Flutter Vs React Native: Head to Toe Comparison [2021 Edition]

Last Updated on February 17, 2021

Quick Summary: You are an entrepreneur intending to develop a cross-platform mobile application for your business. You have heard about Flutter vs React Native rivalry and hence not sure which framework to elect.

In this blog, hear out from the cross-platform development heroes themselves as they encounter thousands of pounding tech journalists in a press conference. You will clarify your thoughts and become decisive as you go through the stages of performance, popularity, technical architecture, learning curve, testing, and community support for React Native vs flutter comparison.

Watch out for the comparison of Flutter vs React Native 2021 so whether you are a business app or business owner, you can make an accurate choice for the best cross-platform development understanding 360 aspects.

Preface

Flutter vs React Native 2021, we will help you decide what’s the best for you and how to choose between the two.

Flutter and React Native have come face-to-face in the battleground! After the years of gossip, rumors, and cold wars, both technologies are going to answer in today’s tech press conference. Last year, there was constant debate amongst the development community on Flutter vs React Native 2020. If you were unable to decide one, then it’s time to take action now.

In this battlefield, we will see both these cross-platform mobile app development frameworks debate regarding their aspects, features and strive to beat down each other. I hope you feel the technical emotion deep within the speakers and then wisely choose your business app development partner framework.

All the techies at the conference want to know about the popularity, performance, programming complexity, learning curve, application architecture, and ease of testing in React Native vs Flutter.

Introduction: Android Flutter vs React Native

In the opening round, both speakers- React Native and Flutter begin with their introduction.

🌠 What is Flutter?

Flutter: Google is my parent, and I am programmed with the Dart programming language. I am open-source. Developers use me as an improved UI toolkit to build cross-platform applications by relying on my single codebase.

You can develop flexible and expressive UI along with native performance using me. The enlightened call me a UI SDK for all platforms- Linux, Mac, Android, Windows, iOS, and even web applications.

Flutter Use Cases

Let’s have a look at the use cases of Flutter that the entrepreneurs around the world widely use to develop cross-platform applications using Flutter.

• Apps running on OS-level features
• Apps having a material design
• High-performance applications with Skia-rendering engine
• MVP mobile apps
• Advanced OS plugins with simple logic
• Flexible UIs with enhanced widgets
• Reactive apps with huge data integration

🌠 What is React Native?

React Native brags, I am the popular, open-source, JavaScript framework, and I specialize in rendering native apps. I am chiefly compatible with iOS and Android. I make use of the combination of XML and JavaScript Esque mark-up JSX.

I enable developers to create native elements and user interfaces that seem to have a native look and feel.

React Native Use Cases

Let’s look at the use cases of React Native App Development that entrepreneurs widely adopt worldwide to build cross-platform applications with React Native.

• Apps having remarkable and responsive UX using Flexbox
• Apps with simplified and easy UI
• Quick prototype apps
• Synchronous APIs
• Apps using reusable components

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Pros and Cons of Flutter and React Native

First of all, we will have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of Flutter. Then we will discuss the React Native advantages and disadvantages. Both the hero frameworks could not hush but overpower the defendant by boasting about themselves.

🌠 Pros of Flutter

Flutter pros began with highlighting its benefits:

⮕ I have a rich set of widgets available that comply with Cupertino(iOS) guidelines and material design(Android).
⮕ My power function lies in the hot reloading feature, which shows alterations in the output without losing the state of the application.
⮕I empower my developers for seamless integration, which doesn’t ask for re-writing the code because I implement Objective C or Swift for iOS and Java for Android.
⮕ I provide quick shipping by swift iteration cycles because developers need to store and test for a single codebase.
⮕ I enable codesharing across various platforms, which is ideal for MVP development.

🌠 Cons of Flutter

Flutter, when counter-asked by a techie in the conference, speaks about the flutter cons in a silent tone:

⮕ I have attractive and impressive tools and plugins, but not as many as my competitor React Native.
⮕ I lack in the user interface because my animation support and vector graphics find it difficult to provide plugins on time.
⮕ Well, developers can not build apps for android auto, watchOS, tvOS, and CarPlay using my framework.
⮕ You cannot push patches and updates instantly into the applications without going through my Flutter standard release progress.

🌠 Pros of React Native

It was now time for React Native pros to hear the audience applaud for its merits:

⮕ I make use of Native rendering- the host platform to natively help APIs without needing CSS mark-up or HTML.
⮕ I maintain the high performance for certain applications by mimicking the authentic UI components.
⮕ I avail you with the intelligent debugging and error reporting tools.
⮕I hold a rich ecosystem that supports UI third party libraries to naturally re-render the application appearance with every state alteration.
⮕ I avail you the hot-reloading feature to attach new codes directly to the live application.

🌠 Cons of React Native

On a counteractive question from the press, React Native cons were silently addressed by himself:

⮕ I do not support the specific native components, but I do completely support APIs’ native rendering.
⮕ I have no support for parallel multiprocessing and multithreading, and hence developers find me low performant.
⮕ I do not have in-built plugins and tools, and hence you will have to use third-party tools that often tend to be outdated.
⮕ I have a chrome debugger, and thus you might find it inconvenient to inspect codes or edit UI elements easily.

Flutter vs React Native Popularity

Flutter Popularity 2020

Popularity play’s a huge role when it comes to choosing which is better, Flutter or React Native? From the 2020′ Stack Overflow Survey on the popularity of Flutter, 68.8% of cross-platform developers love Flutter as compared to 57.9% of developers who like React Native.

Flutter: 61% of developers choose me today for web development.

React Native Popularity 2020

From the same survey, developers who do not know the particular technology show more interest in React Native more than Flutter. So the popularity of React Native is a bit higher than the Flutter for app development.

React Native: However, even today 81% of developers prefer me over you.

Flutter Popularity: The reason behind this number is that I entered the market in 2018, three years after you.

React Native Popularity: Yes, okay. I guess you will soon catch-up with me.

Flutter vs React Native Performance Comparison

React Native performance vs flutter comparison is quite debatable, let’s hear it from the straight horse’s mouth.

Flutter Performance: I am superior and faster than you, Mr. React Native. I am the best fit for CPU heavy operations and memory standpoint. So in case, your application requires attractive animations and exclusive UI, choose me.

React Native Performance: I am a power-packed framework, but yeah I lack in performance. I use the combination of native and javascript languages, and hence developers need additional interactions to keep their application performance fast and smooth.

Flutter vs React Native Application Architecture

In the battle between React Native vs Flutter application architecture, what you decide to choose for your application depends on what these two frameworks have to say.

Flutter app architecture:

I follow a layered architecture, be it web or Flutter mobile app architecture. If the developers want to have a separate presentation layer and business logic, they must consider using my Flutter BLoc architecture.

React Native app architecture:

I use a bridge between the native thread and the JavaScript thread. With this functioning, the JavaScript code communicates with the native API. React Native mobile app architecture use the JavaScript Core to function in iOS and Android apps.

Flutter vs React Native Testing

Flutter:

I serve you extensively with the automated Flutter unit test because of my powerful object oriented programming language, Dart. I provide detailed documentation for performance testing in Flutter aps at all levels- integration, widget, and unit level.

React Native:

Officially, I do not support UI level or integration testing. I just have a few unit levels for React Native testing library. However, developers can use Apium, Detox, unearth bugs, etc tools for testing react native apps. Developers need to deploy their app using Xcode.

Community Support for React Native and Flutter

Flutter community support:

Wait, man, I am not leaving you alone. Flutter developer community on GitHub is growing. Currently, I have 113k stars.

React Native Community Support:

My React native community on GitHub holds 93.3k stars.

Flutter vs React Native Market Share:

Flutter community: On the same graph, I’m catching up with you. In a year, I have grown from 30% to 39% in the flutter market share.

React Native community: As per Statista, I’m top on the list of cross-platform application development with React Native at 42% market share.

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Learning Curve of Flutter vs React Native

Well, if you want to learn development with cross-platform mobile app frameworks and are confused between React Native vs Flutter, then the last question will give you the answer on React Native vs Flutter which is easy to learn?

Is Flutter Easy to Learn:

I am comparatively new for the developers as compared to my opponent. Hence, you may find it a bit difficult to learn my programming language Dart from scratch.

Is React Native Easy to Learn?

Friends, if you know the basics of javascript, then getting used to me is quite easy. Also, you must have knowledge of arrays, array manipulation, Node.js, and React.

What Apps are Made with Flutter?

Let’s have a look at top apps built with Flutter. Flutter continues with web, and mobile apps built with Flutter are-

• Google
• Tencent
• Alibaba
• BMW
• eBay
• Reflectly

What Apps are Made with React Native?

Let’s have a look at popular apps built with React Native. React Native confidently tells top companies using React Native framework:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Walmart
• Bloomberg
• Wix
• SoundCloud

Flutter vs React Native Comparison: When to use what?

When to Use Flutter?

You can choose Flutter when:

⮕ Your project deadline is strict and you have a limited budget.
⮕ When you wish to deduce development cost by writing a single codebase for various platforms.
⮕ When you are not bound to develop native functionality.
⮕ When you wish to write codes rapidly and launch them into the market fast.
⮕ You need to personalize UI with widgets and less testing.
⮕ You are focusing to create high-performing applications.

When to Use React Native?

You can choose React Native when:

⮕ You want to scale your existing app with cross-platform modules.
⮕ When developing a lightweight native app.
⮕ To generate out of the box shared APIs.
⮕ When your project budget is high and you have sufficient time for development.
⮕ When you aim to create an application with an asynchronous build and a high responding UI.

Conclusion

This blog speaks about the detailed comparison between React Native and Flutter without being biased. The motive is to help developers to select the appropriate programming language between Flutter vs React Native in 2021 that best suits their needs and skills.

Although Flutter is a powerful competitor to React Native, at some points both overtake each other at certain fields. At Bacancy Technology, we empower all our skilled developers with the Agile methodology for software development, which will benefit your business. Depending on your business requirements, you might want to choose the best Flutter app development company or React Native app development company.

Paridhi Wadhwani View all post

A Vivacious soul with an Idealistic mindset. I am an originator who specializes in content writing, social media marketing, and everything that lies in the vicinity. Writing about trending technologies and emerging domains is my core expertise, and I write to ignite, illustrate, and substantiate. I often submerge into spirituality, cooking, or talking without warning.