Performance comparison

Flutter compiles to native ARM code using Dart's ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation, resulting in performance close to native apps. Flutter handles its own rendering using Skia graphics engine, ensuring consistent 60fps performance on most devices.

React Native uses JavaScript and bridges to native components, which can introduce performance overhead, especially for computationally intensive operations. However, React Native's performance has improved significantly with the new architecture (Fabric renderer, TurboModules) rolled out in recent versions.

Winner: Flutter has a slight edge for performance-critical apps, but React Native's new architecture has narrowed the gap considerably.

Development speed & productivity

Both frameworks offer hot reload for rapid iteration. Flutter's hot reload is slightly faster and more reliable in my experience. Flutter's widget-based architecture and comprehensive widget library (Material, Cupertino) allow rapid UI development.

React Native benefits from the massive JavaScript/React ecosystem, making it easier to find developers and reuse web development knowledge. If your team already knows React, React Native has a shorter learning curve.

Winner: Tie. Flutter for teams starting fresh, React Native for teams with existing React expertise.

Ecosystem & packages

React Native has a more mature ecosystem with more third-party packages available via npm. However, package quality varies, and some packages are outdated or poorly maintained.

Flutter's package ecosystem (pub.dev) is growing rapidly and generally has higher quality standards. Flutter's first-party packages are well-maintained by Google. However, you may occasionally encounter missing packages for niche use cases.

Winner: React Native for ecosystem size, Flutter for package quality and consistency.

UI & design

Flutter excels at custom UI design. Its widget system provides pixel-perfect control and makes it easy to create beautiful, branded interfaces. Flutter's built-in Material and Cupertino widgets look native on both platforms.

React Native uses actual native components, which means your app automatically adopts the platform's native look and feel. However, creating custom designs can be more challenging and may require platform-specific code.

Winner: Flutter for custom designs and consistent cross-platform UI, React Native for apps requiring native platform aesthetics.

Learning curve

React Native has an advantage if your team knows JavaScript and React. The concepts transfer directly. However, you'll need to learn React Native-specific APIs and native modules.

Flutter requires learning Dart, which is easy for developers familiar with Java, C#, or TypeScript. Flutter's widget architecture is different from HTML/CSS but becomes intuitive quickly. Flutter's excellent documentation and DartPad make learning easier.

Winner: React Native for JavaScript developers, Flutter for developers coming from native mobile or OOP backgrounds.

Team & hiring

JavaScript developers significantly outnumber Dart developers, making it easier to hire for React Native projects. However, Flutter's popularity has been growing rapidly, and the developer pool is expanding.

Winner: React Native for easier hiring, though the gap is closing.

When to choose Flutter

Choose Flutter if: You need consistent UI across platforms, you're building a performance-critical app (games, animations, fintech), you want faster time-to-market, you're starting a new project without existing React expertise, or you value high-quality official documentation and tooling.

When to choose React Native

Choose React Native if: Your team already has React/JavaScript expertise, you need platform-specific native look and feel, you want to share code with a React web app, you need access to the massive npm ecosystem, or hiring developers is a primary concern.