Flutter and React Native are two of the most popular frameworks for building cross-platform mobile apps. Flutter, developed by Google, uses the Dart language and offers a highly customizable UI with near-native performance. React Native, backed by Meta, uses JavaScript and allows faster development by leveraging native components through a JavaScript bridge. Both support hot reload, but differ in performance, UI flexibility, and learning curve—making the choice depend largely on your team’s expertise and project goals.
What is Flutter?
Flutter that is created by Google is a flexible open-source UI development kit that is incredibly popular in the mobile app development space. With its remarkable speed and use of Dart programming language, Flutter enables developers to create visually attractive and simple user interfaces.
Pros of Flutter:
- Fast Development:
It is greatly aided by the hot reload function, which is cleverly cut in the time and attempt required for testing and debugging by enabling real -time updates and immediate reactions. This feature simplifies the growth process and increases productivity by allowing developers to change the code rapidly and see immediately reflected changes in the application.
- Rich Widgets:
It is offering a wide range of adaptable widgets that may be customized to meet different requirements and tastes of each individual . Customers may select widgets that best suit according to their needs and preferences thanks to the wide variety of possibilities offered.
- High Performance:
By translating the code straight into native ARM instructions, this capability enables the application to be optimized for ARM-based devices, to ensure best performance and speed during activation.
- Strong Community Support:
This project has a very active and strong base of community support and has gained a lot of momentum thanks to Google’s support and the growing number of people who offer their expertise and passion to help it grow.
What is React Native?
Facebook created an open-source React Native framework, which helps the programmer to use JavaScript and react to create a mobile application. As a result of the nature of this structure, you can really easily create native applications rather than hybrid applications.
Pros of React Native:
- Faster to Learn:
JavaScript is well known among developers for its flexibility and popularity in web development. JavaScript is becoming a standard for dynamic and interactive web pages due to its adaptability and compatibility with most major browsers.
- Reusable Code:
Implementing reusable code units that can be reused across both operating systems is very helpful in software development projects that believe to create mobile applications for both the iOS and Android platforms.
- Large Community:
The extensive and constantly expanding library and tool ecosystem inside this sizable community offers developers a wealth of tools and assistance to improve their projects and expedite their workflow.
- Third-party Plugins:
Because of the advanced features and capabilities to improve the user experience may be added by effortlessly integrating third-party plugins into the current framework. These plugins increase the application’s functionality and potential by connecting to native code, providing a wider variety of features that can meet specific requirements and improve speed.
Flutter vs. React Native: A Detailed Comparison
Language
React Native:
Written entirely in JavaScript, one of the most popular programming languages worldwide. This makes it a great option for developers who already know JavaScript or come from a web development background.
Flutter:
Uses Dart, a programming language created by Google in 2011. While Dart is powerful, it’s not widely used, so most developers will need to learn it from scratch.
User Interface
React Native:
Builds its UI using native components for iOS and Android. It also supports a large number of third-party UI libraries and kits, which help in building visually appealing apps.
Flutter:
Uses its own rich set of built-in widgets for layout, visuals, and interactions. These widgets replace native components and offer complete control over the design, resulting in consistent UIs across platforms.
Performance
React Native:
Connects to native components through a JavaScript bridge, which can lead to slower performance and longer load times in more complex apps.
Flutter:
Doesn’t need a bridge to talk to native components—everything compiles directly to native code. This results in faster performance and smoother animations.
Documentation
React Native:
Offers standard documentation, but it often relies heavily on third-party libraries. This can make the learning experience more fragmented and a bit harder for beginners.
Flutter:
Provides detailed and well-structured documentation with plenty of examples. It’s beginner-friendly and more self-contained, which makes it easier to learn and follow.
Industry Trends
React Native:
According to the 2019 Stack Overflow survey, 62.5% of developers preferred React Native. Its long-standing presence and use of JavaScript make it a strong choice for career opportunities.
Flutter:
Flutter scored slightly higher at 65.4% in the same survey. However, since it’s newer, fewer companies have adopted it so far. That said, its popularity is growing fast, and job opportunities are expected to increase over time.
History of Flutter and React Native:
- The Flutter was built by Google in 2017 and since then pre-made widgets, excellent performance and ease of use have gained so much popularity among developers due to a large library of ease of use. Dart programming language, which uses pulsing, means to use and understand for its users. Quick reload feature of pulsing also makes it possible for developers to change the code and see changes in the app immediately, which speeds up and improves the growth process.
- On the other hand, Facebook made React Native in 2015, and developers use it significantly to create a cross-platform mobile app. Using JavaScript, react enables the native programmer to design apps working on iOS and Android smartphones. The success of the reacting native can be credited with its ability to feel indigenous regardless of the creation of JavaScript of the application.
Flutter Leads as Top Cross-Platform Framework, Says Statista 2023
According to Statista’s 2023 developer survey, Flutter is the most popular cross-platform mobile framework, used by 46% of software developers. Overall, about one-third of mobile developers use cross-platform tools, which allow a single codebase to run on multiple platforms like iOS and Android, reducing development costs and increasing app reach. In 2022, there were 26.4 million software developers worldwide, with mobile developers making an average annual salary of around $124,000, although they tend to earn less than engineering managers. The number of developers is expected to grow as app and web development continue to expand in the digital age.
Cross-platform mobile frameworks used by developers worldwide between 2019 and 2023. Source: Statista
Flutter vs React Native: Which One Should You Choose?
It might be quite difficult to choose between React Native and Flutter because both are strong options for creating cross-platform mobile apps. Your unique project requirements and programming experience will decide which one is ideal for you according to your needs. The following explains why you could decide to use React Native instead of Flutter:
Select React Native in case:
- If your group is familiar with React and JavaScript then go with it.
- Each system must have a native-looking graphical user interface.
- A sizable community and an established environment are very important to you.
- 3D visuals are compulsory.
Think about Flutter if:
- You set a high value on rapid growth schedules.
- You require highly customized graphics or user interfaces.
- Performance is important.
- Dart is a familiar game to your squad.
“React Native, built on popular languages like TypeScript and JSX, offers a more native UI experience and better support for web and desktop apps. Its cleaner syntax and wider ecosystem make it more developer-friendly than Flutter, which uses Dart and heavily nested widgets. Some developers also share first-hand concerns about relying on Google’s long-term support for its frameworks.”
To what extent is Flutter mature? A brief recap of Flutter’s development:
Flutter was developed as a free software project by a Google team. As a result, the Flutter community and Google both contribute to its growth. According to Google, Flutter is now in its Production Era, which means it is developed enough that it can handle even applications for enterprises.
New Features in Flutter 3.29:
Flutter 3.29, which was released in February 2025, has improvements to pre-installed widgets, speed enhancements, and upgrades to text selection and accessibility. Even while it appears to be a small update, it does confirm the notion that Flutter is now in its Production Era, thus further fixes and improvements are likely to be coming. Flutter’s 2025 plan supports this as well, stating that the team wants to refine current capabilities before launching new ones.
React Native in 2025: JavaScript-powered native development:
In fact, using JavaScript to create a native experience, React is a major force in the native cross-platform mobile development. React Native has greatly enhanced its accountability and performance with the emergence of new designs such as fabrics and TurboModules, reducing the difference between native and hybrid solutions. It is a preferred framework for both startups and large corporations because of its interaction with the extensive JavaScript ecosystem, which enables developers to build and iterate quickly. By 2025, React Native is about producing high-quality, native-feel apps quickly, supported by a developed community and strong infrastructure, rather than merely reusing code.
To what extent is React Native mature? An overview of the past:
This is a brief summary of React Native’s evolution since Meta (previously Facebook) initially released it. Compared to Flutter, React Native is more established and has a larger community. In addition, the Meta team has had ample opportunity to concentrate on resolving any underlying problems and stabilize the API.
The new JavaScript engine designed for React Native Hermes, the default engine since version 0.70, has already improved speed and decreased memory use in React Native.
Conclusion:
For developers who are looking for the best structure for their applications, a variety of factors are offered to focus on continuous debate between pulsing and react domestically. It is difficult to choose because both the pulsing and the react country have a large feature set and are well preferred by developers.
At Techpals Limited, we recognize how crucial it is to choose the best framework in order to guarantee the accomplishment of your app development projects. Whether we use Flutter or React Native, our team specializes in creating high-quality applications that accurately represent your company goals. Don’t worry; we’re committed to using our knowledge of both frameworks to provide outstanding outcomes that surpass your expectations and perfectly complement your vision.
