The Cross-Platform Dilemma
Building separate iOS and Android apps doubles your cost and timeline. Cross-platform frameworks solve this by letting you write once and deploy everywhere. But which framework should you choose?
We've shipped apps with both React Native and Flutter. Here's our honest take.
React Native: The JavaScript Advantage
Pros:
- Write in JavaScript/TypeScript — the world's most popular language
- Massive ecosystem of libraries and packages
- Hot reloading for instant development feedback
- Share code with your Next.js web app (up to 70%)
- Easier to find developers in India
Cons:
- Bridge architecture can be a bottleneck for heavy animations
- Some native APIs require custom native modules
- Larger app size compared to Flutter
Flutter: The Performance Champion
Pros:
- Exceptional performance with Skia rendering engine
- Beautiful built-in Material/Cupertino widgets
- Hot reload is incredibly fast
- Single codebase for mobile, web, and desktop
- Google's strong backing and regular updates
Cons:
- Dart language has a smaller community than JavaScript
- Fewer third-party packages than React Native
- Larger initial app download size
- Finding experienced Flutter developers costs more in India
Performance Comparison
| Metric | React Native | Flutter |
|---|---|---|
| Startup time | 1.8s | 1.2s |
| Frame rate (complex UI) | 55-60fps | 58-60fps |
| App size (base) | 8-12MB | 5-8MB |
| Animation smoothness | Good | Excellent |
| Native API access | Via bridge | Via channels |
Our Recommendation
Choose React Native if:
- Your team already knows JavaScript/TypeScript
- You have a Next.js website to share code with
- Budget is a primary concern (cheaper developers)
- You need lots of third-party integrations
Choose Flutter if:
- UI/animation quality is your top priority
- You're building a design-heavy consumer app
- You want faster raw performance
- You plan to expand to desktop later
At NexCraft, We Use React Native
For most business apps, React Native is the practical choice. It lets us share code between your website and app, find talent easily, and deliver faster. Our app development packages start at ₹50,000.