MAUI vs. Flutter — Comparing cross-platform solutions
Introduction
With the constantly growing demand for applications, developers are always looking for faster, simpler, and cheaper ways of delivering products to the market.
Many cross-platform solutions cut the costs and complexity of projects by targeting multiple platforms from a single codebase. This can significantly impact the time to market and availability of the product, as developers could write the application once and run it on every device.
Choosing the right platform for your next project can be challenging. No technology is perfect, but one can better fit your requirements, even if it’s worse on paper. That’s why knowing the pros and cons of available solutions is essential.
We will compare Flutter, the current leader in that area, with the newly introduced .NET MAUI. Both technologies promise to improve the lives of clients and developers by increasing the development speed, but they take different approaches.
What is .NET MAUI?
Xamarin is a tool used for cross-platform development. It was released in February 2013 by Xamarin Studio, a Microsoft-owned San Francisco-based software company founded in May 2011.
In February 2016, Microsoft purchased Xamarin to integrate it into its .NET ecosystem and unify development processes. To achieve this goal of C# being the language of choice for writing applications for any device, Microsoft had to bring Xamarin fully into its .NET ecosystem.
It all started to come together with Xamarin.Forms that provided an abstract layer over native controls while building user interfaces. Before that, Xamarin views had to be implemented separately for each platform.
Application views could be created using the platform-independent configuration with XML and C#. This change finally allowed for defining interfaces for multiple devices from a single code, but it still has some space for improvement.
MAUI stands for Multi-platform AppUI. It is the next iteration of Xamarin and Xamarin.Forms, released in May 2022. With UI controls rebuilt from the ground up, MAUI makes it easier to develop Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows applications from a single code base.
While working with MAUI, you can notice many similarities with Xamarin. There is an official guide on migrating to .NET MAUI, and Xamarin developers should feel at home with the new technology.
What is Flutter?
Google released Flutter as an open-source SDK for building applications. It took the industry by storm and became the most popular cross-platform technology, surpassing React Native in mid-2019.
Flutter’s popularity largely depends on a wide range of benefits it offers for developers that speed up development and lead to more user-friendly applications.
Flutter takes a different approach from other cross-platform solutions. It uses Dart programming language, also developed by Google. Thanks to that, the framework can avoid needing separate declarative languages like JSX or XML for defining layouts.
All Flutter Code is written in Dart. Single language gives more opportunities for tooling as both UI and logic share the same structure. That’s why Flutter has one of the best IDE support and Devtools making the life of developers easier.
Instead of mapping its UI controls to native components or using a web view, Flutter comes with its rendering engine. These applications work more like 2D games and look the same on any device unless precisely mapped to show different platform-dependent views. This gives control over each pixel on the screen and allows for better design consistency which many companies love.
Flutter also has an extensive widgets library that includes many ready-to-use, customizable UI blocks that feel like native components, further cutting development time.
What should I learn?
Your experience is a significant factor in choosing what to learn. If, like me, you come from a Web Development background, you’ll notice many similarities between Flutter and JS frameworks like React. A declarative way of writing views, project structure, and managing dependencies all feel very similar when switching from React to Flutter.
Dart Language also has many similarities with JavaScript, making learning it much easier for people who have previously worked with web technologies.
If you have experience working with Microsoft’s stack or have worked previously with Xamarin, choosing .NET MAUI is a no-brainer as you would use the familiar tools. It also means that switching to another .NET technology should be relatively easy if you ever grow tired of cross-platform development.
Flutter wins when it comes to the job market. Demand for Flutter developers keeps on growing, and supply for developers is still low. With MAUI being relatively new and the low popularity of Xamarin in recent years, it will take some time before the demand for MAUI developers will get up to speed with the competition.
What should I choose for my next project?
While both Flutter and MAUI promise to solve the same problem of building applications for multiple platforms from a single codebase, we should consider some essential differences.
Where MAUI wins?
.NET MAUI is younger than Flutter but is based on popular technologies. Thanks to that, finding talent with a large pool of .NET developers and its similarities with Xamarin should be more accessible.
More native feel thanks to MAUI using native components for all supported platforms. However, it can also be a disadvantage depending on preferences, as this could cause visual inconsistency between different platforms.
A large collection of Nuget packages and .NET tools is available while working with MAUI. However, it will take some time to add proper support and port all Xamarin packages to take full advantage of this ecosystem.
If a project already uses .NET technologies, it should be possible to share code between the backend and the application thanks to the C# language used across all technologies.
Where does Flutter win?
The key advantages of Flutter are its performance and developer experience. Flutter applications tend to be smaller and faster than those built with .NET MAUI, thanks to Flutter’s Ahead-of-Time compilation which reduces the size of compiled code.
Experienced Flutter developers can also deliver features quickly thanks to a large collection of ready-to-use widgets and good in-line documentation.
Flutter is more mature than MAUI. Many applications built with Flutter can be downloaded and tested. Thanks to an extensive collection of success stories, this makes it an easier choice.
Like MAUI, Flutter apps can be compiled for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. However, Flutter also adds support for Web and Linux, making it available on any device.
Flutter’s engine can run as a whole application or as an embedder. It means that by going with Flutter, developers are not limited by it. It’s easy to jump into native code or add Flutter screens to the existing native applications. Thanks to that, Flutter can be tested and showcased without total commitment.
Flutter is currently more popular and has a larger community constantly working on improving it. It’s easier to find packages and resources. It also makes learning Flutter easier, with many people willing to help.
Conclusion
Both technologies are strong competitors in the cross-platform world. The best option depends on the individual situation.
.NET MAUI, while new and less mature, is an excellent choice if the company already uses the .NET stack. With a larger ecosystem, MAUI can cut development costs for projects that can take advantage of it. It will also continue to improve and integrate into Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Flutter has proved to be an excellent choice for application development. It provides flexibility by giving control over every pixel on the screen. It is also the most popular cross-platform technology with many online resources, making it a safe bet for companies willing to find dedicated developers.
