Flutter vs. React Native vs. Ionic — the best tool for cross-platform applications.

5 min readSep 30, 2021

Today, millions of users are using smartphones from different platforms such as Android or iOS. Once you decide to create an app for these smartphones, you will need some specific frameworks. Smartphones usually work on different platforms, and if you want to build apps for those platforms, you can look for tools that support multiple platforms. Many options are available, and choosing a suitable tool will help you create a better app than the rest.

Flutter, React Native, or Ionic are the most widely used frameworks, which will surely help you create a cross-platform application. But, the question is how you will choose the right one among them? How can you make a clear decision and decide whether the tool you will use for application development? To help you with this decision, we will compare these frames, and based on the comparison; you will be able to choose the proper structure for yourself.

Flutter

Flutter is an open-source Google mobile UI framework that has shown the right way for developers to build mobile apps for iOS and Android. The creation of applications and interfaces has been made possible by using a single code base that is compiled directly into native arm code, which makes it easy to access APIs and platform services. Flutter allows the developer to build their mobile app in no time and also uses the Stateful Hot Reload feature, enabling developers to modify the app’s code without losing its state. Flutter is also integrated with a rich set of customizable widgets and allows the framework to integrate with some popular tools. It means you can quickly get started with the editor or IDE you already know.

Flutter also allows you to have complete control over every pixel on the screen by moving widgets or adding gestures, animations, or rendering to the frame, giving you the ability to create custom designs. The Flutter framework also allows you to add platform conventions and interface details like navigation, icons, fonts, scrolling, and more. This framework is also ideal for beginners and experienced Flutter developers.

React Native

React Native is a JavaScript framework for native authoring Mobile apps for iOS and Android. It is based on Facebook’s JavaScript library and allows users to create user interfaces for mobile platforms instead of targeting browsers. In other words, it just allows the web developer to write codes using the JavaScript library and create Mobile applications it looks native. Furthermore, since most of the code can be shared between different platforms, React Native makes it easy to develop a mobile app for iOS and Android at the same time.

So, apps built using React Native are usually written in a mix of JavaScript and XML markup languages called JSX. React Native makes native APIs in Objective-C for iOS and Java for Android. Using React Native won’t give you the feel of web views, but native apps will make you look similar to others. Mobile applications. The app, built with React Native, can access platform functionality like the camera or phone location. It is possible because React Native also exposes JavaScript interfaces for platform APIs. Currently, it supports both Android and iOS platforms and still can expand its capacity with future platforms.

Ionic

Ionic is an open source and developer-friendly framework that allows the user to build multiple platforms Mobile applications. Ionic has a different approach to the development of the mobile app compared to the other two. Ionic is a framework with which you can build hybrid mobile apps for multiple platforms like iOS, Android, or Windows using mobile-friendly HTML, CSS, and JavaScript languages. The main focus of the Ionic framework is focused on the look, feel, and interaction of the user interface of a mobile application. It includes user interface components and a rich library of front-end building blocks that allow the user to create and develop beautiful design, powerful, and progressive mobile applications using scripting languages such as JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

It’s easy to build an app using web technologies that can later be featured in native app stores for cross-platform devices. To host the functionalities of operating systems such as camera, location or audio, etc., Ionic uses Cordova plugins which provide access to these functionalities. In addition, using the Angular package in Ionic will help the user provide components and methods for interacting with these features like navigation or scrolling. Thus, ionic is relatively easy for users who are already familiar with web development.

Choose the right framework.

Reusable code

How these frameworks can help you reuse your written code. Do they have the reuse feature that can make your job easier?

Flutter: Flutter makes sure to reuse the written code. If you want to change the style of your specific rig, Flutter may be the right option to choose for reuse.
React Native also allows users to reuse code, but it only provides essential components to start restyling. It would take more work to get the styles appropriate for different platforms.
Ionic: The concept of web application offers excellent reuse to the user. It has a great library of adaptive components that help users reuse their code for restyling and the underlying platforms.

Third-party libraries

Are there any third-party libraries that you can use to add specific functionality that your app needs? Or any other external plugin that you can integrate into your framework to perform a particular function

Flutter: Although Flutter is new in mobile app development, it is still trending. There are various third-party packages available, and you can find a lot of threads regarding this framework.
React Native: React Native is famous and has more third-party packages that will help you add missing features to your mobile app.
Ionic: It also includes various third-party packages, but they might not compete with the usability React Native can offer.

Popularity and coverage

How many developers use and recommend these frameworks in an industry?

Flutter: Flutter has 30 Github stars and is getting significantly trending now. As Google builds it, he wants to make this framework known to all developers.
React Native: React Native has 65 Github stars and is currently more popular than the two frameworks. It uses significant web development JavaScript language with the React library, which makes it more widespread.
Ionic: Ionic has a slight edge over Flutter in popularity as he has 35 Github stars. It is also popular among web developers as it provides the ability to build a mobile application using web technologies.

Rich Community — Does the framework have good online support?

Flutter: While Flutter is new, plenty of tutorials and guides are available online to help you get started and grow your first mobile app.
React Native: React Native has a rich community and online support. Many skilled developers are experts in JavaScript language capable of providing solutions to any problem you are looking for.
Ionic: If you are a web developer and want to build a mobile app using a stand and guide, Ionic may be the right tool to start with.

Make sure the platform you choose meets your needs. Then, if you’re still confused or need help with your app development, get in touch.