Flutter or React Native? Which One to Choose in 2024

This is a question that teams often face when they decide to develop a cross-platform mobile app. It's a question that many of our clients have asked us, too.

In this blog post, we'll discuss the differences, advantages, and disadvantages of Flutter and React Native. We hope this information will help you make the right choice for your project.

Flutter

Flutter is an open-source UI framework developed by Google for creating beautiful, multi-platform apps from a single codebase. It uses the Dart language, which was created by Google also. This framework was first released in 2015 and has quickly become one of the most popular frameworks for cross-platform development.

One of the main advantages of Flutter is its high performance. Apps built with Flutter are compiled to native code, which means they can perform just as well as apps that are written in the native language of each platform.

Another advantage of Flutter is its rich set of widgets. Widgets are the building blocks of Flutter apps, and they provide a powerful way to create complex, interactive user interfaces.

React Native

Like Flutter, React Native was also created in 2015. However, it was developed by the Facebook team, the same team that created the React framework. React is one of the most popular frameworks for writing web applications in the world today.

React Native advantages

React Native's official website features the slogan "Learn once, write anywhere." This accurately reflects the framework's key selling point: developers can use React to build both web and mobile applications with a single codebase.

This cross-platform capability is a major advantage for teams developing large projects that require both a web app and mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Let's compare the minimum team size required for such a project using different technologies:

Option 1: Native Mobile Development

In this scenario, you would use native technologies for your mobile apps, Python for your backend, and React for your frontend. This would require a minimum team of:

• 1 frontend developer
• 1 iOS developer
• 1 Android developer
• 1 backend developer

If one of these developers becomes sick, goes on vacation, or leaves the company, the project could be delayed or even stopped. This is because each developer has a different tech stack and may not be familiar with the technologies used by their colleagues.

Option 2: Cross-Platform Development with Flutter and Node.js

To address the challenges of Option 1, you could use Flutter for your mobile apps and Node.js for your backend. This would allow you to replace the 1 iOS and 1 Android developer with 1 Flutter developer.

Optimize the rest of the team by having the frontend developer also handle the backend (since both use JavaScript). This would reduce the minimum team size to:

• 1 Flutter developer
• 1 full-stack developer (JavaScript)

Option 3: Cross-Platform Development with React Native and Node.js

Taking things a step further, you could use React Native for your mobile apps instead of Flutter. This would allow you to:

• Have a single developer maintain the entire project (backend, web, and mobile)
• Reduce the time required for development by reusing code between the web and mobile apps

This is because React Native is based on React and uses JavaScript, the same language used in the frontend and backend. JavaScript is also one of the most popular programming languages, making it relatively easy to find qualified developers.

By using React Native for mobile app development and React for web development, you can significantly reduce the cost and time required to develop your project. This is especially true for large projects with complex functionality.

To calculate the potential savings, simply multiply the number of hours saved by the average hourly rate for developers in your region. You may be surprised at how much money you can save by using React Native.

React Native community size VS Flutter community size

Both Flutter and React Native have been around for several years and have built large communities of developers. According to GitHub, Flutter has slightly more repositories than React Native. However, React Native has a significantly higher number of pull requests: 1 million compared to 399 thousand.

This suggests that React Native has a more active community of developers who are actively contributing to the framework.

Another indicator of React Native's popularity is the large number of libraries available for it. According to the NPM website, there are over 6,000 React Native libraries available.

This means that developers can find ready-made solutions for a wide range of tasks, which can save them time and effort.

React Native performance overview

There is a lot of information available online about the performance of React Native. Some people claim that it can be slower than native apps, but this is not always the case.

The performance of a React Native app largely depends on the technical expertise of the development team. Our team has extensive experience working with React Native and we are experts in optimizing performance to match that of native apps. Therefore, if you choose to use React Native for your project and your team is composed of experienced professionals, you should not have to worry about performance.

If you need more detailed information or advice on performance optimization in React Native apps, our React Native development team would be happy to help.

Unique Advantage of React Native

Compared to other cross-platform frameworks and even native development, React Native has a unique advantage that no other framework has: CodePush.

CodePush allows you to make minor changes to your app without app store review. Imagine you release your app and find a critical bug after the release that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. However, the app store review process by the Apple App Store and Google Play teams can take anywhere from a few days to a week. What if you already have thousands of users? Only with React Native can you quickly make changes without waiting for app store review.

This can be a great way to keep your app fresh and up-to-date without having to release a new version of your app to the app store. Overall, CodePush is a powerful tool that can help you to save time, improve your app, and keep your users happy.

Summary

In summary, React Native is a great choice for a wide range of projects, including new products, startups, and corporate solutions. It offers a number of advantages over other development frameworks, including:

• Cross-platform development: React Native allows you to build apps for both iOS and Android with a single codebase. This can save you time and money, as you don't need to develop separate apps for each platform.
• Fast development: React Native uses JavaScript, which is a popular and well-known programming language. This means that there is a large pool of developers available who can help you build your app quickly.
• High performance: React Native apps are compiled to native code, which means that they can perform just as well as native apps.
• Large community: React Native has a large and active community of developers. This means that there are plenty of resources available to help you learn and troubleshoot.

If you are considering developing a new product, startup, or corporate solution, React Native is a great option to consider. It offers a number of advantages that can help you save time, money, and build a high-quality app.