When Android has become one of the most popular operating systems it led the IT outsourcing industry to a lot of changes. Previously companies had to define whether to choose iOS or Android software development. Today we have a lot of cross-platform decisions that are spreading all over the outsourced software development world.

The Rise of the Cross-platform Development

Cross-platform development came out of an idea of the launching the same application without a need to rewrite the code. The big impact on the mobile software development industry was made by Facebook and their React Native Javascript framework in 2015. The key benefit of cross-platform mobile development is an ability to deliver the development product on both iOS and Android platforms by using the single programming language.



React Native was created by Facebook mainly for their interior needs but lately has grown into something much bigger. React Native allowed developers to create native mobile applications for the iOS and Android operational systems both at the same time by using a JavaScript coding language.

Flutter vs React Native for mobile software development

While React Native was successfully establishing as the most successful tool for JavaScript-based cross-platform mobile applications, Google released its own technology for cross-platform mobile software development based on Dart back in 2017. Today we want to compare these two programming languages by the following criteria. We believe that our comparison will have technology startups and established businesses to identify which framework will be a perfect fit for the outsourced mobile development product.

1. Reusable code

React Native allows programmers to reuse the code for different purposes but in a restricted way with basic components. Flutter allows overwriting of the code. If you are planning to recycle your code, Flutter is a more valuable option because of its reusability.

2. Third-party libraries

Since React Native has already established niche on the market is has more packages which can allow you to add some extra features to your outsourced mobile application compared to Flutter.

3. Popularity

While React Native has a more established community, Flutter community grows swiftly as well. Presently there are not so many apps in the digital stores which were developed by using Flutter as a core technology. Introduced by Google back in 2017 it still struggles to achieve the acknowledgement by the big companies on the market. React Native, in turn, needs no introduction these days. There are already lots of big application names which were developed based on the React Native technology. Such applications as Facebook, Instagram, Airbnb, Skype, Soundcloud etc.

4. Development time

In the comparison between Flutter and React Native, Flutter-based development takes more time because of the lack of third-party decisions. React Native is more preferred when talking about efficient and time-saving outsourced development because of its ready to use components. As for 2019, React Native remains one of the most time-saving and reliable cross-platform mobile decisions for outsourced mobile software development.

5. Framework performance

However, in spite of Flutter’s less time-saving decisions, it proved itself to be more efficient for cross-platform mobile development. The Dart frame which is an additional layer to JavaScript, allows Flutter to connect with native components of mobile applications more efficiently compared to React Native. But, because of the large React Native community, it is easy to establish a high-quality mobile application if you have an experienced team of React Native developers.

6. Stability

The latest beta 2 version of a Flutter introduced some impressive features but still cannot allow as much confidence in application’s stability as React Native. Because of Flutter’s relatively recent appearance on the market, it is obvious that React Native remains more reliable decision when talking about the general stability of an outsourced developed mobile application product.

Conclusion

Both frameworks have their pros and cons and remain as a popular decision for outsourced mobile development in 2019. That is why it is hard to clarify which programming language will be a good decision for your specific mobile development product. We have listed the key considerations which as we believe can help you identify a perfect fit for your business.



If you have any questions about this article or you still wondering whether to choose React Native or Flutter for your specific cross-platform mobile development product, you can always consult with outsourced development specialists. Over the years, here at we have accumulated enough understanding of the industry to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of a particular language or a technology and analyze their relevance. To do so, we constantly update your knowledge, test, read and post our views on trending technologies. If you are looking for a mobile software development company to outsource the development of your cross-platform mobile application – contact us!



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