Building Cross-Platform Applications: A Comparison of React Native & Flutter!
- MarsDevs
- Feb 9, 2024
- 5 min read

According to Persistence Industry Research, the cross-platform app development framework industry will be worth $546.7 billion by 2033. It was also revealed that Flutter may anticipate a prosperous market. Furthermore, React Native will continue to be in great demand.
Platform conflicts are real! Each framework has a distinct market and interesting characteristics. You can't deny the convenience and usefulness they provide for swiftly building apps. However, you must make a decision straight away. Will it be React Native or Flutter at the top of your tech stack? It's a difficult decision, but it's well worth it.
In this MarsDevs article, we'll examine the differences between Flutter and React Native and decide the best solution for cross-platform applications! So, let’s get rolling.
React Native vs Flutter - How Are They Similar?
When comparing React Native vs Flutter, remember that both are open-source platforms for cross-platform mobile app development and share capabilities such as hot reload (also known as live reload among React Native Developers).
What does this imply? Hot Reload enables developers to view changes to the code without having to restart the application. It facilitates speedier coding, development, and bug-fixing. Both React Native and Flutter enable the notion of a single codebase for several mobile platforms (Android and iOS), which implies that users of these platforms may access identical apps.
This sort of coding also cuts testing time nearly in half. It’s due to the ease of developing fewer tests for various mobile platforms. Regarding the popularity of Flutter vs. React Native, both frameworks power numerous well-known apps.
Flutter development is responsible for the success of the Google Ads app, the Hamilton Broadway Musical App, and Alibaba's Xianyu. React Native is responsible for the Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest applications, among many others. Now that we are done with the similarities, let's start with the comparison immediately!
React Native vs Flutter - A comparison!

Flutter renders every component on its canvas. React Native translates JavaScript elements to native ones. As a result, component changes (for example, to iOS 16) do not affect Flutter apps but do on React Native apps. How else do they differ?
Ease Of Learning
When developers explore these languages, they must decide whether to study Flutter or React Native. Alan Perlis explains, “A language that doesn’t deviate the way you imagine about programming isn’t worth knowing.”
From a developer's standpoint, React Native is easier to understand because it employs JavaScript as a programming language. JavaScript has been around for a long time, and most developers are familiar with it.
Flutter uses Dart, a newer programming language whose features expand the learning graph. It’s not to say that Dart makes Flutter a tough framework. Rather, it is one feature of Google's platform that stands out. You would figure it out eventually.
2. Community Support
Support from the worldwide development community can be a godsend for many developers pursuing cross-platform development. Given that React Native was released considerably earlier than Flutter, it is likely to have a large online community supplying assistance.
While designing an app, you may readily find answers to problems and obstacles. Flutter, as a rising star, has a constantly increasing developer community. As a result, the lower maturity level in terms of community support should not be a major reason to avoid Flutter.
3. Performance
When comparing the performance of React Native with Flutter, React Native employs JavaScript bridges or JavaScript layers to run hybrid apps for multiple mobile platforms. This extra layer is eliminated by Flutter app development, which allows developers to reuse existing code without the requirement for JavaScript bridges.
Unlike React Native, which repeatedly compiles to the JavaScript layer, Flutter compiles to native code. It is one of the few features that distinguishes Flutter from not just React Native but also many other cross-platform application development frameworks.

4. Widgets vs Third-party Libraries
The extent to which the two frameworks rely on third-party libraries is one of the fundamental differences between them.
Google designed Flutter to include a lot of amazing widgets and components that allow mobile app developers to create user experiences that are the same for Android and iOS. React Native, on the other hand, necessitates frequent use of third-party libraries by developers. The distinction speeds up development for Flutter developers.
5. Documentation Support
The content provided by the Flutter framework is more extensive, making it an excellent resource for cross-platform development expertise. Though React Native does not lag far behind regarding documentation support, the information tends to be more broad and less specific.
React Native vs Flutter - Which Should You Choose?

The question is which of the two frameworks, Flutter or React Native, best suits your demands and intended results. We would say choose Flutter if your app's needs match the following:
If your app requires no native functionality.
If your budget is running low and you have a tight deadline to accomplish a job.
You must launch your product as soon as possible and develop code as soon as possible.
If you want a single codebase that supports several platforms.
You need a user-friendly and customizable UI with widgets.
However, choose React Native if your app's needs match the following:
If you want to grow your existing project by using cross-platform modules.
If you are not constrained by time or money.
You need to build Native applications that are simple and lightweight.
If you want to create out-of-the-box, shared APIs.
If you want to make an app with asynchronous development and a visually appealing user interface!
With the release of Flutter 3.10, the stable support for Windows apps has been expanded. Flutter for Windows has unlocked doors and windows in every company. As a result, the popularity of Flutter desktop app development is rapidly increasing.
In a nutshell, several large companies, such as Alibaba, are already utilizing Flutter. As a result, the toolkit's future appears promising. The React Native platform is employed by the technological behemoth Facebook on a large-scale re-architecture of the technology.
The Final Verdict:
The key takeaway is that there is no general "better" framework, whether Flutter or React Native. Each project is unique. The project specs and business needs will fully influence the framework used.
Put it bluntly, Flutter is superior for bigger apps requiring native code. When weighing the advantages and drawbacks of React Native, it should be noted that it is ideal for apps that can benefit from its plug-and-play components and big developer community.
As you can see, there is much to consider when comparing Flutter vs React Native. Our MarsDevs specialists will be delighted to work with you. Get on a free 15-minute call with us today and check out how we can help you in your cross-platform app development journey!
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