How to choose between React Native and Flutter?

In the field of mobile application development, React Native and Flutter are the two most popular cross-platform development frameworks in recent years. They have won the favor of a large number of developers with their high efficiency, speed and flexibility. So, what are the similarities and differences between them, and how should we choose?

This article will compare React Native and Flutter, two popular mobile application development frameworks.

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Development History

• React Native : Developed by Facebook, it was officially released as open source in 2015. It is based on the principles of React (a JavaScript library for building user interfaces), allowing developers to use the same React architecture to develop iOS and Android applications, aiming to achieve write once, run on multiple platforms. Its design concept is to allow developers to build native applications using the familiar web development technology stack.
• Flutter : An open source framework developed by Google. The first beta version was released in 2017 and quickly gained the attention of developers. Flutter uses the Dart programming language and provides a new UI framework. Flutter emphasizes high performance, high productivity and exquisite design. From the underlying rendering engine to the top-level development framework, all are developed by Google, striving to achieve an experience comparable to that of native applications.

If we compare the two to cars, then React Native is like a hybrid car that combines classic internal combustion engine technology with modern electric technology, and is driven by the veteran JavaScript, while Flutter is more like a brand new electric sports car, equipped with the cutting-edge Dart programming language, a high-performance engine, designed to provide developers with an unprecedented control experience.

From the perspective of development history, if you prefer to choose a framework with a longer history and more mature community support, React Native is a good choice. But if you are willing to try some emerging technologies that may have more room for development in the future, then you can choose Flutter.

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programming language

• React Native : Uses JavaScript (or enhanced by TypeScript), which is a widely used language and the first choice for Web developers, allowing many Web front-end developers to get started quickly. However, since JS needs to interact with native code through a bridge, there may be performance bottlenecks.
• Flutter : Uses Dart, a relatively new language. It is an object-oriented, strongly typed language with JIT/AOT compilation capabilities. It can be directly compiled into machine code, and theoretically has better performance. Because of the rise of Flutter, it has also begun to receive more attention. But for new developers, the learning cost may be relatively high.

It’s like React Native uses instruments that everyone is familiar with, while Flutter tries to play with new instruments.

If the team is already familiar with JavaScript, React Native will be easier to use; but if the team is willing to accept new challenges and pursue better performance, learning the Dart language may also be a good investment for the future, so Flutter can be chosen.

Technical features

• Common points: Both are frameworks for building cross-platform mobile applications. They both provide a wealth of components and interfaces to help developers quickly develop applications that can run on both iOS and Android.
• Difference: Their main differences lie in programming languages ​​and some internal principles. React Native relies more on the system's native components, while Flutter almost entirely uses its own rendering engine to draw the UI.

Imagine that React Native is like a chef who prepares dishes using ingredients bought at the market, whereas Flutter is like a self-sufficient farmer who grows and prepares almost everything himself.

If you need to produce something quickly and need to frequently call native functions in your project, then choose React Native. If you are looking for consistent high performance and a cool UI, then Flutter is more suitable.

Scalability

• React Native : It can easily call native modules, which makes it very flexible in terms of extensibility.
• Flutter : Although it also supports calling native code, because it relies on its own rendering engine, it may be more complicated to integrate some complex native functions.

Just like you are building Lego, React Native Lego blocks can be mixed and matched with blocks from other brands; while Flutter Lego blocks may require special accessories to be built.

If a large number of custom native modules are required in the project, React Native provides more flexible expansion capabilities. However, if you tend to create many custom UI components and are willing to explore all the possibilities of Flutter, then Flutter is a better choice.

Performance comparison

• React Native : Performance is generally good, but may require some optimization if complex animations or interactions are involved.
• Flutter : Because it relies almost entirely on native system components, it generally performs better in terms of performance, especially in animations and complex UIs.

If performance is the speed of a sports car, React Native is like the speed of a car on an urban road, which is enough most of the time and you need to step on the accelerator occasionally; Flutter is like a sports car on a highway, which is usually faster and smoother.

If the application relies on smooth animations and complex user interactions, Flutter provides higher performance and a smoother user experience. For projects that do not require particularly high performance, React Native is sufficient.

Development Tools

From the perspective of development tools, React Native and Flutter both have their own IDE support and command line tools, allowing developers to efficiently create, test, and deploy applications.

React Native Development Tools:

1. Expo: For beginners or those who want rapid prototyping, Expo provides a complete React Native development environment, including development tools, simulators, and a series of pre-made components, so you can start building applications without native development experience.
2. React Native CLI: For developers who need more control, React Native's command line interface (CLI) provides deeper configuration options. Through the CLI, developers can initialize projects, link native dependencies, and run debugging tools.
3. IDE support: React Native can be used in any text editor, but for enterprise development, IDEs such as VS Code or WebStorm are generally chosen, which provide advanced code editing, debugging, and performance analysis tools.

Flutter development tools:

1. Flutter SDK: Flutter's SDK includes a range of powerful tools, such as Flutter Doctor for diagnosing environment problems, and a rich set of command-line tools for creating, building, and compiling applications.
2. Dart DevTools: This is a set of performance analysis tools for Flutter applications that can help developers monitor memory usage, view rendering time, and debug layout issues.
3. IDE support: Flutter's official plug-in can be used in Android Studio and VS Code, which provides functions such as code completion, widget editing, UI preview, performance analysis and debugging, allowing developers to complete all development tasks in an integrated environment.

If you are a web front-end developer who prefers to use VS Code or WebStorm and wants to leverage the existing JavaScript toolchain, then React Native may be more suitable for you. Expo provides a very friendly entry experience, especially for developers who do not want to delve into the details of native development.

If you have high requirements for performance analysis and UI debugging, or are willing to try Android Studio as a development environment, Flutter may be a better choice. Dart DevTools provides in-depth performance analysis tools, which is very valuable for developers who want to optimize their applications.

Maintenance costs

• React Native : Relies on more native code and requires more work to keep the code consistent across platforms.
• Flutter : Because most UI components are built-in, the maintenance cost is generally relatively low.

If you are a landlord, React Native is like an old house that needs regular inspection and maintenance; while Flutter is like a newly built house that is easier to maintain.

For long-term projects, Flutter may have an advantage in terms of maintenance costs because its components and tool chains are more unified, while React Native may require more frequent synchronization and upgrades of dependencies.

Documentation quality

• React Native : The documentation is comprehensive, but because the versions are updated quickly, sometimes the documentation may be slightly behind.
• Flutter : The documentation is of high quality and usually kept up to date with the latest versions.

Imagine if you were assembling furniture, the instructions for React Native might have several pages from the previous version, while the instructions for Flutter are the latest and every step is written very clearly.

If you are the kind of developer who likes detailed documentation as a guide, Flutter's documentation may give you a better experience. Although React Native's documentation is comprehensive, it is sometimes not updated in a timely manner.

Community Ecology

• React Native : Because it has a longer history, the community is relatively more mature. There are a lot of third-party libraries, tutorials, and support.
• Flutter : Although it is a latecomer, its community ecosystem is developing rapidly, and Google is also actively promoting its development. More and more resources and components are available.

It's like React Native is a mature old town with stable facilities and services; Flutter is a newly developed community, which is still under construction in some places but full of vitality and potential.

If you need access to a large number of third-party libraries and community support during development, React Native is a safer choice. However, if you are willing to be part of a fast-growing community and have no special requirements for the libraries you must use, Flutter is also a good choice.

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When choosing between React Native and Flutter, you need to consider their pros and cons, your project requirements, your team’s skills and experience, and your expectations for future development.

If you are a web developer, good at Javascript, and have a tight project deadline, and need a mature, stable framework with broad community support, React Native can help you deliver quickly. But if you pursue extreme performance and first-class UI, and are willing to invest time and resources, then Flutter may be more suitable for you.

Finally, whether you choose React Native or Flutter, it is important to find the technology that best suits your current project and team. Each framework has its own strengths and limitations, just like finding a pair of shoes that best fits your feet. Comfort and fit are the most important.