RenishIf you look around you, almost everyone is using smartphone apps these days. With so many mobile users everywhere, it’s obvious that companies will look for solutions to make the apps even more user-friendly than before. This is where React Native and Flutter step in; they are both hybrid frameworks that help you develop apps.
Knowing their features and advantages will help you see why more and more startups are turning towards these for creating apps.
React Native vs Flutter-which should you opt for?
React Native is unarguably one of the leading open-source frameworks using a JavaScript library for creating cross-platform applications. It was created by Facebook engineers and it combines the best features of native development and React for building user interfaces. Apps like Instagram, Uber Eats, Pinterest, etc were developed on this platform. You can create apps using JavaScript alone and these can be downloaded on Apple Store and Google Play Store. A big reason why engineers prefer React JS eCommerce framework is that it lets them focus more on products instead of struggling with the framework.
Flutter is another extensively-used open-source framework much like React Native that makes use of dart technology for creating apps. Unlike React, this was developed by Google engineers. It was launched in 2017 and continues to grow rapidly to become popular among developers. Countries like Canada, Japan, China, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Jordan prefer this framework.
React Native vs Flutter Language:
React Native makes use of JavaScript but Flutter uses Dart. Dart is harder to learn than JavaScript, and you will find few developers who know Dart well. This makes React Native JC eCommerce a little bit more popular. Writing codes using Dart takes more time because of its object-oriented concept. React JS, on the contrary, is easy to pick up and developers can access many resources. In case of a problem, developers can also reach out to a very wide community.
React Native vs Flutter Architecture:
React JS uses a JavaScript bridge, which is a runtime environment enabling communication with native components. This requirement to combine JS code with native modules may slow down the app in certain cases, but otherwise, the performance isn’t impacted. Flutter has most of the necessary components and there’s no need for a bridge. Since it offers key channels and protocols, apps tend to be more stable. Flutter uses Skia architecture while React Native uses Flux architecture. Flutter has a BLoC architecture which has a few benefits. It is robust, testable, and simple. Its main principle is building complex products from simple blocks. So, BLoC architecture can lessen the time needed to familiarize oneself with the project; this makes Flutter appealing for commercial projects that must be completed within shorter deadlines.
React Native vs Flutter Installation:
Because of differences in their architecture, the installation speeds of these two frameworks can be different. When you already know JavaScript, you implement the node package manager to set up React Native quickly, using minimal effort. Flutter, on the other hand, doesn’t use program bridges. You must download the entire binary from the Github repository for its installation. Besides, you will need an additional zip file to install Mac OS. The involvement of multiple steps makes installation for Flutter a tad slower.
React Native vs Flutter Development:
React is known for quick development time and ready-to-use components. This saves a lot of time during the development process. It can deliver new functions to the supported platforms right away, thus saving time. It has many features to streamline and speed up development, like the Hot Reload feature. This lets developers make changes and see instant results; it is now called Fast Refresh.
Flutter is one of the quickest frameworks for creating apps, but its development time lags behind React Native. When you use Flutter, you must add distinct code files for iOS and Android systems; this is limited only to apps that need complex user interfaces. At the same time, Flutter can access many third-party libraries having ready-to-use elements. This helps to reduce development time. The Hot Restart feature lets you view changes right away.
React Native vs Flutter installation:
React Native is very easy to set up and creates packages, unlike Flutter. It offers only device access APIs and user interface rendering features and the framework depends on third-party libraries.
React Native vs Flutter Performance:
React Native is written in JavaScript and developers must combine native with extra interactions to get desired results. The architecture for React is composed of two parts, native and JavaScript; so, you need a JS bridge for interacting with native components. This explains why the speed may be slower at times. Flutter, on the other hand, is written in the Dart language which lets you compile codes faster than JS. So, Flutter can display animations at a very high speed. In terms of performance, Flutter-created apps are known for their high performance. There may be problems affecting the speed in which case Flutter makes certain recommendations. Flutter recommends reducing building costs and applying widgets or effects only when these are really needed.
React Native vs Flutter Documentation:
While the documentation for React Native may not be that impressive, developers consider this user-friendly because there are popular topics and guides allowing users to find whatever they need. In comparison, Flutter has perfectly-structured documentation that can answer all your queries. What it lacks in terms of development speed, it compensates in terms of documentation.
React Native vs Flutter Features:
React Native has an exciting Fast Refresh feature that guarantees fast coding. Users can build apps for multiple platforms using a single codebase. Flutter eCommerce open-source also has a Hot Reload feature, rich widgets for designing an appealing UI, community support, and a single code base to develop many apps. The framework is easy to learn and can be accessed by developers from all kinds of backgrounds.
React Native vs Flutter Major Use Cases:
Besides Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram, React Native has catered to some big players like Walmart, along with startups like Huiseoul, SoundCloud Pulse, and Townske. Flutter was created as part of Google’s services, like Google Ads but now has started catering to big names like Groupon, Alibaba Group, and The New York Times.
React Native Vs Flutter UI:
The user interface is one of the key elements of any framework that focuses on cross-platform development. When the framework isn’t able to manage the UI, the app won’t have the look or feel of a native app. React Native is supported by fundamental components like loading buttons and icons. Flutter doesn’t have third-party options; rather, it provides many out-of-the-box elements. While React’s UI elements wrap up the native ones, the framework must have a bridge to make this happen. Flutter acts in a different way, drawing UI elements from scratch.
React Native vs Flutter Development Time:
React Native developers have many resources, designs from different sources, and libraries to choose from, whereas Flutter is comparatively new. This is why you must spend a lot of time assembling the development team.
React Native vs Flutter code reusability: If you compare React Native codebase with that of Flutter, you will find Flutter’s codebase to be more reusable. Flutter allows developers to change any line in the codebase, reuse it for another purpose, or define new logic seamlessly. Its intuitive and graphic coding interface makes its code easy to reuse.
React Native vs Flutter Recruitment:
Hiring developers is one of the bigger challenges when you must develop apps. According to Glassdoor surveys, the costs of hiring developers for React Native are slightly higher than for Flutter. Since JavaScript is a far more popular programming language, you will get more developers easily who know how to use this. Dart is less popular but that hasn’t stopped flutter from being one of the top cross-platform app development tools in the market. So, it’s no surprise that the developer pool is fast watching up.
React Native vs Flutter Popularity:
If you look at both frameworks in terms of popularity, React Native is found to be more popular because of wider adoption. An analysis of Flutter vs React Native popularity shows that Flutter is new, and even though it managed to catch the attention of app developers, it has a long way to go. Dart is a new language which is why its adoption rate is a bit lower among developers.
React Native vs Flutter Community Support:
React Native was released in 2015 on GitHub and continues to be a popular framework supported by a vast community of users. In comparison, Flutter is new with a smaller community to date. But, more and more app developers are taking to it.
React Native vs Flutter Quality Assurance:
React Native lets developers make use of many third-party tools for testing such as Jest and Detox to overcome its shortcomings. As far as Flutter goes, Google has incorporated many testing features within Flutter, but third-party test tools are limited in number.
React Native vs Flutter release:
React Native’s release is manual and quite standard but Google has facilitated the release of Flutter, providing high flexibility right from fast-lane implementation to automated release.
React Native vs Flutter Future:
According to Statista, developers preferring Flutter eCommerce app has gone up from only 30% in 2019 to a whopping 42% in 2021. React Native, on the contrary, seems to have lost preference during this period. If you consider Flutter vs React Native future prospects, it appears that Flutter has a better market ahead, but React Native is slowly catching up. If you were to look at their future prospects, the recent trends provide some interesting insights. In the last 3 years, Flutter seems to have raced past React Native in terms of user preferences. Google has also been encouraging the growth of an enthusiastic community for supporting this framework. In doing so, it has released many updates for it. Today, the number of Flutter-developed apps has crossed 500,000! The key improvements for Flutter are support for folding phones, international text inputs, desktop platforms, and quicker image decoding in the web version. At the same time, React Native has also undergone some key changes and the most recent upgrades include a new status bar API, better compatibility with C++17 and M1 users, and hotkeys on the iOS debug menu. The Meta community too has been involved in bringing notable improvements to this platform. So, you can be rest assured React Native isn’t going to lag behind Flutter in any respect.
Now, when it comes to making a choice between the two, developers may be finding it challenging. They are both robust when employed intelligently for a project. Which is the right for you in 2023 depends largely on the type of app and its size.
Your preferences for Flutter and React Native would most likely depend on your app type and size. But, there are some pointers that can help you come to a decision easily. React Native is the better choice when the project needs 3D rendering, or you plan to reuse the code for a website app or you require multi-platform help. Flutter is a more common preference when apps are large and demand high-end performance, the app needs a high degree of customization, or if you want to lessen time-to-market. React Native is found to be more popular among developers because it has a vast community, while Flutter appeals to users since it is Google-created.
The truth is both React Native and Flutter are top-of-the-line frameworks for creating cross-platform apps and choosing one over the other can be a hard decision to make. Each has its advantages and drawbacks; depending on the app type and use case, you should take a final call. Both React Native and Flutter resolve the problem of building distinct codes for platforms like iOS and Android. Today, it’s possible to build an app for multiple platforms using just one code.
When choosing the right framework, developers in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Japan consider their requirements, experience, and business needs. For instance, if they already know JavaScript in programming, they will probably opt for React Native. However, if they target a stable and quicker performance, they will probably find Flutter more convenient. Regardless of the framework they have opted for, it’s imperative that they test the application before they release it.
Himanshu Patel
