In the generation of Internet and Digitalization, almost every business has the desire to release an app on both Google Play and App Store. Because it can bring their business to a whole new level. But before making a mobile application, you need to consider React Native vs Flutter vs Native: What to choose?

In this article, we will compare leading market players for app development - React Native vs Flutter vs Native. So that you can choose the best one which suits your requirements. Are you excited? If yes, then read this comparison till the end.

What is Flutter?

In May 2017, at the Google IO event, Google released an open-source UI software development kit complete with widgets and tools is known as Flutter.

Flutter is just like React Native is used to develop cross-platform applications for Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows, Google Fascia and Web from a single code base.

In terms of timeline, Flutter came two years after React Native. Flutter's desktop support also extends to plugins that enable the developers to create their own plugins or install the existing ones that support Linux Windows or macOS platforms.

Which language does Flutter framework use? So Flutter uses Dart, which is a fairly new programming language, especially when you compare it to something that has been around for a long time, like JavaScript.

The different apps that are made with Flutter are eBay, Google Stadia, Groupon, Dreams 11, Philip Hue and Google Ads. These are just some of the examples of the apps that are made with Flutter.

What is React Native?

In March 2015, Facebook released React Native framework which is an open-source UI framework used to develop cross-platform applications for Android, Android TV, iOS, macOS, TV OS, Web, Windows and more.

React Native uses React Javascript library along with native platform capabilities. The language of choice is javascript. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Flipkart, Tesla, Uber Eats, Skype, Walmart, Shopify and Bloomberg are just some of the examples of apps that are made with React Native.

What is React Native for?

React Native is an effective framework for:

• Cross-platform development
• Building mobile apps using JavaScript language
• Developing applications for both Android and iOS using a single codebase
• Using the same design as React

Please note: Apps created using React Native are not mobile web apps. React Native uses the same fundamental UI building blocks as regular iOS and Android apps: this means that instead of building in Java, Kotlin, or Swift – you’re putting the same building blocks together, using JavaScript and React. React Native uses components that are analogous to widgets in Flutter.

What is Native?

Native development means we write an app specifically for one platform. So for mobile developers, either for android or for iOS but not both at the same time. The advantage of developing the app using Native is it can use all the features of the device such as GPS, Accelerometer, Camera, etc.

Native apps are installed from the Google Play Store for the android user and App Store for iOS users. The frameworks and programming language that is used are: Swift, Xcode and Objective-C are used for iOS. Android Studio, Kotlin and Java are used for Android.

The Native development used for creating apps like:

• Gaming Apps
• Apps with high animations
• AR/ VR applications
• Standalone native applications
• Apps with complex/advanced UI
• GPS-centric apps
• Travel based applications
• On-demand apps with heavy computation
• AI-triggered apps with large data volumes
• IoT apps that connect with TV, Watch and Wallets

Pros and Cons of Flutter

Pros of Flutter:

1. The best thing about Flutter is it provides fast and more dynamic app development services, which is also appreciated by every app development company. You can make changes and see them immediately on the application. This feature is called the hot reload feature. It only takes a few milliseconds to show the changes.
2. Another advantage of Flutter is developers just need to write one codebase and it will cover both iOS and Android platforms. So there is no need to code separately for android and iOS.
3. Apps developed by Flutter doesn't hang and perform smoothly. It uses the Skia Graphic library.
4. The Flutter's UI is smooth and provide 60fps because almost every work done on GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
5. Flutter provide its own custom widgets, rendered and managed by the framework’s graphics engine. It doesn't rely on the native components.
6. Apps made on Flutter looks the same even on older devices, be it android, or iOS. So, there's no worry about supporting apps on all devices.
7. Flutter can be the best choice for you if you want to build a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) for your app. It also is best if you have less time.

Cons of Flutter:

1. React Native is a more established and experienced developer community than Flutter. Because JavaScript is more widely used than Dart.
2. Google provide excellent support to Flutter, but it is still new. Your developer might have to build custom features themselves that consume time, you can't find all the functionalities in its library.
3. Flutter lacks the support of platforms like Travis or Jenkins. Your developer has to maintain scripts to achieve automatic building, deployment and testing.
4. Apps developed by Flutter are usually bigger in size than the apps that are made by React Native.
5. There is a risk of disaster if Google decided to pull support from the Flutter.

Pros and Cons of React Native

Pros of React Native:

1. The first advantage of react native is one code can work for two platforms. For example, two developers working on one codebase means you are able to build an app in three or four weeks instead of six.
2. By using React Native, you are able to deliver the product for two platforms way faster done while writing natively. Because hot reload speed of React Native allows the developer to changes quickly.
3. React Native uses the most popular language- JavaScript. So it's a plus point for the developers because they know it well as compared to Dart.
4. Another advantage of React Native is it allows the developer to build cross-platform apps. They can also decide what solutions they want to use.
5. React Native has an active and vast developer community. Moreover, there are a lot of UI frameworks, tutorials libraries that make it easy to learn.

Cons of React Native:

1. The React Native is just close to the Native. It is not really native.
2. It only supports basic components out of the box. Yeah, the developer can use them but it requires lots of time and effort.

Pros and Cons of Native

Pros of Native

1. Native can develop a high performance with a strong OS.
2. It uses 100 capabilities of devices to access native tools.
3. Native enables you to create the apps within timeline and budget.
4. It creates apps with speed and flawless performance and provides easy navigation based UI for capturing a wide range of users.

Cons of Native:

1. Developing local applications for in excess of one stage can significantly expand the development procedure.
2. The cost of expanding the no of developers required for every platform joined with broadening the length of the development procedure for the task could mean multiplying or notwithstanding tripling all budgets.

Final Words for React Native vs Flutter vs Native: What to choose? Our recommendation is to go with React Native for app development. Because it is the best tool to create complicated cross-platform apps. It has extensive documentation and strong support and if your project will be large and deeply rooted, we highly recommend you to go with React Native. And if you thinking to reuse the code for a desktop app, choosing React Native will make it simple.