It’s estimated that 230 billion mobile applications were downloaded worldwide in 2021 and it’s looking like there will only be an upsurge in downloads from here on out. When it comes to choosing a cross-platform mobile development framework for these apps, the developer community can be quite polarized about whether to employ Flutter or React Native. Both frameworks create software applications that work on a range of operating systems, including Android and iOS.
Despite the plethora of information out there, many developers are still left contesting the “better” platform. Then there are those among the developer community who make arguments for both frameworks with no definitive answer. While this may be frustrating for those in the throes of deciding, it’s also an opportunity to take a closer look at the features and drawbacks of each platform.
This is an ongoing conversation and one we’re eager to do a deep dive into. In addition to already covering the pros and cons of Flutter and React development, we have culled perspectives from 13 experts in varying fields for a more holistic approach to this topic. We hope their responses below go beyond shallow comparisons to help you make an informed decision about the right framework for your unique project!
React Native has been around longer and is more well-known among developers but Flutter has been winning the hearts of many developers even in its nascent stages. Let’s look at some of the strengths and drawbacks of these frameworks through the eyes of our trusty experts.
Angela Blakenship, CEO of BestNeighborhood.org, has a talent for culling massive amounts of data and resources into clear, helpful guides. Likewise, Blakenship outlined the pros and cons of Flutter for us! She explains:
“Flutter is a portable toolkit for developing natively compiled enticing UI for mobile, web, and desktop applications from a single codebase.
Pros:
Cons:
Chief Executive Officer at Luckybobbleheads, Alex Smith knows a thing or two about the importance of customization when it comes to satisfying the client. Likewise, he told us a bit about the great customization options when it comes to design in Flutter, among other pros (and cons) within the framework:
“Pros:
Cons
Michael Hess, eCommerce Strategy Lead at Code Signing Store sums up a few additional pros:
“Google's Flutter is a modern development kit that makes it easier to create mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Google Fuchsia, a new platform in development.
Steven Walker is the CEO of Spylix, a platform that helps parents and employers monitor devices they may be concerned about in order to keep the users safe. He has the following to say about Flutter:
“Pros:
High performance: Flutter apps use machine code, utilizing the graphics and visualization engine which is built into C/C++, making the applications to be very fast with a high-performance
Flutter cons:
While React Native is widely known and utilized in the developer community, according to some Flutter is not lagging far behind on its own speedy growth trajectory. And sure one can develop apps in a vacuum, but creating an app necessitates considering the other team members and providing support to those who require assistance or advice. Edward Mellett, Founder of WikiJob touches on the generosity of the community available to Flutter developers. He says:
“Without any prior Flutter expertise, the official Flutter.dev is sufficient to get started constructing projects. When information or tools are missing, the community steps in to fill the void with bespoke articles and open git repositories for specific use cases.”
Gerrid Smith, Chief Marketing Officer at Joy Organics, has a diverse background in high-end digital marketing strategies ranging from Modern and Responsive Web Design to Video/YouTube Promotion. With his knack for visual elements, Smith lauds the best Flutter apps but also has some critique for the framework:
“Flutter UI is distinct from native UI in the following ways: It offers error-free performance and a uniform view on all supported systems whenever native visual components lack features or fail to display completely. Insight Timer, Stadia, Reflect, and, of course, various Google services, like Google Ads, are among the greatest Flutter apps.
…Because Dart and Flutter are still relatively new, their users haven't had the opportunity to think of a wide range of use cases: a team is in deep water when it comes to developing very sophisticated or specialist applications.”
Adam Farb, Founder & Head Of Design at Adam Fard UX Agency, also has a few qualms with what Flutter is lacking. He adds:
“Flutter features are still in alpha and beta testing, thus they may not always work. Furthermore, because the platform is still being finalised, you may not be able to find the essential functions in the existing library. It will take some time for Flutter to develop the necessary tools, improve functionality, and grow the community.
Programmers employ a variety of techniques to reduce code size, including avoiding animations, reducing pictures, and using the bare minimum of packages and libraries. The framework produces bad outcomes. The Flutter app is 4 MB in size, while it only weighs 500 KB on other platforms. Perhaps Google will address this flaw, but not until it takes effect.”
React Native has allowed apps to develop faster as more than 1.6k people have shared code to React’s codebase and reusing code means reduced costs. In addition to commenting on Flutter, Blakenship remarked on the glories and not-so-great qualities about React:
“Pro:
Cons:
Smith provided another list of helpful strengths and drawbacks for React:
“Pros
Cons
Walker, too, had a list of pros and cons:
“Pros:
Cons:
Must developers choose a team per se or can they be cheerleaders for both frameworks?
Smith is generous with hope for both Flutter and React Native:
“It seems to me that React Native is more popular and frequently utilized due to its usability and substantial support, but this does not indicate that Flutter is lagging. Flutter is very new compared to RN, but due to its characteristics and efficacy, it may soon get widespread attention.”
As an expert on cybersecurity trends, Chief Editor of vpnAlert, Bram Jansen, is likewise an expert at forecasting other technological trends, such as the future of React and Flutter. He says:
“It is only a matter of time before both React Native and Flutter have their own sizable audiences. Currently, React Native is more stable than Flutter, but the growth trajectory of Flutter is evident. Both of these options are perfect for developing applications in a timely manner and affordably. Each application necessitates consideration of distinct factors; therefore, the decision is entirely dependent on the company and the developer.”
Max Benz, Founder and CEO at BankingGeek, emphasizes the importance of considering your project’s specific needs:
“When deciding between Flutter and ReactJS, it is important to consider the specific needs of your project. If you need a fast development cycle and good cross-platform compatibility, Flutter may be the better choice. However, if you require more flexibility and advanced features, ReactJS may be a better option.”
CEO of The Great Brain Experiment, Laurence Lee has the smarts about not only brain science and nootropics, but Flutter and React Native as well. He says:
“Flutter is better for cross-platform development because it is based on the Dart language, which is designed for cross-platform development. Reactjs is better for developing single-platform apps because it uses JavaScript, which is more suited for that purpose.
Flutter has some advantages over Reactjs. It is faster and more stable, and it has a more user-friendly interface. Reactjs has some advantages over Flutter. It is more mature, and it has a larger community of developers.”
Venkatesh CR, CEO and Managing Director of Dot Com Infoway, is well-versed in taking new businesses to the next level. When asked whether his business uses Flutter or React Native, Venkatesh did not choose one side, but chose to generously extol and gently problematize both frameworks:
“The battle may have been in favor of Flutter in the past, but that’s arguably no longer the case with the improvements that React Native, as a whole framework, has undergone. On the whole, it’s still a tie.
He, too, emphasized getting clear on your project’s unique needs:
“Again, this depends on your primary goals. If it’s about saving time, money, and other applicable resources, both React Native and Flutter can guarantee it. If you want a faster turn-around time, it may be better to prefer ReactJS developers because of the reasons said above. If your focus is on developing the UI over time, it’s better to use Flutter. Be prepared to slightly invest more money compared to React Native, though.
To answer the question directly, both require less time to be spent on testing, so overall, post-launch app maintenance is not really that big of an issue in Flutter and React Native. As far as post-development support goes, you can rest assured that these two platforms will be able to help you polish your app in the long run.”
As PR Executive & Growth Director at Notta, David Glasser helps ease the process of transcribing important conversations and meetings from various media platforms and apps. A pro at easing communications, we knew Glasser had strong opinions on React and Flutter. He said:
“React Native adopts Javascript, which is easy to learn and adapt. On the other hand, since Dart has lesser adoption among the developer community, React Native is definitely the winner here.
Flutter is a modern development kit by Google, that will facilitate the development of mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Google Fuchsia, a new platform being developed by Google. React Native relies on Javascript bridge to connect with the native modules, whereas on the other hand, Flutter that uses the Dart framework, has most of its components in-built and so does not always require a bridge for communication with its native modules.”
Michael Rispoli, Co-Founder & CT of Cause of a Kind, is invested in finding solutions to complex digital problems in the realm of software engineering and product development. He gave us a thorough explanation of why his team prefers React:
“Of the two, we continue to choose React Native for a number of reasons…it is written in Javascript or typescript, which is effectively the Lingua franca for the software we build all around…with Flutter you have to learn Dart as well as the Flutter framework itself. Dart is not terribly difficult to learn…but when you ask yourself what am I really gaining here over just using React Native, the performance improvement isn't so immense that it would be worth switching.
I think if you are already invested in the Google ecosystem and using Angular on your web front-end, Flutter may make more sense, but as a React and Typescript shop it makes a lot less sense for us to take on the learning curve of Flutter.
…React Native is also more battle-tested as it's been around longer and is well known in the community by non-technical and technical stakeholders alike at this point.”
Walker was emphatic about his support of Flutter:
…the mere fact that Google backs Flutter up makes it a serious ReactJS alternative to consider. I would go with Flutter because…“hot reload”...helps you quickly and easily experiment, build UIs, add features, and even fix bugs. I'm using Flutter because it is the only framework that allows me to share both the UI code and the UI itself and also because of the hot reload functionality.”
As you can see, positing that Flutter or React Native is better than the other is near-impossible, even amongst developers and other trusted experts. With the passage of time, these mobile development frameworks will evolve and improve, expanding their benefits while decreasing their limitations. This requires developers to be flexible, adaptable, and willing to shift opinions as needed. At Pangea.ai, we would be thrilled to help you make a decision regarding Flutter or React Native after considering your needs and what would make the most sense in order for your project to succeed!
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