Home Flutter vs Reactjs: Which One to Choose in 2022?

Flutter vs Reactjs: Which One to Choose in 2022?

The information technology vertical has been in a boom for the past couple of years. Similarly, the mobile app development industry has also gained huge popularity. Especially during the pandemic, mobile applications played a major role in human life. Consequently, mankind has become highly dependent on mobile apps and technology. Businesses leveraged the benefits and started investing in mobile app development. Thus, the mobile app market is quite big with 3.48 million android apps and 2.22 million iOS. If you also plan to start a business but are confused between Flutter and Reactjs, then read on.

In the IT sector, both ReactJS and Flutter are very popular worldwide. Flutter is created by Google and React by Facebook. The functioning of both is different from each other. Because ReactJS is a JavaScript library and Flutter is a framework. But there is one similarity between them: ReactJS and Flutter are both used for front-end development.

Among the developers’ community worldwide, Flutter is the most popular cross-platform mobile framework as 42% software developers used it in 2021. On the other hand, ReactJS is the most used web framework as 40.14% developers have used it in 2021.

If you have a business idea for your next project but you’re unaware of the best technology or framework. Or in case you’re confused about what to choose between Flutter vs Reactjs, then this blog is absolutely for you. Today we will discuss: what is Flutter and ReactJS, what is better between Flutter and ReactJS in 2022?

Before proceeding further, let’s have a deeper look at ReactJS and Flutter for a better understanding.

About Flutter

Flutter is an open-source software development kit from Google that allows developers to create cross-platform apps as well as web and mobile applications based on a single codebase for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows.

This is Google’s SDK to create attractive, fast experiences across mobile, web, and desktop, with existing code. Flutter integrates with existing code and is used by companies around the world.

Flutter facilitates the creation of elegant, fast apps using a productive, extensible, and open platform for building apps for iOS, Android, web, Windows, macOS, Linux, or embedding Flutter as a UI framework for any platform of your choice.

How Does Flutter Work?

The Flutter framework includes an engine, foundation library as well as widgets. The approach to mobile app development in Flutter is very distinctive because of its declarative UI, so developers simply need to start from the end. As a result, before starting the development process of some element, the coder/business owner needs to have a clear picture in mind of the UI requirements. Because developers can create the entire user interface by the combination of different widgets.

Flutter also allows professionals to create custom widgets. These widgets can be fused with the already existing ones later. In order to enhance the UX (user experience) developers need to enhance application capabilities. Flutter framework also provides several software packages to allow access to Firebase and Redux data warehouses.

Top Features of Flutter

Now you know that Flutter is a popular mobile app development framework. Let’s move on and discover the top features or benefits of Flutter:

  • Open-source Platform – Flutter is an open-source platform for front-end development. It allows developers to convert ideas into beautiful app creations.
  • Hot Reload – Flutter offers a hot reloading feature which means the latest changes in the code are instantly available/visible. So developers don’t need to refresh the code to check the latest changes.
  • Rich Widgets – Flutter provides rich widgets for structural elements, stylistic elements, etc. hence, developers can create an elegant and expressive UI based on the client’s business model.
  • Single Code Base – In Flutter, developers don’t have to code differently for iOS or Android apps because it provides a single code base for cross-platform app development.
  • Google Firebase Support – Flutter also offers Google firebase support, especially for backend development.
  • Rapid App Development – Using Flutter, developers can easily and quickly develop apps with robust features.
  • Expressive Interfaces – In Flutter, developers can very effectively and effortlessly create expressive interfaces.
  • Faster Debug – Flutter has great features that allow developers to do faster development and debugging.
  • Easy Learning Curve – Flutter is a very easy framework to learn thus, a developer from any background can easily learn it.
  • Community Support – Flutter has a big community of developers to support.

Popular Apps By Flutter

  • Alibaba
  • Hamilton app
  • Google Ads app
  • Reflectly
  • Topline app

About ReactJS

React is a free and open-source JavaScript library used by web developers to build user interfaces that use UI components. ReactJS is often used to build single-page web applications.

In fact, React can be used to build single-page, mobile, or server-rendered applications with frameworks such as Next.js. But React is only concerned with handling state and rendering it to the DOM. Therefore, React applications usually require a particular client-side functionality as well as additional libraries for routing.

In React, the code consists of reusable components that are located in the SRC folder and named using the Pascal Case (capitalize camelCase). With the React DOM library, components can be rendered to a specific element in the DOM. When rendering a component, its value can be passed between the components through “props”.

How Does ReactJS Work?

The best advantage of using ReactJS is that it allows developers to infuse HTML code with JavaScript. Developers can build a representation of a DOM node by declaring the Element function. It also allows developers to check the syntax of the HTML code. So instead of using the traditional DOM class, ReactJS uses className.JSX tags for a name, children, and attributes.

In ReactJS, the numeric values, as well as expressions, must be written inside brackets{}. The “quotation marks” in JSX attributes represent strings. In most use cases, ReactJS is written using JSX unlike standard JavaScript to simplify components and keep the code clean. The ReactJS application generally has only a single root DOM node. It renders an element into the DOM and changes the UI of the page.

Top Features of ReactJS

In front-end development, ReactJS is a very popular library widely used by developers for robust development. Have a look at the top features ReactJS renders to the developers: –

  • Virtual DOM – React offers virtual DOM and it helps to speed up the development process along with the flexibility to code.
  • JavaScript XML or JSX – XML makes the syntax like HTML to create React components. JSX makes it super easy to write the building blocks.
  • React Native – This feature transforms React code to render it compatible with iOS or Android platforms.
  • One-Way Data Binding – It controls data flow and makes it more flexible and effective. Thus, it forces developers to use the callback feature to edit components and prevents them from editing them directly.
  • Declarative UI – This makes React code more readable and easier to fix bugs.
  • Component-Based Architecture – ReactJS is made up of several components, with each of them having its particular logic, written in JS. Therefore, developers can relay the data across the app without the DOM being impacted.
  • Boosts Developer Productivity – ReactJS helps to boost productivity because of its incredible features like reusing components.
  • Developer Toolkit – It offers a great toolkit for developers to build robust solutions.

Popular Apps By React

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Facebook Ads Manager
  • Wix.com
  • Tesla

Flutter vs Reactjs – What is Better to Choose?

Although both ReactJS and Flutter are great for excellent UI development and designing still it highly depends on the requirements and usage. Both React and Flutter come with a lot of similarities such as building cross-platform apps using one codebase, hot reloading, excellent UI, awesome tooling, and React features. But, they do have their differences.

To choose the best among ReactJS and Flutter, there are three main points to consider. These points will help you better understand both and you can make a good decision.

What is Better Among ReactJS vs Flutter?

  • Programming Language
  • Technical Architecture
  • UI Components & APIs Development

Now, let’s move ahead and understand these points in detail for a better and deep understanding of these frameworks. Let’s begin!

  • Programming Language

The developer is able to write a single code for iOS and Android devices using the cross-platform application technology ReactJS. But JavaScript is used as a coding language in this process.

ReactJS is a JavaScript library that uses JavaScript to develop user interfaces. JavaScript is a dynamically typed language and allows developers to do many things with it, but it is also very annoying. As JavaScript is a commonly used language, learning it does not require much time and effort. This makes mastering and incorporating ReactJS easier for developers.

The Flutter programming language, on the other hand, is based on the Dart language, which was first released by Google in 2011. Dart is a combination of JavaScript as well as Java. The language is easier to learn if you have some experience with JS, C#, and other object-oriented programming languages.

Due to its expressiveness, Flutter has quickly proven itself to be a popular creation by cross-platform mobile app developers. Because JavaScript has been around for so long and has been widely used by web developers, it’s easy to implement ReactJS. Dart has a wide range of capabilities but is little used and less known.

  • Technical Architecture

It is important to understand the technical architecture of two different technologies when comparing them. ReactJS uses JavaScript bridge, a runtime environment that allows for communication with native modules.

ReactJS compiles JS code into native code during runtime using Facebook’s Flux technology. In some circumstances, the requirement for connecting native modules with JavaScript code during runtime can cause the app to slow down. But the performance of frameworks is usually satisfactory.

However, the framework’s performance is usually satisfactory. In fact, most of the essential components are already built into Flutter. For that reason, you don’t need a bridge, as Flutter already uses frameworks like Material Design and Cupertino in addition to the Skia C++ engine.

Compared to ReactJS, apps built on Flutter are more stable since Flutter provides all required channels and protocols. The availability of a variety of features typically removes the need for developers to use other technologies.

  • UI Components & APIs Development

Developing cross-platform apps requires support for native components. Without this support, your app will not feel native. The framework must provide access to native modules without any discomfort, as access to native modules is vital when developing cross-platform apps.

In addition to ReactJS and React Native, ReactJS is able to create a Native environment with JS Bridge. But ReactJS needs third-party libraries to access native modules, which leads to unpredictable behavior in apps.

With Flutter you can render UI components with ease while navigating, accessing device APIs, managing state, and using many libraries — eliminating the need for third-party libraries. It provides widgets for Material Design & Cupertino so developers can render UI with ease. Thus, Flutter is rich in development APIs and UI components. But ReactJS also has a lot of dependence on third-party libraries.

Conclusion

The mobile app development industry is growing rapidly at a high pace day by day. Thus, it is a great opportunity for those who want to start their own venture. Because digitization has dramatically boosted the mobile app development sector. Moreover, people are positively accepting and promoting the trend because mobiles have made human life easier.

But most businesses often face a dilemma about which framework or technology to choose for the best mobile app development to obtain the best outcomes. Presently, the top choice framework and libraries in the mobile app development vertical are Flutter and ReactJS. Here you find the business app ideas for starting a new business.

Flutter and React, both are robust when used correctly based on the needs of a project. Still, in case you are in a dilemma, then don’t forget to consider this blog in order to compare the pros and cons of Reactjs and Flutter. Or in case you have a business idea or project related to these technologies, then connect with BootesNull for excellent outcomes.

Image Credit: Provided by the author; Thank you!

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Sahil Sachdeva
Digital Marketing Strategist

Sahil Sachdeva is a digital marketing strategist at BootesNull, a well-known Software, Mobile App, and web development company based in India. He shares content that further solves consumers' concerns, briefs about the concept, and upscales the business. He is also the founder of the content collaboration platform Digi Bharata. Drop a message to him on social media.

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