21 Nov, 2022 | Mobile App Development

Which is going to dominate in the future, React Native or Flutter?

Thinking about going responsive in 2022? But are you sure what will dominate in the future - React Native or Flutter? Many Flutter and React Native app development services in the USA help you build chart-topping cross-platform apps to grab the attention of 3.6 billion mobile users worldwide! Cross-platform mobile apps and their UI/UX have drastically changed the development world by reducing development time and cutting costs. But the question remains - what’s the best for your business is it Flutter or React Native? Moreover, how to go ahead about hiring React Native development services providers or planning to onboard a Flutter development company? Read on to find out the answer.

Flutter vs React Native: Digging Deeper

	Flutter App Development	React Native App Development
Programming language	Dart	JavaScript
Basic Knowledge Required To Get Started	For C# or Java engineers	For front-end (JavaScript) developers
The Technology Architecture	To display Flutter UI, Dart uses its own widget library	React Native bridge transfer to UI thread
Pre-made UI widgets and components	Dart has a large library of plugins and widgets	React Native app uses native OS UI components.
Tools and documentation for development	Dart provide great documentation and starter tools	The React Native documentation and tutorials are extensive.
When To Choose	Choose flutter if you are looking for better performance or app UI between 60 FPS and 120 FPS.	React Native is the best choice if you want code that works on mobile, web, and desktop devices
Community Support	The community support for Flutter is lower than that for React Native	There is a very active community on social media for React Native

There are many similarities between Flutter and React Native, but global native app development company suggests, they differ in several important ways too. Let's understand the above-mentioned differences in detail.

#1. Programming Language

Dart and the Flutter Framework

In 2011, Google developed the programming language Dart for this framework. There is a perception that Dart programming is faster than React Native programming. Dart's elegant syntax is a little hard to understand. The concept of object-oriented programming, however, can be challenging to grasp. The result is that fewer developers are aware of it.

JavaScript & the React Native Framework

Due to its simplicity and ease of use, JavaScript has become popular among programmers, website designers, and software engineers globally. A large developer community uses JavaScript, resulting in an abundance of tutorials. This framework saves you time and money by using pre-built modules. Because of this, most experienced developers say no to replacing open-source React Native with Flutter.

Thus, Dart loses to React Native when comparing the ease of use of the programming language.

#2. The Technology Architecture

Flutter’s Skia

Platform-specific shells and Skia are used as 2D graphics rendering libraries with Dart language virtual machines. To create native code, it compiles Dart's source code in advance. In addition to being elegant and speedy, the application's code integrates seamlessly with iOS or Android devices. Making things work requires no awkward programming bridges.

React Native: Flux

For this framework to work, a JavaScript bridge must be integrated with the Flux architecture from Facebook. Because of this inconvenient fact, app design takes a little longer with Flutter than with Dart, and that's a fundamental difference.

Based solely on this point, React Native is the clear winner when compared to Flutter.

#3. UI Components and Customization

Flutter

Its graphics engine provides beautiful, native-like widgets that are rendered and managed by the framework's UI native-like widgets from the very beginning. Furthermore, it comes with material design support out of the box. Using Flutter to create views is as simple as hiring app developers from a flutter app development company with excellent skills in using pre-made widgets, which can be easily customized to suit the project's requirements.

React Native

In addition to buttons, sliders, loading indicators, and more, React native provides the basic tools that are platform-agnostic. However, many third-party components are available for React Native that can help you customize its delightful UI.

Here, Both Flutter and React Native are in Head-to-Head Competition.

#4. Installation and Documentation.

Flutter: slower to install

It is necessary to download from GitHub the binary for the specific platform you wish to install the framework. In the case of macOS, you need to download an additional.zip file and add it to your PATH variable. In this regard, Flutter differs from React Native, making it slower and more difficult to install.

React Native and NPM

Installation is easy with this framework. In case you are familiar with JavaScript, you can easily install the package using the node package manager. Both frameworks do not have an OS-specific package manager and one-line installation. As a result, neither framework is ideal in this regard. However, Flutter installation requires an additional step.

Thus, we'll always choose to React in a comparison between React Native and Flutter.

#5. Code Reusability

Flutter

Code reusability is always a major topic of discussion when comparing React Native and Flutter. Flutter's codebase is much more reusable than Dart's and a developer can define a single UI widget tree and then reuse the logic defined within it. Due to the elegant interface offered by Google, Flutter comes out on top. Read also: Why Walmart and Skype Are Adopting React Native for Mobile App Development

React Native

Frameworks like this will allow you to write code once and use it across multiple platforms. Developers are often required to load a different set of components for each type of mobile app platform, making compatibility impossible on all platforms.

When comparing code reusability, React Native wins over Flutter.

#6. Ecosystem and Community Support

Flutter

Based on ecosystem size, Flutter will permanently lose to React Native. Do not despair, however, it is rapidly gaining popularity among developers. The Flutter framework ranked 68.03% in Stack Overflow's Developer's Survey of 2022 as the most loved/wanted framework. A 55.98% interest rate was reported by developers when asked about React Native. Thanks to Google's continued investment, Flutter will continue to grow in popularity.

React Native

JavaScript programming has made this program popular since it was launched in 2015. There are now more than 10,000 developers in its ecosystem, an enormous online tutorial database, and developer conferences across the globe. There's more to it than just a framework. Flutter and React Native have considerable differences.

In this comparison, React Native is the winner as of now.

When to choose React Native? Top Companies Using React Native for App Development

Due to the cost and time involved in developing native mobile apps, most companies opt for cross-platform mobile app development technology, making rReact Native the most popular cross-platform. The React Native framework is best suited for customer-facing apps that don't rely heavily on OS-specific features and functionality, such as AR/VR integrations, or that don't need to complex animations and designs to survive. React Native can be helpful in the following cases:

When you have web developers with both JavaScript and React.js skills.

If you already have a React web app and want to make it available as a native app with some additional features.

When you need to reach the market quickly and can afford to sacrifice functionality.

After releasing mobile solutions, you plan to develop a web app using the code from the mobile applications.

When you expect to find a solution to any development problem you encounter quickly. React Native has the advantage of a large developer community.

When your audience is primarily iPhone users

The following are some of the more popular global companies that use React Native:

Bloomberg
Facebook
Uber Eats
Discord
Instagram
Skype

When to choose Flutter? Top Companies Using Flutter for App Development.

Developing mobile apps is expensive. It requires hiring dedicated developers, as well as providing support and maintenance. It is possible to reduce costs by using the SDKs for Flutter app development if you have a limited budget. In addition to speeding up development and reducing costs, it provides stunning user interfaces and smooth animations. Whether you are starting or running a small or medium-sized business, Flutter is the right choice due to its advanced technology, design, and features. It is much easier for developers to build high-performance applications by working in a chosen direction. You might want to consider Flutter in the following circumstances:

When your team is filled with talented Flutter developers

If your application contains many animations and complex calculations

When you don't plan to reuse code for a web app that will accompany the app

When you have an Android OS-based primary audience

These are the top 5 companies using Flutter to benefit their users.

Nubank
Crowdsource
Quinto Andar
Reflectly
Byte Dance

Which Is Going To Dominate - React Native or Flutter?

In the end, Neither Flutter nor React wins out; each has pros and cons, and which one is right for you depends on the project development process, expertise, team work etc. However, you should consider Flutter mobile app development if you want improved performance, stability, and a more seamless ecosystem. React Native provides user experience on par with Native mobile applications without the hassle of developing one because it is faster, easier, better quality, and cheaper than Hybrid apps. Get the best of cross-platform apps with WeDoWebApps, a leading mobile app development company providing world-class React Native app development and flutter app development services!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is React Native better than native?

The React Native is a great choice for both React Native iOS and Android mobile apps. The user interface is smooth, slick, and responsive, while loading time is reduced significantly. Build cross-platform apps in React Native to improve development speed without compromising on quality.

Is React Native faster than Flutter?

It comes down to JavaScript, pure and simple, which differentiates Flutter from React Native. In short, JavaScript makes web development and web design more accessible to a wider range of developers and designers. Furthermore, developers are free to use any IDE or text editor they choose. There is no comparison when it comes to development speed. There is no doubt that React Native is superior.

Is React Native the future?

React Native is the future for cross-platform app development, thanks to its intuitive architecture, live reloading, and fast development times due to single codebase. In addition, React Native applications has good performance across all platforms (iOS, Android, web).

Written by Tarun

Tarun is a creative and passionate Full Stack Web Developer at WEDOWEBAPPS LLC. He not only performs his duties with a strong sense of dedication but also possesses excellent skills in working with diverse teams to make the project a success.