When building a mobile app, one of the first decisions you’ll face is whether to build native apps for iOS and Android separately, or use a cross-platform framework. Today, React Native and Flutter are the two leading cross-platform solutions. Let’s explore which one might be right for your project.
React Native: JavaScript-Powered Mobile Development
React Native, developed by Facebook, allows developers to build mobile apps using JavaScript and React. It’s been around since 2015 and has a mature ecosystem.
Pros:
- Large developer community and extensive third-party libraries
- Code sharing with React web applications
- Hot reloading for faster development
- Native performance for most use cases
Cons:
- Can require native code for complex features
- Bridge-based architecture can impact performance
- Frequent updates can cause breaking changes
Flutter: Google’s UI Toolkit
Flutter, developed by Google, uses the Dart programming language and provides its own rendering engine. It’s gained significant traction since its 2018 stable release.
Pros:
- Excellent performance due to direct compilation to native code
- Beautiful, customizable widgets out of the box
- Single codebase for mobile, web, and desktop
- Growing rapidly with strong Google support
Cons:
- Dart is less common than JavaScript
- Larger app sizes compared to React Native
- Smaller ecosystem than React Native
Our Recommendation
At Rojas Consulting, we’ve built apps with both frameworks. Our general recommendation:
- Choose React Native if your team has JavaScript/React experience or you need to share code with a web application
- Choose Flutter if you prioritize pixel-perfect UI, need excellent performance, or want a single codebase for multiple platforms
The best choice ultimately depends on your team’s expertise, project requirements, and long-term goals. Contact us for a consultation to discuss which framework is right for your specific needs.
