📌 Introduction

I have developed a sample app with both Flutter and React Native using three screens — Login, Home (with a chart), and Profile — to analyze both frameworks from a hands-on perspective. The focus was on performance, architecture, UI development, ecosystem, and developer experience to find the better fit for your project needs.

💻 Development Experience

  • Flutter uses Dart and a widget-tree architecture. It had smoother setup and better UI control.
  • React Native uses JavaScript/TypeScript and a component-based structure. It had easier project structuring but faced setup and dependency challenges.
  • Hot reload and live updates were supported by both, with React Native's Fast Refresh standing out.

Verdict: Flutter was better for UI development and setup; React Native made structuring simpler.

🚀 Performance

  • Flutter uses the Skia engine and compiles to native code, offering better runtime performance and smaller app sizes.
  • React Native relies on a JavaScript bridge, which adds latency and makes performance depend on third-party libraries.

Verdict: Flutter performed better, especially for graphics-intensive apps.

🎨 UI/UX Capabilities

  • Flutter provides consistent UI across platforms using custom widgets, with strong built-in animation and UI tools.
  • React Native uses native components, which gives a native look but relies heavily on third-party libraries for customization and animations.

Verdict: Flutter is better for consistent cross-platform UIs with rich visuals and less external dependency.

📱 Platform Support & Integration

  • Flutter supports iOS, Android, Web, and Desktop out-of-the-box.
  • React Native is primarily focused on mobile platforms but has a vast ecosystem for native integrations.

Verdict: Flutter offers broader platform coverage; React Native is better supported in the mobile-native plugin ecosystem.

🔧 Scalability & Maintainability

  • Flutter has a more structured system, fewer dependencies, and easier maintenance.
  • React Native is flexible but requires careful version control and dependency management.

Verdict: Flutter wins on maintainability, but React Native offers more integration flexibility.

✅ Conclusion

Flutter excelled in UI consistency, built-in features, animation handling, and maintenance. Though asset configuration was manual, the experience was smoother overall.

React Native offered a simpler file structure and better native integration support but came with performance trade-offs and heavier dependency management.