Flutter vs React Native: Which One is Better in 2025?

When it comes to cross-platform app development, Flutter and React Native are the two frameworks dominating the game. Thanks to these frameworks, you can develop robust mobile apps that run on both Android and iOS devices. Besides, they are also used to develop desktop apps for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS as well as web-based applications.

Cross-platform app development frameworks like React Native and Flutter offer many advantages, such as cost-effective development, faster-to-market, single codebase, easy maintenance, and more. Therefore, these frameworks are quite popular for developing apps for mobiles, desktops, and the web.

Indeed, Statista’s report states that Flutter and React Native are among the top frameworks for developing mobile apps. While both these frameworks fall in the category of cross-platform frameworks, they differ in terms of their design, architecture, and technology. So, when it comes to developing apps, a dilemma about Flutter vs React Native arises.

While both these frameworks are great, understanding which one suits your mobile app development project is crucial to developing a top-notch app. This comprehensive blog on which one is better in React Native vs Flutter in 2025 provides essential information that will clear your confusion. So, let’s see which framework is best for cross-platform apps in 2025.

A Quick Overview of Flutter vs React Native Differences

The primary difference between Flutter and React Native is the programming language they use. While Flutter uses Dart, React Native leverages the JavaScript programming language to create apps. The following table provides a detailed comparison of these two popular cross-platform frameworks.

Basis	React Native	Flutter
Primary Language	JavaScript (with TypeScript)	Dart
Architecture	It uses Fabric Render for UI rendering and TurboModules to create native modules that were previously handled by the JavaScript bridge. JavaScript code is converted to native components for Android and iOS devices.	Flutter has its own rendering engine, known as Skia, that draws UI from scratch. It offers a widget-based system for creating and rendering components.
Performance	React Native offers near-native performance for apps. But sometimes minor issues may arise if you use the JavaScript bridge, but with the new rendering methods can address this problem well.	It usually delivers more consistent and superior performance, especially in the case of UIs or animations, due to the Flutter AOT compilation.
UI/UX	By default, React Native offers a more native look and feel because it converts code to native components of iOS or Android. But it also requires extra effort to ensure a consistent user experience.	Flutter offers high UI consistency across different devices. It offers built-in customizable widgets (Cupertino for iOS and Material for Android) to create appealing and consistent UIs.
Learning Curve	Moderate learning curve if your team is already proficient in JavaScript and React.	Steeper because your team has to learn Dart, which is a language similar to Java or C#.
Ecosystem	React Native is a vast and mature cross-platform development framework with a large number of third-party libraries.	The Flutter framework is relatively new, but it’s growing rapidly. There are several official packages available for development and maintenance by Google.
Tooling	Good tooling like Expo for quick prototyping and Fast Refresh for quick iterations.	Excellent tooling like Hot Reload for rapid iterations and Flutter Doctor command utility for diagnosing Flutter development environment on a PC.

Understanding Flutter and React Native in Detail

React Native is an open-source component-based cross-platform framework that was created by Facebook (now Meta). Facebook React Native was released in 2015 and has 124k stars on GitHub. It uses JavaScript to develop applications and creates a single codebase to build apps that run across multiple OS.

Real-world examples of React Native apps include Facebook, Skype, Uber Eats, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Instagram, and Tableau. The following table shows the advantages and disadvantages of React Native development.

Advantages	Disadvantages
It is based on the write once and run anywhere philosophy. It means a single codebase is used to develop apps that run both on Android and iOS.	Native module dependence requires developers to write native code in Java/Kotlin for Android and Swift/Objective-C for iOS for certain features or libraries. So, separate codebases might have to be maintained in such cases.
The hot reload feature known as “Fast Refresh” speeds up iteration cycles in app development as it instantly reflects code changes.	When using the JavaScript bridge, there are performance overheads due to communication between JavaScript and native layers in the case of complex UIs or heavy computations.
There are a lot of options for libraries and third-party integrations due to the vast JavaScript ecosystem.	There is an inconsistent and fragmented set of tools and libraries that React Native depends on that could make app development challenging.
Developers are easily available for React Native development due to its dependence on web-based technologies. It is also easy to find support for troubleshooting.	React Native offers a real native feel, but it’s not truly native.
Code reuse and component-based coding ensure compact structure and easy maintenance.	It can be difficult to debug apps if issues arise beyond JavaScript, React, and native layers.

Flutter is also an open-source cross-platform framework for developing mobile apps. It is often referred to as a UI framework. You can use Flutter to build stunning mobile apps, web apps, desktop apps, and embedded experiences. It was developed by Google and is now maintained by it.

Google Flutter is also among the most popular frameworks for developing apps for a wide range of platforms, and it has over 173k stars on GitHub. With a single codebase, you can deploy your app on multiple platforms and offer an excellent user experience.

Real-world examples of Flutter apps include Google, Alibaba, BMW, eBay, Google Pay, Google Earth, and Capital One. The following table shows the advantages and disadvantages of Flutter.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Flutter excels in terms of performance and efficient UI rendering due to its own rendering engine Skia, and compilation of components to native code. It offers a smoother UI.	Due to a larger bundle size, Flutter apps APK or IPA) are larger in size compared to native or React Native apps.
It is a flexible framework that works cohesively with its widget-based structure. All components, or the full UI, are created with the use of customizable widgets that simplify development.	This framework is based on the Dart language, which has a limited talent pool compared to other popular languages like JavaScript.
The hot reload feature helps inject code changes in a running app that reflect instantly, offering faster development and iteration cycles.	It is still in the growing stage and is a new framework with a smaller ecosystem of third-party libraries and packages.
Flutter is backed by Google, which gets constant support, maintenance, and updates. It has good documentation for troubleshooting issues.	Custom rendering ensures that the UI looks consistent, but it may not perfectly match the native UI subtly.
Truly support different types of platforms, including mobile, desktop, and the web.	Though Flutter and Dart have strong tooling, but support for them is less ubiquitous across various IDEs and code editors.

Flutter vs React Native: A Head-to-Head Comparison in Detail

React Native and Flutter are two robust frameworks for cross-platform app development. Although there are several commonalities between these two frameworks, they also stand out from each other in many aspects. Let’s check out a detailed comparison of these cross-platform frameworks to know how they differ from each other.

Popularity

Both frameworks do well in terms of popularity, as they are among the top technologies to build mobile apps, as shown in the image below.

The above image shows the top cross-platform mobile frameworks used by developers from 2019-2023, presented by Statista. Flutter has consistently increased in position, reaching the top of this chart, and React Native follows it.

Although React Native is a well-established framework compared to Flutter, because it was launched earlier, the latter has gained a significant edge over the years. Since JavaScript is a popular programming language and fundamental to web development projects, many developers desire to work on it due to the shorter learning cycle.

Performance

Performance is another crucial factor to consider for the React Native vs Flutter dilemma. When comparing these two frameworks from a performance point of view, Flutter usually holds a distinct advantage because of its architecture. Since Flutter depends on its own render engine Skia, it draws every widget from scratch on a native canvas, thus offering smoother and more consistent UI.

On the other hand, React Native uses a bridge to convert JavaScript code to native UI components for Android and iOS. In this case, UI can lag in case of heavy animations or updates. So, based on their approach to rendering, the performance of these frameworks varies, and Flutter could be better in some cases.

Community Support

When perusing cross-platform development, community support plays a vital role in overcoming challenges and ensuring a successful project. React Native, being a mature framework compared to Flutter, offers a more vibrant community support. Besides, the JavaScript foundation is another reason for extensive support.

Flutter is constantly growing, and there is also sufficient community support for this framework. Besides, it is actively maintained by Google, and there is a robust community that helps to resolve various issues and difficulties in app development projects.

External Dependence

Flutter is usually touted as a “batteries included” cross-platform framework, which means it offers plenty of built-in widgets and libraries that are enough to build consistent UIs for iOS and Android. It can work without even depending much on third-party libraries.

On the other hand, React Native is highly dependent on third-party libraries for creating mobile apps. Developers have to repeatedly refer to third-party libraries when it comes to developing apps. Therefore, Flutter makes development speedier and smoother compared to React Native.

What is the Right Choice: React Native or Flutter?

Now that you have plenty of information about React Native and Flutter, it’s time to ponder the question: which one is better? However, there isn’t a straightforward answer to this question because both frameworks are best for developing mobile apps with excellent features and benefits.

Moreover, which one is better depends on many factors, such as project requirements and business goals. There are many cases when Flutter app development is the best option, and there are many cases when React Native app development is the right choice.

Choose React Native when:

Looking to scale your app with cross-platform functionality.

To build apps with low memory consumption, especially on Android.

Looking to build lightweight and feature-rich native apps.

Your app depends on native features such as GPS, Camera, Bluetooth, etc. React Native offers robust integration with native APIs.

Choose Flutter when:

Looking to build apps with pixel-perfect UIs and customizable designs.

Your app doesn’t require much native functionality.

Need to build and publish your app faster.

Want an app with a single codebase supported on the web and desktops with a uniform user interface.

Your app has heavy graphics and complex UI that must be handled with high performance. Flutter’s own rendering engine can handle this well.

Galaxy Weblinks Can Help You with React Native vs Flutter Dilemma

Developing the right mobile app is crucial to building your space in crowded marketplaces. Just like a unique idea is important to build an app that stands out, the underlying tech stack you choose plays an equally important role. Choosing between Flutter and React Native can be confusing.

Galaxy Weblinks can help you build a robust mobile app for your business by picking the best framework between Flutter and React Native that best aligns with your requirements and goals. Our team cautiously listens to your requirements, identifies your challenges, and recommends the best option based on scalability, performance, and time-to-market.

We help you build the right mobile app by leveraging Flutter and React Native. Our expertise in these frameworks enables us to develop top-notch apps that align with your expectations. We implement top security features, craft seamless UI/UX, and make sure your app adheres to industry standards and compliance.