Flutter vs ReactJS: Which one to choose in 2022?

In a world after the pandemic, everyone is pushing to have their businesses online. It has boosted the demand for mobile app development. Businesses are looking to have an innovative mobile app that is easily accessible across all platforms. Such business requirements have resulted in an increasing demand for cross-platform app development.

Cross-platform apps are mobile apps that you can run on multiple platforms. Mobile app development companies need to pick the right framework! Whether it is ReactJS vs Angular or Flutter vs React, making the right choice of frameworks is a bit tricky!

However, the right framework is the one that enables the developers to write a single codebase and deploy it on multiple platforms. If you are in a dilemma of choosing between Flutter and ReactJS, we have got some help for you. Let us now learn about both of these technologies in detail and see which one is the perfect choice for your project:

What is ReactJS?

ReactJS is a JavaScript library that is considered the heart of the React Native framework. The latter is like a hot cake for cross-platform mobile development created by Facebook. It targets all the platforms like Web, Android, iOS, and Universal Windows Platform.

With ReactJS, developers have the control of React to correlate with several functionalities of all the platforms. The coding style of React integrates the desired features for all platforms effortlessly. To build cross-platform apps ReactJS uses JavaScript that helps the developers to create user interfaces with elements that look native to each platform.

ReactJS makes JS coding easier by helping the developers efficiently handle dependencies and providing some amazing developer tools. It is a highly competent library with excellent support for cross-platform development.

What is Flutter?

Flutter is a framework that helps developers build a responsive cross-platform mobile app using the Dart language. This framework is a Google product.

Google is trying its best to push this framework towards becoming the ultimate solution for cross-platform app development. The applications developed using this framework look equally good in all newer and older versions of the device's operating system. The performance of these apps is also very similar to their native counterparts.

Flutter provides a great coding style as it has a wide collection of available widgets. It saves a significant amount of time as compared to native development as it makes code development faster.

Flutter Vs ReactJs

Let us now see what sets both these technologies apart:

1. Programming Languages

Using a cross-platform app development technology benefits the developer to write a single code for both iOS and Android devices. ReactJS uses Javascript as the programming language.

JavaScript is a dynamically typed language and it offers features that let the developers do many things with it, which is good and bad at the same time. ReactJS is a JavaScript library that uses JS for developing user Interfaces. JavaScript is a commonly used language, so it does not require extensive learning. This makes it easier for the developers to master and incorporate ReactJS.

On the other hand, Flutter uses Dart as its programming language, which was first brought to the forefront by Google in 2011. Dart is a combination of both JavaScript and Java in syntax. It is easier to learn for developers who have some understanding of JS, C#, and other object-oriented languages. Dart is more expressive so a large number of cross-platform mobile app developers have quickly adopted Flutter. But since JavaScript has been in the market earlier, longer, and is widely used by web developers, it’s easy to adopt ReactJS. Although Dart has a huge set of features, it is still hardly used and less known to the developer community.

Considering the above explanation, if you compare Flutter and ReactJS, the latter is a clear winner for this point.

2. Technical Architecture

While comparing two different technologies, it's really important to understand their technical architecture.
ReactJS uses the JavaScript bridge, which is the JavaScript runtime environment. It offers a passage to communicate with native modules. Using Facebook’s Flux architecture, ReactJS compiles your JS code into native code during the runtime. In some cases, the requirement of connecting the native modules with JavaScript code during runtime can make the app slow. However, the framework’s performance is usually satisfactory despite its architecture.

On the contrary, most of these essential components are already a part of Flutter. So, for this reason, you don’t need a bridge with Flutter. Along with the Skia C++ engine, it also uses frameworks like Material Design and Cupertino. They provide all the required channels and protocols. The availability of assorted functionalities in Flutter typically removes the requirement for developers to use other technologies for app development. Comparing Flutter vs ReactJS, the apps built on Flutter are thus more stable and effective.

3. UI Components and Development APIs

When developing a cross-platform mobile app, developers need the support of the native component. Without such support, your app won’t feel like a native app. The framework must have an adequate API to access the native modules without any discomfort as it is necessary for accessing the Native modules.

ReactJS, along with React Native, can create the Native environment for Android and iOS with the help of JS bridge. To access most of the native modules, ReactJS has to rely on third-party libraries. The ReactJS components may not behave likewise across all platforms, which makes the apps unpredictable.

However, Flutter is a combination of UI rendering components, navigation, device API access, stateful management, and many libraries. The set of components removes the need of third-party libraries. The framework also provides widgets for Material Design and Cupertino allowing the developers to render UI with ease across Android and iOS platforms.
Therefore, it is evident that Flutter is rich in development APIs and UI components. However, ReactJS has a lot of dependence on third-party libraries.

Who Wins The Battle in 2022?

Which technology should you choose, Flutter or ReactJS? If you are still looking for a winner then let us tell you that all this detailed comparison is only an overview of the ins and outs of these two technologies. It gives you an idea about both Flutter and ReactJS rather than declaring a clear winner.

As you are still not sure what framework you should choose for your cross-platform mobile app development project. One of these will fit your requirements more than the other. You consider hiring React JS Developers or Flutter developers based on your choice.