Flutter or React Native?

Both build iPhone and Android apps from one codebase and both are good. Flutter draws its own interface and uses Dart; React Native uses native interface elements and JavaScript or TypeScript. The deciding factors are usually the team’s skills, the app’s needs and long-term maintenance.

By Nazar Kashuba · Reviewed

Developers argue about this a lot; for a client the answer is rarely dramatic. Both are mature, maintained by large organisations and used in real products.

The main difference

  • Flutter (Google) renders its own interface with its own engine, written in Dart. You get consistent visuals across platforms and strong control over appearance.
  • React Native (Meta) maps your code to the platform’s native interface elements, written in JavaScript or TypeScript. It shares skills with web development and has a large ecosystem.

What to weigh

  1. Skills. If the team already writes JavaScript or TypeScript, React Native is a short step; Dart is a new language for most.
  2. Visual design. A highly custom, brand-led interface suits Flutter; one that should feel strictly native may suit React Native or fully native.
  3. Libraries. Check that what you need, such as payments, maps or a specific SDK, is supported and maintained.
  4. Hiring and handover. Consider how easy it is to find someone to take over.
  5. Platform edges. For deep system features you may need native code in either.

My advice

Do not pick on a benchmark. Pick the one with good support for the specific features you need and a maintainer who knows it well. If the app is simple, either is fine; if it is demanding, prototype the hardest part in your top choice first.

Sources

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