React Native vs Flutter: Choosing the Right Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Framework in 2024?
With the rise of mobile apps, many businesses want to build cross-platform apps that work seamlessly on both iOS and Android. The two most popular cross-platform frameworks are React Native and Flutter. But which one should you choose for your next mobile project? This article compares React Native and Flutter to help you decide which framework is better suited for your needs.
An Introduction to React Native and Flutter
React Native is an open-source framework created by Facebook. It uses the same React architecture that powers Facebook’s web apps but compiles native app components for iOS and Android.
Flutter is Google’s open-source mobile app SDK. It uses the Dart programming language and provides its own widget set and tools. Flutter compiles native code for super-fast rendering on iOS and Android.
Both frameworks allow you to write the logic once and deploy your apps to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The promise is to write once, and run anywhere.
Technical Architecture
React Native uses the same React patterns you’d use for web development. It translates to native views before rendering. This means you get the native look and feel without having to write Swift or Java. React Native apps have a bridge to translate JavaScript to native code.
Flutter uses the Dart framework along with its own widget set and tools. Code is compiled to native ARM code so Flutter apps run at native speeds. Flutter does not use an external bridge.
Performance
React Native has gotten faster over the years, but sometimes suffers from the overhead of the JavaScript bridge. Apps can have occasional lags on complex UIs.
Flutter eliminates the need for a JavaScript bridge so it has lightning-fast rendering capabilities. The compiled code runs at native speeds so Flutter apps can achieve 60 frames per second.
Developer Experience
React Native uses familiar React patterns that web developers know and love. If you have React experience, the learning curve is very small. Setting up and getting started with React Native is fairly straightforward.
Flutter has a steeper learning curve as you need to learn the Dart language. However, Dart is easy to pick up especially if you have a Java or JavaScript background. Flutter offers powerful IDE support and detailed documentation.
Community and Support
React Native benefits from Facebook’s massive open-source community. Because React is so popular, you’ll find support from a large ecosystem of developers. StackOverflow has 100K+ questions tagged React Native.
As a Google-backed project, Flutter also has excellent community support. It’s growing incredibly fast with 150K+ developers and over 5,000 stars on GitHub. However, it doesn’t yet match the maturity of React Native’s community.
Widget and Components
React Native uses native UI components mapped to equivalent React components. For example, View maps to a div while Text maps to a span. Components are written in JavaScript.
Flutter has its own customizable widget set. Widgets are built using Dart code. The widget library is expansive and covers just about everything you need to make a mobile UI.
Developer Productivity
React Native uses Hot Reloading to inject new code into a running app immediately. This means you can see changes in milliseconds without rebuilding the native app.
Flutter also offers Stateful Hot Reload to inject updates into a running app. Flutter’s Hot Reload generally has faster rebuild times than React Native.
iOS and Android Support
React Native supports the latest versions of iOS and Android. Setting up React Native to work with Android requires a few extra steps of configuration.
Flutter has excellent support for the latest iOS and Android versions. Unlike React Native, it doesn’t require any special setup to build for Android.
Stability and Maintainability
React Native offers top-notch stability as it leverages native components. Apps built with React Native tend to be very maintainable long-term. However, some React Native libraries can become outdated quickly.
While newer, Flutter is very stable and its architecture lends itself well to long-term app maintenance. The Flutter team has committed to avoiding breaking changes as the framework matures.
Popularity and Market Share
React Native benefits from the React brand name and enjoys strong adoption. A 2020 survey showed it had a 44% market share. Prominent apps built with React Native include Facebook, Tesla, Instagram, and Skype.
Flutter is newer but gaining popularity fast. A 2020 survey indicated it had a 24% market share. Well-known apps using Flutter include Google Ads, eBay Motors, and Alibaba.
Conclusion
React Native and Flutter both enable cross-platform app development. React Native leverages your existing React skills while Flutter has a modern, reactive architecture.
For most use cases, React Native still has the edge in maturity and community support. It remains an optimal choice for teams already using React or for apps where stability is critical.
However, Flutter delivers lightning-fast performance and excellent developer productivity. As Google invests more in Flutter, it’s becoming a top choice for many mobile developers.
The best approach is to consider your team’s skills, app needs, and business goals. Both React Native and Flutter are excellent cross-platform solutions for shipping high-quality mobile apps.
