Flutter vs React Native: Which one is better in 2024?

Introduction

Choosing the proper framework for cross-platform app development is a common challenge faced by many companies when deciding to develop their app. Out of the various options available, React Native and Flutter emerge as the most widely recognized and acclaimed choices.

In this blog, we will dive into the main differences between both platforms while we answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

Historical context

The rivalry between Flutter and React Native traces its roots back to the launch of React Native by Facebook in 2015 and Flutter by Google in 2017. React Native, building on the popularity of JavaScript, quickly gained a strong foothold among developers. Flutter entered the scene later, offering a fresh perspective with its Dart programming language and unique rendering engine. Over the years, both platforms have evolved, competing for dominance in the cross-platform app development arena. This rivalry has driven significant advancements in both frameworks, benefiting developers and businesses alike.

The importance of choosing wisely

Selecting the appropriate framework is not just a technical decision but a strategic one. The right choice can significantly reduce development time and costs, while the wrong choice can lead to extended development cycles and increased expenditure. Furthermore, it impacts the app’s performance, user experience, and scalability. Businesses must consider their project's specific requirements, target audience, and long-term maintenance plans when choosing between Flutter and React Native. A well-informed decision can pave the way for a successful and sustainable app in the competitive digital marketplace.

What do Flutter and React Native have in common?

Despite their differences, Flutter and React Native share some common ground. Both are open-source frameworks designed for cross-platform app development, enabling the creation of apps for both iOS and Android from a single codebase. They emphasize high-performance and efficient development processes with features like hot reload and fast refresh. Furthermore, both frameworks enjoy strong community support, providing a wealth of resources, libraries, and tools. This commonality underlines their shared goal: to streamline the development process and reduce the complexity of building cross-platform applications.

The distinctive features

Let's take a closer look at each platform's features.

Performance

When discussing Flutter’s and React Native’s performance there are many factors that should be considered. Although both technologies can achieve a good performance, Flutter stands out widely because of its utilization of Dart and distinctive rendering approach. By compiling Dart code into native machine code, Flutter delivers swift animations, shorter app launch times, and an overall enhancement in performance.

On the other hand, React Native relies on a bridge to facilitate communication between JavaScript and native components. This bridge introduces overhead, which can potentially impact the app's performance. Unlike Flutter, where the Dart code is compiled ahead of time, making it 100% native-like, React Native needs to translate JavaScript code to native code during runtime. As a result, React Native may not achieve the same level of performance optimization as Flutter.

Hot-reload vs. Fast-refresh

If you are looking for a framework that allows you to see changes in the app in real-time it's important to understand the features fast-refresh (React Native) hot-reload (Flutter). Let's see the difference:

• Fast Refresh: provides developers with a convenient way to see code changes reflected in real-time during the development process. However, it only works in changes to code.
• Hot-reload: allows developers to see the impact of code changes almost instantly during the development process. Hot reload in Flutter is not limited to just code changes; it also supports updates to assets, such as images, fonts, and localized strings. This comprehensive approach ensures that developers can iterate quickly and efficiently, making adjustments and fine-tuning the app's UI and functionality on the fly.

Cost-effectiveness

When considering budget efficiency, the first factor to examine is the type of app you intend to develop. If your goal is to create a multiplatform application that functions seamlessly across Android, iOS, Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, and embedded devices (such as CarPlay), then opting for Flutter is your top choice. This technology offers substantial cost savings by streamlining development efforts and enabling the utilization of a single app across all platforms. By choosing Flutter, you can significantly reduce both the time and money invested in your project.

In contrast, React Native demonstrates efficiency in mobile app development; however, it may not be the most suitable choice for highly complex applications, as mentioned earlier. React Native is particularly advantageous when it comes to developing mobile apps, thanks to its ability to leverage a single codebase for iOS and Android. Nevertheless, when confronted with intricate and feature-rich projects, React Native's limitations may become apparent.

Programming language

One of the key distinguishing factors between Flutter and React Native lies in their choice of programming languages. Flutter utilizes Dart, a language developed by Google specifically for building user interfaces, while React Native relies on JavaScript, a widely recognized and extensively used programming language.

JavaScript is a versatile and widely adopted programming language that enables client-side interactivity, and easy integration with HTML and CSS. Its vast ecosystem of libraries and frameworks, along with an active open-source community, allows developers to create responsive and engaging web applications efficiently.

However, Dart has strategically integrated the finest aspects of both JavaScript and C#. This combination has resulted in a language that is more approachable and user-friendly for developers. By incorporating the familiar syntax of JavaScript and leveraging the object-oriented concepts from C#, Dart offers a well-balanced and intuitive programming language for developers to work with.

Popularity and growth of the frameworks

Over time, both Flutter and React Native have experienced remarkable growth and garnered substantial interest within their respective communities. The exponential rise of these frameworks can be attributed to their unique features and advantages for each type of app development. React Native for mobile apps, and Flutter for cross-platform apps.

Based on insights from Google Trends and the historical data of GitHub Stars, it becomes evident that Flutter has been steadily gaining popularity, surpassing React Native over time. The upward trajectory of Flutter's technology indicates a growing interest and preference among developers.

Google Trends data demonstrates that Flutter has consistently gained popularity, with increasing search queries indicating growing curiosity about its capabilities. In contrast, React Native's search interest has remained relatively stable or grown at a slower rate. This suggests Flutter has successfully captured developers' attention and generated higher curiosity than React Native.

Moreover, GitHub Stars, a measure of a project's popularity and community engagement on the GitHub platform, further supports Flutter's rising prominence. The historical data shows a clear pattern of Flutter surpassing React Native in terms of accumulated stars over time. This metric reflects the number of developers expressing their interest and support for a particular project by starring it on GitHub.

The combination of Google Trends growth over time and interest per region on 2023 data highlights Flutter's upward trajectory and increasing popularity when compared to React Native. It suggests that developers are increasingly gravitating towards Flutter as their preferred choice for cross-platform app development, with +6,600,000 developers in the community. The reasons for this surge in popularity could be attributed to Flutter's distinctive features, such as its performance, ease of use, hot reload functionality, and the extensive support provided by Google and the growing Flutter community.

Wrapping up

In conclusion, Flutter and React Native are both well-known frameworks for app development, but Flutter stands out for several reasons. Flutter offers multiplatform development with faster cycles, better performance, and a unique widget tree architecture that makes building custom UI components easier.

Additionally, Flutter has excellent documentation and a growing community, making it easier for developers to get help when needed. If you're considering multiplatform app development, Flutter is definitely the top choice.

For a deeper comparison, we invite you to download our latest infographic! By clicking here, you can access a visually appealing and informative resource that presents a side-by-side analysis of the key aspects between the options in question. Don't miss out and download it!