Flutter vs React Native: Things you should Know
The rise of mobile apps impacts the development industry hugely. According to Statista, with over 6.5 billion mobile users worldwide, developing mobile apps necessitates new solutions that are less time-consuming and effort-intensive.
Flutter and React Native are the two most popular mobile app development frameworks available right now, and their popularity is growing. The world’s largest tech companies Google, and Facebook, created flutter and react native, respectively.
They assist in the development of interactive applications for Android and iOS. Because they both serve the same purpose, it is critical to understand their differences and select the best one for you.
Today, we will compare Flutter vs. React Native, what makes each framework unique, and know why they are so popular.
Differences Between Flutter and React Native
Both languages are based on C-style syntax and adhere to object-oriented principles. Flutter and React Native are fundamentally similar in design, and the code is also very similar. They have many similarities but are also very different in crucial ways. Here are some of the differences between them.
- Language
- Device compatibility
- Documentation
- Performance
- Project size
Language
React Native app development is entirely written in JavaScript and uses React. It is advantageous for React Native because JavaScript is one of the most widely used languages in the world today. On the other hand, Flutter is in the Dart programming language. Developers seldom use Dart, a programming language that Google created in 2011.
Device Compatibility
Flutter and React Natives support Android devices with ARM processors and Apple devices, starting with the iPhone 4s. Both support Android and iOS simulators for app development.
Flutter app development requires iOS 9 or later, and React Native apps should have iOS 11 or later. Flutter apps require an API level of 19 (Android 4.4) or higher, and React Native apps should have an API level of 23 (Android 6.0).
Android 5 or iOS 10 and above are the minima supported versions for Expo-based React Native apps.
Documentation
Both Flutter and React Native have excellent documentation. These manuals make it simple for programmers to begin developing apps.
The documentation for Flutter is easy to read because it is well-formatted, structured, and detailed. The documentation is streamlined and simplified. In comparison, the documentation for React Native is not straightforward.
React Native provides extensive documentation. Because React Native relies heavily on community-developed dependency libraries, its documentation is less well-organized.
Performance
Flutter or React Native which one performs better? It will differ for each app; many factors must be considered, including the type of app, codebase, animations, transitions, application size, layout, data passing, end user’s phone, and more.
Flutter and React Native are both open-source and free to use. You can test Apps built with both frameworks virtually, using a built-in simulator on your computer for iOS and Android.
Both frameworks use hot reloading, which makes development more efficient because changes are visible immediately.
With developer and community support, Flutter and React Native are improving their performance. However, Flutter currently has a slight performance advantage because there is no connecting bridge for interacting with the device’s native components.
Project Size
Applications built using React Native have a JavaScript runtime environment. Hermes and ProGuard can be activated in React Native to reduce build size, even though they frequently have larger build sizes.
However, Flutter apps typically have bigger file sizes. The larger build sizes of Flutter apps force them to take up more space.
Conclusion
You cannot say that one of them is the winner as each of Flutter and React has advantages and disadvantages, and the best option will rely on your background, objectives, and requirements.
It makes sense to write mobile apps in React Native if you are already familiar with JavaScript. However, you can go with flutter if improved performance, stability, and a more harmonious environment among ecosystems are the priorities.