Flutter vs React Native : What Should I Pick To Build My Mobile App?
Published: 2021-02-01 11:36:57

In the realm of cross-platform [app development technology](https://dev.to/aalphaindia/how-to-choose-the-best-technology-stack-for-mobile-app-development-1d8f), Flutter and React Native both are in vogue at the present time due to the rising demand for mobile apps. As the surge in usage of mobile apps became more due to its mobility feature and demand for mobile apps too rose up due to a high number of usages. 

As a result, to harness the potential of this segment, various businesses felt a need to have a quality mobile app especially over iOS and Android, which will be faster in speed and less in resources. 

There are native tools provided by Google and Apple to build apps over respective platforms, but this demands engineers to know and have hands-on experience over two completely different sets of technologies. Subsequently, to mitigate this issue companies preferred to adopt cross-platform solutions like Flutter or React Native, over the available native solutions. 

##What is Flutter##

Flutter made its entry into the arena of an app development platform in 2015 as an open-source mobile SDK that is used to build native-looking Android as well as iOS applications. 

Flutter is a popular cross-platform app development platform that topped 11 software repos based upon GitHub starts and Flutter apps are being published widely over different operating systems.
 
##What is React Native##
 
React JS is an open-source mobile application framework developed by Facebook for developing apps and websites. React Native allows a developer to build real and exciting mobile applications that can run on different platforms such as Windows, Android, iOS in JavaScript by compiling to native app components. 

React Native comes with large community support as it has great popularity due to its features it gave huge competition to the long-time favourite [Angular JS](https://dev.to/angular/angular-architecture-patterns-and-best-practices-that-help-to-scale-507m). 

##Flutter vs React Native – Comparison##

##Here we will compare React Native vs Flutter over different criteria in a detailed manner –##

###Programming language### 

One of the main benefits that cross-platform mobile app development technologies offer is that developers can use a single programming language to develop apps for both iOS and Android. 

####Flutter ####

To build cross-platform apps, Flutter uses a programming language named Dart, which was introduced by Google in 2011. Dart syntax can be easily understood and it supports most of the object-oriented concepts. 

####React Native#### 

React Native uses JavaScript, which is a very popular language in the web community to build cross-platform apps. Many companies adopted React Native as their first choice, as with React Native, [web developers](https://rejolut.com/hire-top-developers/) can build mobile apps with a little bit of training. JavaScript allows anything that can be done as it is a dynamically typed language. 

###Technical architecture###

Considering technical architecture becomes an important thing while someone chooses a cross-platform mobile app development framework. As one can make an informed decision by knowing the internals of the framework and that can lead to better results in the project. 

####Flutter ####

As above discussed, Flutter uses the Dart framework which is bigger in size as it comes with most of the components inbuilt, and to communicate with the native modules it often does not requires the bridge. Dart comprises many frameworks that are packed inside which provide all the required technologies needed to develop mobile apps. Skia C++ engine which comprises all the protocols, compositions, and channels is being mainly used by the Dart framework, which makes Flutter have all functions needed for app development in the Flutter engine itself. 

####React Native#### 

The architecture of React Native heavily relies on the JavaScript bridge, which is also known as JS. In JavaScript at runtime code is compiled into native code. The Flux architecture which is from Facebook is used in React Native and it uses the JavaScript bridge to communicate with the native modules.

###UI components and API###

While developing cross-platform mobile apps, one of the major concerns that comes to mind is the support for the native component. The framework must have access to the native modules easily, as, without the native component support, the developed app won’t feel like a native app. 

####Flutter####

The Flutter framework comes bundled with UI rendering components, device API access, navigation, testing, stateful management, and loads of libraries. With all these, the necessity to use any third-party libraries ceases, as a developer gets everything needed for developing mobile apps. 

####React Native#### 

The React Native’s core framework provides just UI rendering and device access APIs, so to access most of the native modules the need to rely upon third-party libraries emerges. 

###Productivity###

The secret to building apps faster is the developer’s productivity, so it becomes another major arena to have a look into it. 

####Flutter ####

Flutter comes with a hot reload feature and in the beginning, it is very easy to get started with the demo app. The need to learn new Flutter concepts arises when the complexity of apps grows and there is a lack of support in many IDEs and text editors, as Dart is not a common programming language.
 
####React Native####

Any developer who is skilled in JavaScript can easily use those skills for cross-platform app development in React Native. A lot of developer’s time could be saved while testing the changes in the UI, as React Native comes with a hot reload feature. Additionally, developers can choose any text editor or IDE of their choice in terms of IDE support. 

###Testing###

Testing framework is associated with every mature technology and it allows developers to create unit, integration, and UI tests for the apps. Therefore, writing tests is a great way to get quick feedback on the code.

####Flutter ####

Flutter comes with a set of testing features that allows easy [testing of apps](https://techibhai.com/automation-tools-testing-mobile-applications/) at different levels such as unit, widget, and integration levels. In Flutter there is a feature where testing of UI can be done by creating widgets tests and the same can be run at the speed of unit tests. 

####React Native#### 

React Native is a JavaScript-based framework, so it has few unit-level testing frameworks available. For snapshot testing, there are tools like Jest, but for integration or UI level testing, there is no official support from React Native. Still one can always use tools like Appium and Detox to test React Native apps, but those are third-party tools, which are not officially supported. 

###Build and release support###

Doing the final release of mobile apps to the App Store or Play Store is a tedious task, as it involves the complex task of code signing all other application setup is involved in it. Such a process gets even trickier when it comes to cross-platform mobile app development. 

####Flutter ####

Flutter comes bundled with a strong command-line interface, where a binary of the app can be created by using the command line tools and following the instructions in Flutter documentation for both iOS and Android apps. Additionally, the Flutter has officially documented the deployment process with Fastlane.
 
####React Native#### 

The official documentation of React Native doesn’t have any automated steps to deploy the iOS apps to the App Store, but instead, it has a manual process for deploying the app from Xcode. In React Native developers have to rely upon third-party tools like Fastlane to deploy iOS and Android apps. 

###Community support###

Community support proves to be a vital source of knowledge for developers, as it helps them to learn from each other and solve the problems they are facing. Such communities are formed as soon as developers start to show interest in technology and adopt it in their development process. 

###Flutter###

Flutter being a relative newcomer has much lesser resources for developers to solve common issues, but Google promoted it in 2017. It started growing rapidly in terms of community where there are meetups and conferences are taking place. 

####React Native####

Since the launch of React Native, it has gained much popularity among developers and there is a community of React Native developers over GitHub. There are meetups taking place in almost every major city in the world and React Native boasts of larger community support available. 

##Conclusion##

In the React Native vs Flutter comparison, it is clear that Flutter is ahead in many aspects compared to React Native, but both have their pros and cons. Several industry experts are vouching for Flutter and look very promising since its entry in the cross-platform mobile development. Still, as per the current scenario, it is wise to have a wait and have a watch over the developments in the days to come.