Flutter vs React Native: Which Hybrid App Development Framework Should You Pick?
The rising popularity of apps, be it for mobile or web, combined with the plenty of OS options in the market has made it difficult to choose between platforms. This conundrum is easily resolved via hybrid app development, which allows one to build apps for different platforms in one go. Cross-platform solutions are today gaining popularity.
Flutter and React Native are emerging as two leading market players. By choosing the right framework for future applications determines its productivity with its unique set of features. And, it goes without saying that a poorly designed app will overheat the user’s device, lag, and malfunction.
Now before one can opt for this nifty solution, one must decide which framework to use for it? Of course, there are enough options here as well, but I’ve put together an extensive comparison between the two leading options, Flutter and React Native, to ease the choice for you.
The rising popularity of apps, be it for mobile or web, combined with the plenty of OS options in the market has made it difficult to choose between platforms. This conundrum is easily resolved via hybrid app development, which allows one to build apps for different platforms in one go. Now before one can opt for this nifty solution, one must decide which framework to use for it? Of course, there are enough options here as well, but we have out together an extensive comparison between the two leading options, Flutter and React Native, to ease the choice for you.
Let us start with a quick look at the two frameworks’ market share:
- According to StackOverflow, Flutter score 68.8% & React Native gets 57.9% of the popular votes
- Based on GitHub numbers, Flutter has 13k contributors, while React Native has 9.1k contributors.
Flutter:
a. Pros:
- If one is looking to build an app at first only to showcase to a potential target audience or clients, Flutter is the perfect choice for building such a minimum viable product.
- Flutter makes use of its widgets that are highly customizable and are also rendered and managed by the framework’s graphics engine. This results in high-quality designs.
b. Cons:
- It is well-known that Google supports Flutter, but that also means a huge risk to the platform’s future lest the tech behemoth decides to withdraw support for it someday.
- Dart, which is used for working with Flutter, is not nearly as well known as JavaScript, which one uses with React Native.
React Native:
a. Pros:
- Thanks to the hot reload features, developers using React Native can accelerate their pace of coding.
- With the JavaScript-driven React Native, one cannot only make apps aimed for multiple platforms with just one code database but also share code.
b. Cons:
- One of the biggest issues one faces when it comes to using React Native is that while it enables the development of top-notch cross-platform apps, it still cannot deliver the experience of a native app.
- React Native does not come loaded with nearly enough features and functionalities out of the box, which means one must integrate with third-party solutions to achieve the required functionalities.
Flutter vs React Native
Similarities:
- Both Flutter and React Native are open-source development tools, i.e. they can be used free of charge by anyone
- Developers across the globe agree that both deliver high-quality user experiences, though via different factors
Differences:
- A key point of difference between Flutter and React Native is performance. Flutter is the clear winner in this regard, thanks to the fact that it uses the C++ engine, Skia graphic library, etc.
- Another key factor when it comes to choosing a framework is the IDE. In this context, React Native comes out on top since it allows developers to choose pretty much an IDE they want.
App development projects are not only time-intensive but also demand significant investments. The waste of either of these resources, of course, works against the company’s goals. Hence, to decide if you should hire a Flutter app development company or one for React Native instead, carefully analyze your requirements and then compare each of the available options against them to make the right choice.
