One of the most controversial debates among mobile applications is Flutter Vs React JS.
Flutter is a technology that was developed by Google. According to Statista, it’s the most widely used cross-platform framework as more than 42% of developers use it.
While ReactJS is a technology developed by Facebook, According to Statista, it’s a popular cross-platform tool that was used by more than 40% of developers in 2021.
Both these technologies are used in front-end technology but massively differ in their functionalities.
If you want to dive deeper into the functionalities of both technologies and which one works the best, this article will shed some light on these technologies!
A Quick Overview of Flutter
Flutter is an open-source technology that was developed by Google. It’s based on the Dart programming language and is often used to write source code.
It’s used to build applications for different platforms such as Linus, Windows, macOS, and Android OS, and is backed by a strong and efficient community to constantly upgrade and enrich the platform with more powerful features.
The development tools have been used by well-renowned companies to build their applications, such as BMW, Alibaba, Google Ads, eBay, Capital One, Phillips, Groupon, and many more.
Benefits of Using Flutter
Evaluating the benefits of using flutter is necessary to get transparency about this tool. Let’s debunk its benefits:
1. Awesome User Interface
You must already be aware that Flutter is used to create cross-platform applications in which you can simply create a single codebase to work seamlessly on these platforms.
It’s either you can create a single codebase for both the Android and iOS platforms or you can keep the UI of the application constant to keep the application stand out.
2. Hot Reload Feature
This is one of the best features of Flutter that is responsible for escalating the development process.
With this feature, you can either make changes in the source code to see the reflection in the application.
The Hot Reload feature works great to see the reflected changes in the application when adding new features. Also, it helps to track down the essential features and eliminate possible bugs.
3. Open Source
Flutter is entirely free to use as it’s open source. If you make any changes to the source code, it’s visible.
You can understand how flutter works by identifying and analyzing the source code if you’re familiar with programming languages. It’s good for startups and established businesses as it’s free to use.
Hence, you don’t have to pay anything for developing Flutter-based applications.
4. Documentation
The more well documented the platform, the higher the odds of developers deciphering and leveraging the features of the technology.
The documentation of Flutter is quite detailed and well-comprehensible as it covers everything from scratch that is required to build a top-notch application.
Also, the flutter community is quite active as it consistently posts information that might go missing in the documentation.
Read Also – Reasons To Choose Flutter For App Development
5. Widgets
The other highlighted feature of Flutter is its extensive widget catalog. It’s got a bunch of widgets that can be implemented in applications.
You will find different widget categories such as Scrolling, Animation, Accessibility, Material Components, Interaction Models, and Styling.
It’s quite simple to integrate widgets or you can even customize them or change them to get a personalized experience.
The flutter’s graphic engine renders it, enhancing the loading time and performance of the application.
Drawbacks of Using Flutter
1. Restricted Libraries
Flutter is an emerging technology and its programming language, Dart, is relatively new, often making the developers reluctant to adopt the technology.
Most developers don’t consider Flutter as a preferable cross-platform application as Flutter is quite new in the world of technologies, making the developers hard to rely on.
Its library is also quite restricted as either the library that Flutter supports isn’t fully developed or it isn’t stable, enabling the developers to write functionalities.
2. Extensive Applications
Undoubtedly, the performance of flutter applications is impressive as the applications’ performance is quite fast. The catch of the application is its large storage size, which often creates a barrier for developers or consumes a lot of time to get downloaded.
3. Maintenance of Coding
As flutter and its programming language, Dart, are emerging and constantly evolving technologies, the new updates often result in causing haywire to the application.
If you come across any odd behavior in a flutter application while it’s on an update, make sure you constantly keep a check and assess the application to identify the functionality.
A Quick Overview of React JS
It’s an open-source Javascript library that is used to build single-page web applications and user interfaces by web developers.
React can also be used to develop server-rendered applications and mobile applications along with NextJS.
However, React is used to handle state while rendering to DOM, hence it needs client-side functionality and additional libraries. In the React DOM library, the components can be rendered into elements.
Benefits of Using React JS
Although ReactJS is used to create flawless web pages with minimal coding and effort, The main purpose is to build user interfaces that can enhance the speed of applications.
1. Reusable
A web application developed on ReactJS comprises various components with logic and control.
These multiple components produce reusable and small pieces of HTML code. These codes can be reused when necessary.
Also, these reusable codes make it easier to maintain the app. These components can also be used to build complex apps.
2. High Performance
The DOM is a cross-platform programming API that specifically deals with XML and HTML. Generally, when the DOM is updated, the performance of applications slows down due to the DOM which was introduced by ReactJS.
The React virtual DOM is a representation of the web DOM. With virtual DOM, initially when we write react components, we write virtual components that react turns into DOM, resulting in a faster and seamless performance.
3. SEO Friendly
Initially, JavaScript frameworks had a problem with SEO. The heavy applications built with JavaScript were difficult to read on search engines.
This issue was faced by most developers. However, with ReactJS, the issue got resolved as it became far easier for developers to navigate through search engines.
React applications can be run on a server and virtual DOM just like a regular web page will render and return to the browser.
Read Also – Tips To Choose The Best Technology Stack
4. A Handy Set of Tools
This tool has also grown in insane popularity due to its amazing and useful set of tools.
These tools are quite easy to use, making the work of developers much easier. It also helps developers to simplify their work.
The tools involve the Firefox dev extension and Chrome which help to assess a specific set of components.
Drawbacks
1. Poor Documentation
Due to the tremendous growth and constant updates of ReactJS, there isn’t enough time to build proper documentation. Developers have to write their own sets of instructions as soon as new tools are added to avoid the documentation issue.
2. High Pace of Development
Due to rapid developments in ReactJS, it often gets difficult for developers to keep learning and relearning new ways of development in ReactJS.
Also, the constant updates make it difficult for developers to adopt it and to make their skills ready for learning it.
Comparison Between Flutter vs React JS
Undeniably, React JS and Flutter are excellent tools for UI development and design. However, when it comes to selecting the best for your next project, it extensively depends on certain parameters such as API development and UI components, programming language, and technical architecture.
Let’s debunk each parameter for a better analysis of the tools.
1. APIs Development and UI components
When it comes to developing cross-platform applications, it requires great native support to ensure that the app doesn’t feel native.
The selected framework must provide board access to native modules without any hassle.
Although ReactJS creates a JS bridge with the native environment, it needs third-party libraries to get access to the native modules, which often leads to uncertain behavior of the applications.
When it comes to fluttering the UI components, it does it with ease while managing the state, accessing the device’s API, and navigating. It also reduces the need for third-party libraries and offers widgets for better rendering of UI.
It’s quite evident that Flutter beats ReactJS when it comes to accessing UI components and APIs, as Flutter has an abundance of API and UI components while ReactJS massively relies on third-party libraries.
Read Also – What Makes an App Great?
2. Programming Language
React JS works best to write codes for cross-platform applications. ReactJS is also a JavaScript library and is often used to build great user interfaces.
Javascript is quite a common language that is easy to learn and use, which makes it easier for ReactJS developers.
On the contrary, Flutter is the programming language developed by Google. It’s based on Dart, which is a combination of Java and Javascript. Although the language is easier to learn, its capabilities are restricted and less well-known among developers.
When it comes to programming languages, ReactJS wins the battle as Javascript is easy to learn and access, which ends up making ReactJS easy to implement.
3. Technical Architecture
When it comes to technical architecture, ReactJS creates a JS bridge for better communication with native modules.
It compiles JS code into native code by accessing the flux technology of Facebook during runtime.
During runtime, the necessity of connecting the native modules with JavaScript code often slows down the app.
On the contrary, flutter doesn’t need a bridge as it has already got some essential components and easy access to frameworks such as the SkiaC++ engine, material design, and Cupertino.
The architecture of Flutter is quite stable as the apps built on Flutter work well and offer all the required protocols and channels, eliminating the need to use other technologies.
Conclusion
Both Flutter and ReactJS are robust tools that can be used in the development of mobile applications. Selecting a framework for app development depends on your project’s requirements.
When it comes to developing an application with a great user interface, Flutter is the best due to its stunning user interface.
There are many easy ways to make the application delightful through flutter.
However, if you want to make a robust application with enhanced speed, you can go with ReactJS.
