React Native vs. Flutter: Battle of the Titans!
Mobile app development is at an all-time high, with new technologies emerging every day. However, two frameworks, React Native and Flutter, are among the most popular frameworks for creating cross-platform mobile applications. If you're wondering which framework is better for your upcoming project, then we are here to help you make the right decision. Let's dive deep into a comparison between React Native and Flutter and see what they offer.
Popularity
React Native was released by Facebook in 2015, and in 2021, it was the most popular framework for mobile app development. Facebook, Instagram, and Bloomberg are among the companies that use React Native.
On the other hand, Flutter, released by Google in 2017, gained a lot of popularity because of its simplicity, and its user interface toolkit, "Material Design." Some popular applications built using Flutter are Google Ads, Alibaba, and BMW.
Both frameworks have immense popularity, and both have their own unique features.
Development and Performance
React Native uses JavaScript or TypeScript for development, which is a popular language among developers. As a result, the initial setup time is minimal, and developers can easily build cross-platform applications.
Flutter, on the other hand, uses Dart, which is a language developed by Google. The initial setup time for Flutter is slightly higher, but it offers better performance, and the development process is faster because of its advanced hot-reload feature.
Here are some numbers that compare the performance of React Native and Flutter. Flutter performed better in three out of four tests:
- Flutter performed up to 45% faster than React Native in the scrolling test.
- Flutter was able to handle 61% more animations than React Native.
- React Native performed better in the idle test, with 2.5% lower CPU usage and 17.7% lower memory usage than Flutter.
- Flutter outperformed React Native by 3% in the image loading test.
User Interface and Widgets
React Native is known for delivering a native look and feel across different platforms. It offers several third-party libraries and tools to create a responsive and interactive user interface.
Flutter, on the other hand, comes with its own UI toolkit called "Material Design." It offers customizable widgets that can be easily integrated into the application. Flutter widgets are known for their flexibility and ease of use.
Conclusion
Both React Native and Flutter are great frameworks, but which one to use ultimately comes down to your project's specifications and your development team's expertise. React Native offers a faster learning curve and an established developer community, while Flutter offers better performance and ease of development.
References:
- React Native vs. Flutter: Which one should you choose?, Altar.io, 2021.
- Flutter vs. React Native – Which One to Choose?, Cleveroad, 2021.