Flutter vs React Native: Complete Comparison Guide
Compare Flutter and React Native on performance, developer experience, UI components, and platform support. Discover which cross-platform framework fits your needs.
Flutter
An open-source UI toolkit by Google for building natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase. Flutter uses Dart as its programming language and its own rendering engine (Skia/Impeller) for consistent pixel-perfect UI across all platforms.
React Native
An open-source framework by Meta for building native mobile apps using React and JavaScript or TypeScript. React Native uses native UI components from the platform and provides a bridge architecture connecting JavaScript with native modules.
Comparison table
| Feature | Flutter | React Native |
|---|---|---|
| Programming language | Dart — modern but smaller ecosystem | JavaScript/TypeScript — massive ecosystem and widely known language |
| Rendering | Own engine (Impeller) — consistent UI across all platforms | Native components — platform-specific look & feel |
| Performance | Excellent — native compilation without bridge overhead | Very good — New Architecture with JSI eliminates bridge bottleneck |
| Hot Reload | Stateful hot reload — preserves app state during development | Fast Refresh — comparable hot reload experience |
| Platform support | iOS, Android, Web, Windows, macOS, Linux | iOS, Android, Web (via React Native Web) |
| UI components | Material and Cupertino widgets — pixel-perfect but not native | Native platform components — feels native on each platform |
Verdict
Flutter and React Native are both excellent choices for cross-platform mobile development in 2026. Flutter excels in consistent UI, broader platform support, and excellent performance through native compilation. React Native scores better on native platform feel, the vast JavaScript ecosystem, and the ability to share code with React web applications. The choice depends on team expertise and priorities. Does your team have React experience? Then React Native is the logical step. Do you want one codebase for mobile, web, and desktop? Then Flutter offers more possibilities.
Our recommendation
At MG Software, we choose React Native when clients need mobile apps, due to its seamless integration with our React and TypeScript ecosystem. Code sharing between our Next.js web applications and React Native apps saves significant development time. With React Native's New Architecture, the performance limitations of the past have been resolved. For projects that also require desktop applications or where a fully custom UI is essential, we recommend Flutter as a powerful alternative.
Frequently asked questions
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