I am Amit Shekhar, Co-Founder @ Outcome School, I have taught and mentored many developers, and their efforts landed them high-paying tech jobs, helped many tech companies in solving their unique problems, and created many open-source libraries being used by top companies. I am passionate about sharing knowledge through open-source, blogs, and videos.
Before we start, I would like to mention that, I have released a video playlist to help you crack the Android Interview: Check out Android Interview Questions and Answers.
In this blog, we will learn about the difference between React Native and Flutter.
This article was originally published at Outcome School.
Both React Native and Flutter are the two most popular cross-platform development frameworks. They both allow developers to create mobile apps using a single code base for both Android and iOS.
When we are considering cross-platform development, we have both options. We need to choose one over the other. In order to choose one over the other, we must know the key differences between both frameworks.
Let's start to learn about both of them. Starting with React Native.
React Native
- React Native is a cross-platform framework created by Facebook.
- It is based on the JavaScript programming language. JavaScript is a widely-used language for web development.
- It uses the native UI components for both Android and iOS. It provides the native look which means different UI on Android and iOS, Android Native UI on Android, and iOS Native UI on iOS.
- Code Push: UI and business logic code (that we write in JavaScript for React Native Apps) can be updated simply through HTTP requests from the app directly without updating it on the Google Play Store / Apple App Store. This is a major advantage of React Native. You can push any new feature on the fly.
- App Size: React Native apps are relatively smaller as compared to Flutter apps.
- Performance: React Native uses a bridge to communicate JavaScript and native components, which is an overhead. It can have performance issues due to the bridge between JavaScript and native components. Hence, React Native is comparatively slower than Flutter.
- It is supported by a large community as it has been for so long time.
- It has a wide range of third-party libraries support.
- Web developers can start quickly as they already know JavaScript.
- Platform support: iOS, Android, Web.
- It is widely adopted.
Now about the Flutter.
Flutter
- Flutter is a cross-platform framework created by Google.
- It is based on the Dart programming language, developed by Google specifically for building mobile and web apps.
- It uses its own rendering engine to create its own UI Components. So, it replaces the native platform UI components. It provides the same look on all the platforms.
- Code Push: Not supported. This is a major disadvantage of Flutter.
- App Size: Flutter apps are relatively larger as compared to React Native apps.
- Performance: Flutter is comparatively faster than React Native as it uses a rendering engine that directly renders to the platform, leading to fast and smooth animations.
- It is supported by a smaller community as compared to React Native. But growing rapidly.
- It has a small range of third-party libraries. But growing rapidly.
- It has a steeper learning curve as developers need to learn the Dart language.
- Platform support: iOS, Android, web, and other platforms like desktop(Windows, macOS, Linux) and embedded systems.
- It is not widely adopted but gaining popularity.
From the above points, we have a good understanding of the difference between React Native and Flutter.
Let me tabulate the differences between React Native and Flutter for your better understanding so that you can decide which one to use based on your use case.
React Native vs Flutter
| Feature | React Native | Flutter |
|---|---|---|
| Language | JavaScript. | Dart. |
| UI components | Native UI components. | Own UI Components. |
| Code Push | Code Push supported. | Code Push NOT supported. |
| App Size | Smaller App Size. | Larger App Size. |
| Performance | Comparatively slower. | Comparatively faster. |
| Platform Support | Platform support: iOS, Android, Web. | Platform support: iOS, Android, web, and other platforms like desktop(Windows, macOS, Linux) and embedded systems. |
| Community Support | Supported by a large community. | Supported by a smaller community. |
Now the big question: Which framework is right for you?
There is no clear winner here, both React Native and Flutter have their pros and cons, and the right choice will depend on your experience, the goals, and the requirements of your project. You should consider the following factors:
- Language
- UI Components
- Code Push
- App Size
- Performance
- Platform Support
- Community Support
For example, React Native is a good choice if you need a code push feature so that you can update UI and business logic code on the fly without updating the apps on Google Play Store / Apple App Store.
Another example: If you are a web developer, and you already know JavaScript, writing mobile apps in React Native is a no-brainer.
With this, I will let you decide which cross-platform development framework is right for you.
This was all about React Native vs Flutter.
Master Kotlin Coroutines from here: Mastering Kotlin Coroutines
That's it for now.
Thanks
Amit Shekhar
Co-Founder @ Outcome School
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