Flutter vs React Native? Which one is the better one for you? Have you ever heard of the phrase two peas in a pod? That’s what Flutter vs React Native are like – they’re one in the same frameworks yet different from one another. With over 3.6 million active mobile users, the development of mobile applications has been growing massively. The trend of developing hybrid applications is growing massively., and that’s where the two most important technologies were born. The popularity between Flutter vs React Native is gaining a lot of popularity these days.
The mobile app development world has become hyper-competitive in recent times. Developers now demand more agility with increase efficiency from the frameworks they work on and this is exactly why frameworks like Flutter vs React Native were invented.
The frameworks allow mobile app developers and brands to build a single app for multiple platforms. However, they’re both great for cross-platform app development, making it difficult to choose between Flutter vs React Native. You can get amazing flutter programming and react native development services from us at affordable prices.
That’s why I’m here today. I’ll be giving a detailed rundown of both the frameworks, and by the end, hopefully, you’ll be able to answer the following questions, what is flutter, what is react native, flutter programming language, and the key roles of flutter developer. A well-skilled website manager is responsible for choosing the right programming language for developing the web application.
Without wasting time let’s just start the comparison but first we’ll learn about the major differences between Flutter vs React Native to better understand the features discussion.
The Major Difference Between Flutter vs React Native
in this section, we’re going to shed some light on the statistical data of Flutter vs React native to know how these two technologies are growing in the market. While they’re both open-source frameworks, the major difference is that React Native is one of the first cross-platform development frameworks, while Flutter is fairly new. Flutter vs React Native offers a smooth development with significantly decreased loading time, while Flutter is commonly useful for developing PoC solutions.
According to Statista, in 2021, React Native was preferred by 42% of mobile app developers, while Flutter was the number one choice for 39% of mobile app developers. The numbers are quite close, which indicates that both frameworks are equally preferred.
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What is Flutter? How Flutter Programming Is Performed?
Like I said before, Flutter vs React Native will be quite impressive topic. Talking about the flutter programming language, it is a cross-platform, open-source framework that allows businesses to develop a single app for multiple operating systems. Flutter programming is not easy, and a flutter developer should know flutter language to write the code smoothly.
The UI software development was created and introduced by Google in May 2017. The SDK has all the necessary tools to develop a hybrid application. It uses Dart to translate apps for different platforms.
Google has put immense effort into making the framework easy to understand for new developers.
Have a look at this video:
Features Of Flutter vs React Native
The features offered by Flutter language are:
- Easy integration – Flutter language offers easy access to developers, which means it’s also easy to integrate. The framework makes it easy to scale the app to new markets or build a quick wireframe. The integration is that simple.
- Hot reload –This is the newest feature that has made developers’ life easy when they sit down to code. Before, they had to wait for minor changes to reflect on their screen, but Flutter programming offers a hot reload feature that reflects the changes within seconds.
- Ready-to-use widget collection – Developers love Flutter programming because of the extensive widget library it has to offer. In addition to that, it also has a library filled with interactive and exceptional animations.
Why Choose Flutter vs React Native?
Here’s why you should choose Flutter language over React Native:
- Speedy development – Flutter programming aids developers in high development velocity. Customizable widgets, hot reload, and complete tools bring the app to life faster than conventional development.
- Design flexibility –Developers have the room to customize their UI as they please. They have complete control over every pixel.
- Multithreading support – Flutter language has a multithread mechanism that allows developers to perform long-running tasks. The feature ensures that the app or program doesn’t lag.
Drawbacks Of Flutter Language
Flutter language isn’t just about the pros, though. Let’s look at the reasons why developers go for React Native over
Flutter.
- Immature framework – Since the Flutter programming is fairly new, it lacks complete stability. There are still some unresolved issues, and the framework is still in the post-development stage, where it’s constantly changing.
- Immature programming language – Flutter programming uses Dart, a new language compared to Swift or Kotlin.
- Max storage needed – Flutter language apps are very heavy and require more storage than React Native apps, which means not every smartphone user can download a Flutter app.
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What is React Native? What Are React Native Elements?
React Native is an open-source, cross-platform app development framework just like Flutter. Facebook developed the framework after Mark Zuckerberg quoted: “The biggest mistake we made as a company was betting too much on HTML as opposed to native.”
He promised his users that they would soon leverage a Facebook app to deliver an exceptional user experience. Shortly after that, Jordan Walke found the ultimate solution. He began by generating iOS elements from a background JavaScript thread, and thus React Native was born. The technology enabled them to create hybrid apps with ease.
Another fun fact about React Native is that it’s the first-ever cross-platform app development framework – which gives it an edge over others.
Let’s look at this video about React Native:
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Features Of React Native vs Flutter
Here are some exciting features offered by React Native:
- Full support from Facebook – Since Facebook is one of the top-visited websites and it backs up React Native, it’s an indication that they will put in all efforts to make the framework top-rated.
- Community-driven – The launch of React Native dates back to 2013, which means it’s been a part of the open-source community long enough to reach perfection (almost). The strong community has pushed numerous updates and kept them maintained.
- Live reload – LikeFlutter, React Native also has hot or live to reload, which means the developers can study the codebase changes instantly.
Why Choose React Native?
Here are some reasons developers love React Native:
- Outclass performance – While hybrid development was a fresh concept, React Native is the one framework that allows developers to build apps without any lags (depending on the developer’s experience).
- Wide community – Because React Native is more than five years old, it has a large community that is always ready to help one another. As a developer, if you’re stuck, you can rely on anyone from the community to help you.
- Third-party plugins – The framework allows the easy integration of third-party plugins and APIs, which also means you can access everything inside and outside of React Native.
Drawbacks Of React Native
Now let’s look at some reasons why developers shy away from using the framework.
- Still in beta –As I said, React Native is still (almost) perfect, which means it has some unresolved issues. The common issues developers face are with debugging and packaging compatibility.
- Still need native developers – Of course, while React Native is a great solution for developing hybrid apps, it’s not ideal for native app development. Companies still need to hire native app developers.
- UI development –React Native offers declarative programming, which means developers can easily create compelling UIs and spot any bugs.
One On One Comparison – Flutter Vs React Native
Now, let’s compare the five main features of the battle: Flutter Vs React Native. I’m sure by now you can tell both frameworks have a lot in common, so the decision is still hard. I will be using a point system that will help you understand which one is best for you.
1. The Programming Language – Flutter vs React Native
A significant difference between the two is the language. Even though both offer similar features, mobile apps are still in different languages.
React Native Uses JavaScript
The popular language is backed by a very large community that allows the developers to build an app with very little knowledge.
Flutter Programming Uses Dart
The Flutter language is Dart – an invention by Google that was launched in 2011. The language is still changing every day, so it’s still unstable.
Final Statement:
The point goes toReact Native for using a language with a wide developer community.
React Native – 1
Flutter – 0
2. Technical Architecture – Flutter vs React Native
The technical architecture relates to the internals of each framework, and they’re important to know.
React Native Uses Flux
Flux is the architecture by Facebook to compile all the native code in runtime.
The usage of the JavaScript bridge affects app performance because of the need to communicate with native modules.
Flutter Programming Uses Skia
Dart has its technical architecture known as Skia. It comes with all the built-in components and doesn’t require any bridge to communicate with the native modules.
Final Statement:
The point goes to Flutter vs React Native because it comes with all the tools for mobile app development.
React Native – 2
Flutter – 1
3. Framework Installation – Flutter vs React Native
When developers install a new framework, they want the process to be smooth and quick. Let’s look at which framework has easier installation – Flutter or React Native.
React Native Uses NPM
The React Native SDK comes with an NPM (Node Package Manager). If you’re a developer with a JavaScript background, you can install the framework very easily.
For new developers, you need to study the NPM, locate the exact binary, and then run a few commands to install React Native successfully.
Flutter Programming Uses Binary Download From Source
The installation of Flutter vs React Native is a little more complicated because you need to add the binary to the PATH, download it from a source code, and then start the installation.
Final Statement:
The point goes toReact Native because the installation requires fewer steps as compared to Flutter.
React Native – 3
Flutter – 1
Author Recommendation – Flutter vs React Native
As an author, and a person with a core development background I would recommend React Native more authentic, and usable to develop the front end of the mobile application. Moreover, I have discussed all the top-notch features to give you a better insight into both programming languages. You can give our blog, animation processes a read to know about animation steps which you can add in your flutter vs react native developed mobile application.
The Bottom Line
That’s all for the day, for discussion on Flutter vs React Native. I think the comparison has given you a clear picture of which framework is the winner. It’s clearly React Native, which makes sense because it’s the foundation of cross-platform development. While the clear choice is to React Native, personally, I think your choice should be the one that’s easiest for you. Both frameworks have their pros and cons – so study them in detail and then make a decision!
