Flutter vs. React Native: Who is the winner in 2021?

Selecting the proper framework for your subsequent app will figure out its productivity as well as a set of features. An application that is designed poorly is going to overheat the device of the user plus malfunction too.

The long-standing conflict between cross-platform app development and native app development originates from here; especially, the conflict between Flutter and React Native, the two popular cross-platform mobile app development frameworks.

What exactly is Flutter?

Flutter happens to be an interface-building tool making use of the Dart language. Put simply; it is a Google UI framework. While targeting mobile, web, and desktop platforms from just one codebase features its personal Dart native compiler for creating apps that are hardware-optimized for the ARM architecture.

What do you mean by React Native?

Based on React.JS, React native happens to be a native UI development framework. Moreover, it is open-source and was the most popular in the year 2018.

In the following paragraphs, we will discuss these two frameworks in more detail and mention which one the winner is in 2021.

Benefits of Flutter

It is essential to comprehend the benefits provided by Flutter to get a better idea of which one is better: Flutter or React native.

1. Faster deployment and development
   

This is because of the inbuilt features such as “hot reload.” This feature can compile the code beforehand and display an application preview before the project is created again following minor alterations in the code. Thus, faster development in combination with the cross-platform nature of the tool converts into high speed-to-market hence, it’s helpful to hire Flutter developer.

2. User interfaces rich in features
   

These interfaces are customizable fully down to the final pixel. The layered architecture produces comprehensively detailed UI components, and for this, there is no need to sacrifice the rendering speed. Moreover, it is feasible to animate every component.

3. Top-quality documentation
   

This is indispensable when it comes to open-source projects. Flutter.dev will be enough to commence creating projects on its own without any Flutter experience. In case some tools or info is missing, the gap is closed by the community itself with open git repositories and custom articles.

4. Compatibility with older gadgets
   

This assures proper functionality and rendering on Android versions commencing from iOS versions 8 and 5.1.1 and higher.

5. Flutter UI is detached from native UI

Every time native visual components fail to display comprehensively or lack features; it guarantees unified view and error-free performance on every supported platform.

The most well-known Flutter applications consist of Stadia, Insight Timer, Reflectly, and so on.

Drawbacks of Flutter

Although Flutter comes with the benefits mentioned earlier, this does not make it the ultimate winner of the contest. As seen below, it will lose advantage in some situations as well.

1. Framework age

Flutter and Dart are comparatively young. Consequently, its users are not able to come up with an extensive range of use cases. As a result, any team will be in deep trouble while developing highly complicated projects.

2. Dynamic evolution

Although this cannot be considered to be an outright drawback of Flutter, it is a challenge. Frequent modifications to the development environment imply that any product will behave differently following each significant update, at times in unexpected ways.

3. Size of the project

The stable, separate UI of Flutter comes at a price. More space is occupied by the project files, unlike those which have been created using other tools.

Now that we have talked about the pros and cons of Flutter, we will mention that of React Native.

Benefits of React Native

JavaScript’s popularity provides many pleasant incentives to React Native application development, such as the faster release of the product, faster hiring, simple maintenance, low project expenses, and so forth. In addition, one can use the big open-source codebase for selecting an existing component that can be used again in a project.

It is not an issue to make a contribution to this framework and dive into its code. More than 2,400 contributors have helped to make the matter better.

The most well-known React Native applications consist of Shopify, Coinbase, Facebook, and Tableau.

1. Modular
   

It is possible to separate program functions into interchangeable blocks called modules, and this can be done using modular programming. This process allows for intuition and flexibility. Also, if you hire React Native developers, they will be able to update the apps easily and quickly.

2. Stable
   

React Native simplifies the procedure of data binding. Data flows to the child from the parent or owner. For most programmers, it helps to make code simpler to comprehend plus promotes stability. This is known as one-way data binding rather than two-way data binding.

3. Simple
   

Apart from data binding, identical features are provided by React Native to Flutter in terms of development. In addition, react Native extends what is known as Fast Refresh, which provides you with near-instant feedback on the modifications.

4. Fast

On most occasions, cross-platform languages and frameworks are considered to be the reverse of native languages. Here, we presume that there will be a lag in performance because of veering from a native language such as Swift or Java.

This assumption was tested by one developer known as John Calderaro. He found that React Native operated almost as quickly as Swift, and on some occasions, even faster.

Drawbacks of React Native

You will not come across any tool which is flawless when it comes to cross-platform development. Unfortunately, React Native is one of them.

1. Poor documentation
   

Even though the framework features only one central knowledge base, it is evident that the documentation might be better.

2. Plenty of connectable native libraries…yet

Several of them might not be capable of implementing your project’s functionality in full. Therefore, it will be imperative to tweak some of the available components, while some have to be written from scratch by your team.

React Native vs. Flutter: Which one to go for?

Of course, both Flutter and React Native occupy the identical niche in app development, and they share the identical general features. Each is good to create a mobile cross-platform MVP, and it is possible to use the code again afterward and extend it with a free community-provided or official add-on. Both of them minimize project and time-to-market expenses while developing for several platforms.

In what ways are they different?

1. Platform support

Apart from targeting the mobile and the web, the tools of Flutter are embedded too. Therefore, it is helpful once an application has been designed to be accessible easily from virtually any device such as a tablet, phone, laptop, or even the screen of an automobile infotainment system.

2. Performance

Projects created with Flutter comply with native code, and this leads to better performance. Here, we have mentioned a decent benchmark on this. Nevertheless, it experiences performance problems once a specific graphics routine isn’t optimized now and then.

3. Simplicity of usage

The former JavaScript programmers have reported that it is simpler to learn React Native. This is because one needs to know Dart before learning Flutter.

4. Project size
   

Projects created using React Native are usually more lightweight. Although it might not appear to be quite advantageous at present, consider the miniature wearable gadgets; one needs to take into account free space usage.

React Native vs. Flutter: Which one is the Winner?

It is a fact that both Flutter and React Native are comparatively young, and therefore, one cannot consider them to be rock-stable and mature right now. It is possible to experience unforeseen drops in performance at any time. In the meantime, both have been improved actively by their community and lead developers.

Although React Native developers are easily available, Flutter happens to be a serious alternative for React, given that it has been supported by Google.

While the cross-platform mobile development of Google depends on dart compiler, React Native development depends on JavaScript and WebView layers that effectively decrease React Native mobile application’s speed.

Flutter features its rendering engine allowing the development of unique designs which are genuine. On the other hand, React Native is limited to native components, and it might be required to customize them manually further. Furthermore, while a Flutter application can jump into a desktop environment instantaneously, a React app ought to use a web interface.

In general, it can be rightly asserted that while comparing Flutter vs. React Native, the former happens to be the better solution.

About Author:-

Rahul Panchal is the Founder and Managing Director of Rlogical Techsoft Pvt. Ltd., and he has been a technopreneur for the past 11+ years. He is well-known for solving several complex business issues with the right strategies and thought processes. His company, Rlogical, has completed and delivered projects successfully and hopes to keep doing so for years to come.