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React Native vs Flutter

React Native and Flutter are the two dominant cross-platform mobile frameworks, each backed by a tech giant and used in thousands of production applications. React Native leverages JavaScript and native platform components, while Flutter uses Dart and a custom rendering engine for pixel-perfect control. Both can deliver native-quality mobile experiences, but their architectural differences lead to distinct tradeoffs in development workflow, UI flexibility, and ecosystem maturity.

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Quick Overview

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React Native

React Native is Meta's framework for building native mobile applications using JavaScript and React. It renders actual native UI components through a bridge architecture (and the newer Fabric renderer), allowing apps to look and feel like their platform-native counterparts. The New Architecture with JSI, Fabric, and TurboModules has significantly improved performance and native interop.

Key Strengths

  • Uses JavaScript and React, leveraging existing web developer skills
  • Renders actual native UI components for authentic platform feel
  • Share code and knowledge with React web applications
  • Large talent pool of JavaScript/React developers available
  • Expo ecosystem simplifies development, builds, and OTA updates
🦋

Flutter

Flutter is Google's UI toolkit for building natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single Dart codebase. It uses a custom rendering engine (Skia/Impeller) that draws every pixel directly, giving developers total control over the visual output. This approach enables complex animations, custom widgets, and consistent UIs across all platforms.

Key Strengths

  • Custom rendering engine provides pixel-perfect control over every UI element
  • Impeller engine delivers consistent 60/120fps animations
  • Single codebase targets mobile, web, desktop, and embedded devices
  • Hot reload with full state preservation for rapid iteration
  • Material Design 3 and Cupertino widgets provide platform-appropriate defaults

Detailed Comparison

Side-by-side analysis of key technical categories to help you make an informed decision.

CategoryReact NativeFlutter
Rendering ApproachUses native platform UI components. OS handles rendering. Look matches each platform natively.Custom rendering engine draws every pixel. Consistent look across platforms. Full visual control.
Programming LanguageJavaScript or TypeScript. Familiar to millions of web developers worldwide.Dart. Less widely known but easy to learn with strong typing and modern syntax.
PerformanceNear-native via New Architecture (JSI, Fabric). Bridge overhead eliminated in many cases.Compiled to native ARM code. Impeller engine delivers consistent high-FPS rendering.
UI FlexibilityConstrained to native components and their customization options. Complex custom UIs require native modules.Unlimited UI flexibility. Every widget is customizable. Complex animations and custom shapes are straightforward.
Code Sharing with WebStrong. Share TypeScript types, business logic, API clients, and validation with React web apps.Limited with web. Flutter Web exists but targets different use cases than mainstream web development.
Ecosystem & PackagesAccess to npm ecosystem. Many native libraries have React Native wrappers. Expo manages popular native APIs.Growing pub.dev ecosystem with 40K+ packages. Some niche native libraries may lack Flutter bindings.
Developer ToolingExpo for managed workflow, builds, and OTA updates. VS Code and React DevTools.Flutter DevTools with widget inspector, performance overlay, and memory profiler. Strong IDE support.
Hiring & TalentLarger talent pool. Any React/JS developer can transition to React Native with moderate effort.Smaller talent pool. Dart proficiency required. Growing community but still behind JS/React in numbers.

When to Use Each Technology

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Choose React Native When

  • Teams with existing React/JavaScript expertise who want to build mobile apps
  • Projects that share significant logic with a React web application
  • Apps where platform-native look and feel is more important than custom UI
🦋

Choose Flutter When

  • Apps with highly custom, branded UIs and complex animations
  • Projects targeting mobile, web, and desktop from one codebase
  • Teams starting fresh without existing JavaScript/React expertise to leverage

Our Verdict

Choose React Native if your team already knows React, you want to share code with a web application, or you need access to the largest cross-platform mobile talent pool. The Expo ecosystem has made React Native development remarkably smooth, and the New Architecture has closed the performance gap. Choose Flutter if you are building an app with highly custom, branded UI, need complex animations, or want to target mobile, web, and desktop from one codebase. Flutter's rendering engine gives you creative freedom that React Native cannot match. For business apps with standard UI patterns, React Native is often the more pragmatic choice. For consumer apps where visual polish and animation are key differentiators, Flutter has the edge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which framework produces better-performing apps?

Both produce near-native performance for most applications. Flutter compiles to native ARM code and uses the Impeller rendering engine for consistent frame rates. React Native's New Architecture with JSI eliminates the old bridge bottleneck. For typical business applications, users cannot perceive a performance difference. For animation-heavy apps or games, Flutter's rendering engine gives it a slight edge.

Is React Native or Flutter better for startup MVPs?

React Native with Expo is often faster for startup MVPs because JavaScript developers are abundant, Expo handles builds and updates, and you can share code with a future web app. Flutter is faster for MVPs where the UI is the product (creative apps, design-heavy consumer products) because its hot reload and widget system enable rapid UI iteration.

Can we switch from React Native to Flutter later?

Switching frameworks requires rewriting the UI layer. However, if your business logic is cleanly separated into API calls and data models, those concepts transfer even if the code does not. The transition cost depends on app complexity. For a moderate-sized app, expect 2-4 months of development. We recommend committing to one framework early rather than planning a future migration.

Which has better third-party library support?

React Native has broader library coverage thanks to its access to the npm ecosystem and longer market presence. Most popular native SDKs (Stripe, Firebase, Maps, Auth) have well-maintained React Native wrappers. Flutter's pub.dev ecosystem is growing rapidly and covers most common needs, but very niche native libraries may require custom platform channel implementations.

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