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Which is Better for Future Flutter or React Native 2022?

Flutter is a good choice for hybrid app development, but React Native is better for frontend web professionals.

By Amit AgrawalPublished 2 years ago 7 min read
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Are you looking to build a mobile app that looks great quickly? You've likely heard of Flutter and React Native, two popular frameworks. What is the difference between these two frameworks? Which is best for building an MVP (Minimum Viable Products)?

Both have advantages, but Flutter is more widely used than React Native. This makes Flutter the better option if you have large teams. You should also be able to leverage the strengths and talents of your team members. Flutter is a good choice for hybrid app development, but React Native is better for frontend web professionals.

It is smart and financially profitable to take advantage of the mobile market. You need the right software to get started. You might be looking for Flutter or React Native.

What is Flutter?

Google has developed Flutter, a cross-platform UI framework. Flutter was first released in May 2017. It has steadily grown in popularity over time. Flutter's most important selling point is its ability to create cross-platform apps using one codebase. A company had to use multiple tools and different developers to create an app that could be used on desktop, mobile, and the web.

Flutter allows companies to hire one developer to create apps on multiple platforms using a single codebase. This greatly reduces the time and effort required to launch and maintain applications.

The Benefits of Flutter for Businesses

Here are some benefits that Flutter offers developers, making it the best choice.

One Codebase

Flutter is compatible with both iOS and Android mobile platforms. Because it renders everything independently, you can run everything from one codebase. Flutter is a time-saver!

Pixel Rendering

Flutter monitors every pixel on the screen so that widgets look identical on all devices (even older ones). This eliminates potential issues with device support. With a single codebase, we can create stunning user interfaces that are identical on iOS and Android.

Cross-Platform App Development

The cross platform flutter app development SDK allows us to create apps for desktop, mobile, and the web with a single code base. You can also create expressive, beautiful UIs using Flutter's layers, widgets, and interactive assets.

Beautiful Interfaces in no Time

Flutter's user interface is constructed using widgets. These are small UI building blocks that are assembled using a technique known as Composition. This process is very similar to React components. Two sets of widgets are available from the box: Material Design which is compatible with Google's design guidelines, and Cupertino, compatible with Apple's Human Interface Guidelines.

Cons of Flutter

Despite the impressive list of Flutter benefits, there are still some drawbacks.

  • It is not native
  • Apps are larger than native apps
  • There are still fewer tools and libraries than native apps.

These are minor issues that do not affect flutter app development. In some cases, however, Flutter's cons may be crucial in choosing a cross-platform development framework.

What Is React Native?

Meta corporation created React Native in 2015. It is still one of the most widely used development frameworks. Its flexibility is the main reason for its popularity. Programmers can use JavaScript and React to create applications with other native platform capabilities.

React Native is a reliable open-source framework that easily integrates native UI components and platform-specific code. React Native also has one of the largest UI communities. It is easy to use a variety of plug-and-play modules.

Pros of React Native for Businesses

  • React Native for Web, and ReactXP libraries allow developers to create cross-platform apps that run on all platforms.
  • React Native is an established framework that has also earned a reputation in mobile development. What are the main benefits of React Native?
  • React, and JavaScript developers can easily learn it. React libraries, tools, and tutorials are available. It also features a strong, supportive community.
  • It works like Flutter and allows rapid React Native development for iOS, Android, and the web using one codebase. It is possible to develop multiple-platform apps faster by sharing one codebase for iOS and Android.
  • React Native lets you add new code to an app, which reduces the chance of losing certain functionalities during a reload or rebuild.

Cons of React Native

React Native has its advantages, but there are also some drawbacks. These are the disadvantages of React Native usage.

  • It is not native.
  • It doesn't have many components that are not included in the box.
  • There are only a few options
  • Libraries and packages left behind
  • It is possible to break the UI easily
  • Apps are larger than native ones

Flutter and React Native share many commonalities. Both aren't native and can pose problems for development. All disadvantages are negligible with the help of libraries and skilled support. To help you find the most important points, we recommend comparing Flutter's benefits and drawbacks with React Native.

Flutter Vs React Native: Comparing Various Factors

Flutter and React Native are two very similar aspects of cross-platform app development. However, they are still regarded as strong rivals. Both reduce the Time to Market (TTM) required to ship interactive business apps to clients and increase productivity.

Performance Comparison

Flutter and React Native have very different performances. Both Flutter and RN have a split on the subject of performance, as they both sound great in speed and agility.

React Native's performance has been criticized for including third-party libraries and native modules. Let's now dive deeper into the Flutter vs. REACT Native performance differences. We will be using Flutter and React Native to create a simple hello world app.

Application Architecture

Flutter's architecture has layers. A simple application built using this framework's architecture starts with the top-level root function. The basic widgets interact with the platform, and rendering layers are next.

React Native has a bridge between JavaScript and Native threads. This functionality allows JavaScript to communicate with the Native API and the platform. React Native in iOS uses JavaScriptCore to run all code, while Android bundles JavaScriptCore within its application.

Suitability for Building Complex Apps

Flutter and React Native offer documentation, guidelines, third-party libraries, plugins, and open-sourced projects. Comparing Flutter and React Native based on their feasibility, it is clear that the former is better for building complex apps.

Ease of Testing

Flutter, however, can support automated testing because it works with a dart. Flutter not only offers a multitude of testing options to test apps at the unit, widget, or integration levels, but it also provides detailed documentation.

React Native does not offer official support for UI testing or integration testing. There are very few available unit-level testing frameworks to help test RN apps. Developers must rely on third-party tools such as Appium or Detox to find bugs.

Community

Since its creation in 2017, Flutter has gained much more traction than React Native. The number of professional contributors is 662+, significantly lower than React Native. Nevertheless, the community has forked around 13.7k live projects, and anyone can get help with development.

React Native was launched in 2015. Since then, the community has grown. The number of contributors to the framework is a clear indicator of this. There are currently more than 2,207+ professional coders who share their knowledge. It is easy to get help with React Native development, even for a beginner.

Modularity

Flutter makes it easier to collaborate with different team members and allows project codes to be divided into different modules using its pub package system. Your team can create different modules and modify a codebase with the plugin capability.

React Native might offer less modularity support than Flutter. It might be difficult for Android, iOS, or ReactJS developers to communicate. Depending on their expertise, code fragmentation may be a problem in React Native.

Code Maintainability

Maintaining a Flutter app is much easier. Developers can spot problems, find external tools, and support third-party libraries. Flutter's code is simple. The stateful Hot Reloading feature instantly resolves any issues. React Native's hot reloading capability is better than the time it takes to release quality updates or make immediate changes to the application.

React Native makes it difficult to upgrade and debug the code. If you modify the code to fit your application, it can cause problems with the framework's logic and slow development. Many native components may also have third-party dependency libraries. These libraries can be outdated and not maintained correctly due to the problems it comes with by default.

The Key Takeaway

Flutter and React Native share many similarities, as you can see. They are both open-source frameworks that anyone can use. Top companies, such as Google, developed both. React Native was created in part by Facebook.

Flutter is much easier to use because it is less susceptible to system updates. The app will not change if iOS or Android updates the OS. React Native, on the other hand, relies on native elements, so some issues may occur in the launch app when an update is released. Flutter currently supports Android 4.1+ or iOS8+, while React Native is compatible with Android 4.1+ and iOS 10.+.

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  • yana cleverabout a year ago

    Thanks for the post! In my opinion, there are still more advantages of Flutter, so it is worth hiring a good specialist in this direction https://www.cleveroad.com/hire-flutter-developers/

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