Flutter vs react native: A Detailed Comparison with examples

The usage of apps for various purposes is now the trending lifestyle of people around the world. And to satisfy the interests, app development is nowadays on a rise. But then the question arises of which is the best for app development. In this article, we will discuss the differences between Flutter vs React native, created by Google and Meta subsequently.

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What is flutter?

Before focusing on the differences between flutter vs react native, let us first understand what is flutter. Flutter release date is on May 2017 and was done by Google. It is a portable UI open-source software development kit. It is used to create mobile, web, and desktop applications from a single codebase for various platforms like Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, macOS, and Google Fuchsia. 

The flutter framework

The flutter framework is UI based and comprises two components:

1. The software development kit or SDK and 
2. The UI library is widget-based, consisting of numerous reusable UI elements like buttons, sliders, and the text inputs

The libraries in the flutter framework can be further subdivided into more layers:

• The basic foundational class layer
• The widget layer
• The rendering layer

Animation, painting, and gestures are also an inherent part of the framework

New updates in flutter 3

Do you want to know what’s new in Flutter 3? Here you go:

1. Involves advanced device testing features, authentication, cloud services, and data storage
2. App development optimization through critical alerting metrics and real-time crash reporting
3. Integration menus for specific platforms for faster compilation 
4. Ease of interfacing design by enabling compatibility with Material 3

The flutter language

The flutter language used for programming is Dart. It is an object-type programming language for front-end development, used by mobile application developers. It uses syntax like Javascript.

Flutter framework leverages many of the advanced features of the language. When you write or create an application or debug an application, Flutter runs on the Dart virtual machine. The VM consists of a just-in-time execution engine. The users can publish and use Flutter plugins and custom packages since flutter inherits the attributes of the package manager and software repository of Dart.

Three-layered flutter architecture

The flutter architecture consists of three layers:

1. Framework – We have already discussed the flutter framework which is the key layer of the flutter architecture. It is based on Dart and is divided into 3 sub-layers.
2. Engine – The engine layer is written in C or C++ programming language. It provides low-level implementation or support using the Impeller graphics layer or the Skia graphics layer of Google.
3. Embedder – This particular layer provisions Flutter to run on any operating system and is specific for each platform

Some flutter apps examples

Here are some flutter apps examples, well-known in the market:

1. Google Ads – helps to manage Google ad campaigns from smartphones. Very user-friendly and intuitive
2. Reflectly – AI-powered personal journaling application. Provides detailed insights into your daily life.
3. KlasterMe – Content sharing website that can be used by developers on social media platforms. 
4. Postmuse – The photo editing app of Postmuse
5. Lunching – an app used for ordering and delivering food
6. Watermaniac – an app used to monitor water intake and usage

Flutter vs flutter js

If we think of the differences between flutter vs flutter JS, then the most common among them is that Javascript is easy to use being a mature and stable language. Further JS is in the market for quite a long time and hence more popular and user-friendly. JS also has the advantage of being faster and lighter compared to other languages.

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What is React Native?

Now comes the next topic for Flutter vs React native. What is React native? Similar to Flutter, it is an open-source UI software framework, developed and created by Meta Platforms, Inc. It is used extensively to write and build applications for react native Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, UWP, tvOS, Web, and AndroidTV.

The React Native framework

React Native is a mobile app framework based on Javascript. This enables building mobile apps which are natively rendered for the popular iOS and Android platforms. The framework helps to create and develop applications using the same code base, even on different platforms. Thus significant savings for time, effort, and resources whilst creating a robust application for the mobile platforms. It was released by Facebook in 2015.

The React native language

The React native language used is Javascript which is a prominent language among web developers. It is used to build cross-platform mobile applications with ease. Learning Javascript is easy and requires minimal training to adopt and use it. It is far advanced in terms of simplicity and speed and provides numerous interfaces to web developers for creating attractive web pages. Besides, it improves the performance of the applications significantly.

The React native architecture

Let us now understand the React native architecture. It has three threads in its execution environment – the Native main thread, the Javascript thread, and the background thread. “Bridge” in the library helps in communication between these threads.

React native has an inherent UI abstraction layer. It does not have any native code but is built on native libraries like Gesture Handler, Reanimated, and Screens that are used to implement the navigation patterns of the applications being created.

Some react native apps examples

Some react native apps examples are:

1. Facebook – one of the most popular react native apps
2. Skype – started using react native for the apps from 2017
3. Instagram – integrated react native into its current native app
4. Walmart – American grocery retail chain for its Android and iOS apps
5. Shine – a medication and motivation app
6. Ubereats – an app for food delivery at doorstep
7. Pinterest – powered by Gestalt based on react native
8. SoundCloudPulse – app for music creation

Difference between react js vs react native

Coming to the difference between react js vs react native:

1. React js uses the Javascript library comprising of reusable components. It is to create the skeleton of the applications. React native, on the other hand, is to build and create the native mobile applications with the reusable components
2. React js is used to build the User interfaces for the web applications. React native is used to build the rich mobile user interface using Javascript and from declarative components

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Differences between Flutter and React native

Now comes the most significant topic for the article Flutter vs React native and that is understand the differences between Flutter and React Native. React native is mainly focused on native components whereas Flutter focuses on interactive widgets, and visual and structural platform.

In the subsequent sub-sections, we will deep dive into the details of the differences Flutter vs React native.

Flutter UI vs React UI : Which one is better?

In the comparison of Flutter UI vs React UI: Which one is better? The answer is Flutter UI and it scores higher points. The main reason is the development experience offered by Flutter, focused on its own customized development language and also uses its own widgets. The further advantage is the widgets are very much compatible and stable with the Cupertino for Apple and Material Design for Google.

Documentation : Reactnative vs Flutter

When it comes to documentation : Reactnative vs Flutter differences are significant. The points earned is again Flutter more than Reactnative. The documentation guides of Flutter are superior with graphics and videos available within the framework itself. This helps developers to easily adopt or learn the framework and even bring in optimization. Whereas reactnative has poor documentation, forcing developers often to look for help from third party sources.

App development: Flutter vs Reactnative

In comparison for app development: Flutter vs Reactnative, Reactnative earns higher points. The programming language Dart used in Flutter is not the popular one and is not very easily understood by the developers. Its cons are that it doesn’t support many IDEs and text editors. Whereas Javascript used in Reactative is widely used, easing the development work with its pure and simple concepts. Any IDE or text editors can be easily used freely in this framework.

Background service: Flutter and Reactnative

When it comes to background service: Flutter and Reactnative differences are noticeable and the clear winner is Reactnative. The reason is firstly it is very popular in the market and among the developers. Secondly, it has innumerable tutorials for guidance and support, turning out its developer base to over 10,000. Thirdly, various developer conferences are held around the world to bring in interactions and collaborations among the users.

Performance of ReactNative VS Flutter

While comparing the performance of Reactnative vs Flutter, Flutter experience is better. The reason being the framework does not leverage the Javascript bridges and hence the development is faster. The other factors that boost the performance of Flutter are its animation standard set at 60 FPS and its direct compilation into the native ARM code. Reactnative uses Javascript and the JS bridges to its back down and along with it the plug-and-play components affect react native performance.

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Frequently asked questions on react vs flutter

We have now reached the conclusion of Flutter vs React Native. In this section, we will discuss on the frequently asked questions on react vs flutter. These will help the developers to decide on whether to use flutter or react native for app development.

1. Does google use react?

Well the response towards does Google use react, usage is limited. Google mainly used Angular for its app development and build work. Being a complete framework, Angular is preferable.

2. What are the prerequisites for react native?

The prerequisites for react native to enable react native coding and react native development are:

1. Knowledge of Javasacript
2. Proficient in HTML and CSS
3. Awareness of React and working experience in using React

3. What is the limitation of react native?

It is crucial to understand what is the limitation of react native before selecting it. React native is difficult to debug since react native elements use C, C++, Javascript. It is not a good choice when it comes to interactions, multiple screen transitions, and animations. React native is focused on going for rapid pace changes in its framework which poses difficulties to the developers. Since it’s a cross-platform framework, sometimes it becomes tough to find out such experienced developers.

4. What are flutter disadvantages?

The flutter disadvantages are:

1. No web apps can be developed as it does not support browsers
2. It yet does not have a huge resource base and hence many of the flutter UI components and elements need to be written from scratch
3. Dart being not a popular language yet compared to Javascript, developers have to invest in substantial effort to learn it and then leverage it for app development
4. Lastly the apps developed by Flutter are weighty

5. Is Flutter worth learning?

If you want to know is Flutter worth learning, the response is yes, it is definitely worth it. The demand for Flutter is increasing manifold due to its relevance to native app development. The developer community is also building up and along with it the forums.

6. Is react native and reactjs same?

The answer to is react native and reactjs same, is not exactly. Reactjs mainly creates the skeleton of an application whereas react native builds the native mobile applications. Both of them uses reusable components of the framework. React js builds UI for web applications and react native builds UI for mobile applications.

What is the difference between platform vs framework?

Comparison of platform vs framework states that – A platform comprises of software and hardware components where the developers can build and run applications. A framework contains tools, software development kits, libraries and others to operate as a software-only skeleton to build applications