-friendly but disorganized |
| Performance | Faster due to close-to-machine code | Slower than Flutter |
| Testing | Rich set of testing features | Uses third-party testing tools |
| Community Support | Good | Better than Flutter |
| Hot Reload | Supported | Supported |
| Popularity | 152k stars on GitHub (April 2023) | 109k stars on GitHub (April 2023) |
| Latest Version | Flutter-v3.7.10 | React Native-v0.71.6 |
| Industry Adoption | Google Ads, Google Assistance, Google Pay, BMW, Alibaba, eBay, Square, Nubank, Dream 11, Zerodha, Toyota, Hamilton, ByteDance, etc | Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Bloomberg, Walmart, Uber, Airbnb, Microsoft, Discord, Gyroscope, Skype, Tesla, etc. |
| IDE Support | Flutter has a dedicated IDE called Android Studio, as well as support for other popular IDEs such as Visual Studio Code and IntelliJ IDEA | React Native has support for popular IDEs such as Visual Studio Code and Atom, as well as its own web-based IDE called Expo |
| Learning Curve | Flutter has a steeper learning curve due to its unique programming language and architecture, but it may be easier for developers who are familiar with object-oriented programming | React Native has a shallower learning curve since it uses JavaScript, which is a popular language for web development |
| App Size | Flutter app size is larger than React Native app size due to its own widgets and libraries which are required to be bundled with the app | React Native app size is smaller compared to Flutter app size as it uses native components for building the UI which reduces the app size |
| State Management | Flutter has its ,many state management solutions such as BLoC, Provider, GetX, and Riverpod which provides more control over the state of the application | React Native uses third-party libraries such as Redux or MobX for state management |
| Compilation | Flutter uses ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation for iOS and just-in-time (JIT) compilation for Android which allows it to provide faster start-up times | React Native uses JIT compilation for both Android and iOS which can lead to longer start-up times |
| App Development Time | Flutter provides faster app development time due to its Hot Reload feature, which allows developers to see the changes made to the code in real-time | React Native also provides a fast development cycle, but the changes made to the code require a re-build of the app |
| Platform-Specific Features | Flutter provides access to platform-specific features through a plugin system, which allows developers to use native functionality such as camera and location services | React Native also provides access to platform-specific features, but it may require additional configuration and setup |
| Popularity Among Developers | Flutter is the market's leading cross-platform development. | React Native is the second most popular cross-platform development framework. |
Conclusion
Both Flutter and React Native have advantages and disadvantages, and the choice between them is influenced by factors such as project needs, money, and development time.
Flutter, from the viewpoint of a developer, provides a more customised UI, improved performance, and shorter development time due to its Hot Reload functionality. However, due to its unique programming language and architecture, it has a steeper learning curve. React Native, on the other hand, has a reduced learning curve, a smaller app size, and a wider community support, although it may be slower in performance and require more configuration for platform-specific functionality.
A business owner's decision between Flutter and React Native will be based on their individual demands and ambitions. Flutter may be a better choice for organisations who prioritise app speed and have a larger budget, whereas React Native may be a better choice for businesses that require faster development time and a smaller budget.
In conclusion, both Flutter and React Native are powerful and popular frameworks for mobile app development, and businesses and developers should carefully evaluate the pros and cons of each before making a decision. Ultimately, the choice between them depends on the specific requirements and goals of the project, and businesses and developers should choose the framework that best suits their needs.
Thanks for reading, Love form Sarfaraj ❤️❤️❤️
Top comments (4)
Nice summary of these tech.
Very good article.
As you have mentioned in your article, the performance of Flutter is higher. But I think the advantage for web developers is that they will find it easier to learn React Native as it is based on JavaScript.
In React Native I liked your point about Code Reusability. I guess it can be used in web development using React.js. Here also some more information about Flutter and React Native.
Thank you for the article Sarfaraj. Very good.
Flutter has been broken on arm64 platforms for 4+ months now.
github.com/flutter/flutter/issues/...
So you may want to take this under consideration when you evaluate flutter for it's cross-platform capabilities.
Sunsetting React Native. Due to a variety of technical and… | by Gabriel Peal | The Airbnb Tech Blog | Medium
Flutter uses AOT compilation for Android as well.
Flutter uses JIT compilation for development.
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