--- title: "Flutter vs React Native: Startup App Advice" description: Flutter vs React Native? Choose React Native for JavaScript and React ecosystem. Choose Flutter for high performance and Dart. Both work for Startups. image: https://shoutex.com/hubfs/Flutter%20vs%20React%20Native%20-%20what%20to%20use%20as%20a%20Startup.jpg --- [Skip to Content](https://old.shoutex.com/blog/flutter-vs-react-native-startup-app-advice#body) [![shoutex-logo-digital-marketing](https://shoutex.com/hubfs/shoutex-logo-digital-marketing.png "shoutex-logo-digital-marketing")](https://old.shoutex.com/) Toggle Menu - [Work](https://old.shoutex.com/work) - [Clients](https://old.shoutex.com/clients) - [About](https://old.shoutex.com/about) [Back to blog](https://old.shoutex.com/blog) # Flutter vs React Native: Startup App Advice [mailto:?subject=Flutter%20vs%20React%20Native%3A%20Startup%20App%20Advice&body=https%3A%2F%2Fold.shoutex.com%2Fblog%2Fflutter-vs-react-native-startup-app-advice](mailto:?subject=Flutter%20vs%20React%20Native%3A%20Startup%20App%20Advice&body=https%3A%2F%2Fold.shoutex.com%2Fblog%2Fflutter-vs-react-native-startup-app-advice) ![Flutter vs React Native for Startups](https://shoutex.com/hubfs/Flutter%20vs%20React%20Native%20-%20what%20to%20use%20as%20a%20Startup.jpg) When it comes to building cross-platform mobile apps, two giants stand out: [Flutter](https://flutter.dev/) by Google and [React Native](https://reactnative.dev/) by Meta Platforms. Both aim to allow developers to create apps for iOS, Android, and the web from a single codebase, but they achieve this in different ways. In this post, we’ll compare their features, tooling, developer experience, performance, and more to help you decide which framework is [best for your next project](https://old.shoutex.com/work/mvp). So lets dive into a Flutter vs React Native showdown: #### Programming Languages behind Flutter vs React Native - **React Native:** React Native uses [JavaScript with React](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Tools_and_testing/Client-side_JavaScript_frameworks/React_getting_started) as a required UI library. If you're already familiar with JavaScript, you'll find it easy to pick up. It also supports TypeScript, which adds a type system to JavaScript. - **Flutter:** [Flutter uses Dart](https://medium.com/@mridulpaul2000/article-2-flutters-dart-language-a-perfect-match-for-modern-app-development-b2bb11e7f30f), a language optimized for compiling to multiple platforms with ahead-of-time and just-in-time compilation, offering performance advantages. While Dart is not as widely known as JavaScript, it has a syntax that resembles TypeScript, making it approachable for developers familiar with curly brace languages. React Native: Uses JavaScript and React, easy for JavaScript developers, supports TypeScript. Flutter: Uses Dart, optimized for performance, approachable syntax similar to TypeScript. #### Ecosystem and Philosophy of Flutter vs React Native - **React Native:** React Native follows a [minimalistic design](https://old.shoutex.com/work/ux), providing basic components and relying heavily on the open-source community for additional features. This approach requires incorporating numerous third-party dependencies for a complete project. - **Flutter:** Flutter comes with a comprehensive widget library and maintains many commonly used plugins, such as those for accessing a device's native camera. Dart’s package manager, Pub, supports a vast ecosystem of open-source packages. React Native: Minimalistic design with basic components, relying on third-party dependencies. Flutter: Comprehensive widget library, includes common plugins, and Dart’s Pub supports a vast open-source package ecosystem. #### Architecture differences between Flutter vs React Native - **React Native:** It runs two separate JavaScript threads: one for the app’s business logic and one for the native platform, communicating via a bridge. This setup ensures that React Native renders truly native components. - **Flutter:** Flutter uses a high-performance rendering engine built with C++ and [Skia](https://skia.org/), rendering custom pixels to the screen, akin to a game engine. This approach allows for smooth graphics without needing a bridge, although it uses platform channels for native system communication. Flutter uses a C++ and Skia-based rendering engine for smooth graphics, bypassing a bridge. React Native runs separate JavaScript threads for logic and native components, communicating via a bridge. #### The Flutter vs React Native Developer Experience **Setup and Configuration:** - **React Native:** To start a React Native project, you run `npx react-native init`. The project structure includes numerous config files like Metro, Watchman, Buck, and Babel. The main app code resides in `App.js`. - **Flutter:** After installing the Flutter SDK, you create a project with `flutter create`. The setup is quicker and simpler, with the main config in `pubspec.yaml` and the app source code in `main.dart`. **Tooling:** - **React Native:** You serve the app locally using an Android emulator, running commands like `npm start` and `npm run android`. Hot reloading is supported but setting up the environment can involve several steps and third-party tools. - **Flutter:** Flutter’s tooling is integrated with VS Code, making it easy to grab an emulator and run the app with `flutter run`. Dart’s sound type system enhances code reliability, providing comprehensive documentation and reducing runtime errors. **UI Development:** - **React Native:** Uses a tree of components or widgets in JSX. State changes automatically re-render the [UI](https://old.shoutex.com/blog/how-to-design-your-first-mobile-app-a-beginners-guide-to-ui). The process is intuitive, especially for web developers. - **Flutter:** Uses a tree of widgets in Dart, with a build method returning the UI tree. While it offers powerful tooling for widget management, deeply nested widget trees can be hard to manage. React Native: JSX components auto re-render with state changes, intuitive for web developers. Flutter: Dart widgets, build method for UI, powerful tools but managing nested trees can be complex. #### Performance between Flutter vs React Native Flutter generally performs better than React Native, as it compiles directly to machine code and doesn't require a JavaScript bridge. This results in smoother performance, closer to native apps. However, for most apps, the performance difference might be negligible to the end user. #### Flutter vs React Native the Final Word Both Flutter and React Native have their strengths and weaknesses. Your choice depends on your specific needs and preferences: - **Use React Native** if you’re already comfortable with JavaScript and want to leverage the vast ecosystem of React. - **Use Flutter** if you need high-performance rendering and are open to learning Dart for its robust tooling and integrated widget library. Ultimately, both frameworks can help you build excellent cross-platform mobile apps. The best choice is the one that aligns with your development style and project requirements. Startup Tech ## Need Development Advice for your Startup? 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