We all have to accept the fact that the world is revolutionizing towards digitalization. Smartphones have become an essential part of everyday life. More than half of the world’s people are using smartphones, which has led to increasing in mobile app development to a great extent. Many app developers wish to build applications for Android or Ios, while some of them want to develop for both markets.

The software development sector is showing drastic changes in the ever-evolving technology. The mobile app revenue is estimated to generate more than 935 billion US dollars in paid app downloads and advertisement. As a result, the world is being taken over by new technology stacks with increasing rivalry.

On the other side, cross-platform development is the rise, as it allows running apps on multiple platforms whether Ios or Android. It enables enterprises to access a larger number of clients and earn more money. Three cross-platform development kits (SDKs) have arisen as new competitors: Flutter, React Native, and Kotlin. Even though there are so many options on the list, choosing the best one is difficult. Despite the fact that there are so many possibilities on the list, selecting the best one is challenging. Although there are so many options on the list, it is difficult to choose the right one.

However, going to the right one is totally in the hand of the app developer. But, if you are struggling to choose the right between React Native, Flutter, and Kotlin; we have prepared a detailed comparison that will help you make the correct choice.

Before, going ahead; we have listed some of the factors to consider when choosing a platform for mobile app development below:

• User Interface.
• Market
• Community
• Supported Platforms.
• Language Stack.
• Price

What is Flutter?

Flutter, a Google app framework, offers an open-source UI software development kit for building applications across several platforms. It was released in 2017 and is driven by the Dart programming language. Flutter enables developers to create appealing and speedy native-like cross-platform applications from a single code base. It has a quick and consistent development cycle, allowing developers to make modifications in real-time.

Flutter app development is also used to build MacOS and is now being tested web apps. The Dart language it uses allows asynchronous programming using the Flutter Future class. It in turn ensures improved application performance and responsiveness.

Who uses Flutter?

The tech stacks companies that use Flutter, are as below:

·    BMW.

·    eBay.

·    Square.

·    Groupon.

·    Capital One.

Pros- Usage of Flutter

There are many advantages that make Flutter app development stand out ahead of the competition. Let us go develop them in further depth.

Simple to use

When Dart and Flutter are combined, the code becomes simple to use and quick to master. Whether the developer has previously used Swift, React Native, or Java, the current framework of Flutter will be noticeable. It only takes 30 minutes for a quick and straightforward installation, after which you can begin developing your Flutter application.

Output in real-time

Flutter includes a feature called Hot Reload, which allows you to alter code and see the changes in real-time. It allows us to make changes in the back end and observes the entire front end by decreasing the need to reload the entire app frequently. Hot Reload saves the valuable compilation time of development. The native development doesn’t provide this feature and makes the cross-platform more beneficial.

Increasing fame

Flutter is an open-source framework that allows heavy customization, and its widely adopted by developers. For its cross-platform development solutions, it was ranked first on GitHub. It is on the fast track to becoming the most used language by developers for mobile app development.

Cons- Usage of Flutter

As everything has advantages along with disadvantages, Flutter app development to has! We have discussed important disadvantages to your notice below

Not much adopted

As much as Flutter is popular for its framework, it has fewer resources to educate developers because Dart is less popular than Kotlin, Java, JavaScript, C#, and C. There are merely less than 500 courses on Udemy that teach twice as much as Kotlin. This is lead to a slow hiring process.

Largest App Sizes

The apps that are built using Flutter are big in size, which makes it hard for developers to build an app that takes less space on Ios and Android devices. Usually, users do not want to delete their favorite songs or videos to download an app and for it, Flutter has a downside. Nevertheless, the team is working on its Google app framework and will solve the problem soon.

Shortage of Plugin

Flutter has a shortage of plugins when it comes in comparison to more experienced and used languages like React Native. Additionally, you won't be able to find any plugin that gives more advanced functions, rather; developers have to create on their own.

What is React Native?

React-Native is an open-source, cross-platform mobile development framework based on JavaScript. It was introduced by Facebook in 2015. (Meta). It uses native components for an API that give a native-like feeling with excellent performance and stability.

React Native app development takes place for web and desktop apps, along with mobile apps. Developers construct the necessary foundations for cross-platform programs, which include widgets, documentation, libraries, and a variety of additional tools.

Who uses React Native?

The name of popular brands using React Native app development is as below:

• UberEats
• Skype
• Tesla
• Discord
• Coinbase
• Instagram
• Salesforce
• Gyroscope

Pros- Usage of React Native

Some of the outstanding features like third-party plugins and modular architecture make React Native a standout option. Additional advantages are listed below:

Live Tracking

React Native to come with a Hot Reload feature just like Flutter. After implementing the code that allows an automatic refresh of the application and interface, programmers can monitor real-time changes.

Third-party plugin

React Native stands superior amongst many other languages, as it allows the utilization of third-party plugins. Developers employ plugins to provide a high level of flexibility, functionality, and customization.

High performance

Cross-platform and high performance are one of the undefined benefits of React Native. To create goods for both Android and iOS, a single team will be required. Concurrently, the infrastructure and features are being created. Furthermore, the framework displays problems as they occur, provides pre-built components, reduces debugging time, and allows for 90% code reusability, which improves performance and reduces development time.

Cons- Usage of React Native

Alas, React Native app development too comes with some limitations.

Not good for Native solutions

React Native is working hard to compete with native programming languages. Yet, the performance gap is still inevitable. That primarily occurs because the JavaScript and UI code components are separated into separate threads. Developers use the React Native bridge to communicate across shadow threads. The React Native bridge affects the application, even if the code works faultlessly with different threads, yet affects workflow.

Difficulty in debugging

Many problems occur frequently with React Native. Amongst them is the debugging issue for building applications on separate threads. Due to this, the programmers have to integrate into a special framework for handling the challenges of debugging.

What is Kotlin?

It is an open-source, statically typed programming language that was created to work in tandem with Java. Kotlin is a standalone language that works well with Java, but in conjunction with older languages. Because it is a crucial component of an Android app, it is used by 60% of professional Android developers. Moreover, Kotlin is the 12th most popular programming language across the world, ranked by PYPL. Moreover, Android enables developers to share code, logic, and data across platforms like iOS, Web, and others.

Who uses Kotlin?

The tycoons that use Kotlin are:

• Slack
• Evernote
• Tinder
• Trello
• Netflix
• Airbnb
• Pinterest

Pros- Usage of Kotlin

Some astonishing benefits of using Kotlin are as follows:

Interoperability with Java

It can easily convert pre-existing Java code, and can access any Java libraries. There are thousands of code lines in Kotlin, but it easily converts them one by one without affecting the codebase during the application development process. This benefit makes Kotlin valuable and allows developers to jump from Flutter or React Native to Kotlin.

Clear code

The forthright syntax of Kotlin allows for clearer and strong codes. Due to this, the developers get fewer lines of code as compared to other programming languages. The less time-consuming codes provide greater reliability, simplicity, and enhancement of the application development process, allowing the development team to be more efficient and result-oriented.

Safe and reliable

While developing code, the frequency of errors is reduced. Kotlin doubles developers’ confidence in spotting bugs and fixing them easily with its easy-to-read codebase. It has special functionality called Require, Check, and Assert. The creators of Kotlin make it like an upgraded version of Java, which makes it stand out in the Flutter Vs. React Native Vs. Kotlin race.

Cons- Usage of Kotlin

“When every star shines in darkness, we also have to take in the view to the darker side of it”! The following are the disadvantages of Kotlin:

Limited Developers

Even being it released 10 years ago, Kotlin is less known in the market. As it seems to be a new programming language in the market, finding a skilled Kotlin developer is a challenging job. However, Kotlin has still gained attraction amongst developers and is expected to bloom in the IT world.

Higher maintenance cost

The SDKs features of Kotlin are not at all fully native, which means; the cost of developing a mobile application is beyond expectations. When developing prototypes and minimal viable products, it is unavoidably an expensive programming language (MVP).

Compilation time is lengthy.

Kotlin compiles at a slower rate. Yes, it does normal work while incrementing changes, but not as quickly and modern as Flutter.

The Final Verdict- Flutter Vs. React Native Vs. Kotlin

Choosing the correct framework depends on the project requirements and the developer’s expertise. However, Flutter is considered best for creating appealing apps faster, while React Native is a great choice for older programmers who are proficient with React and Kotlin; being a small community follower leads due to its interchangeability with Java.

Flutter and React Native work well for businesses who are looking to get apps faster and simpler, while; Kotlin is the best go if the businesses are looking for larger apps with complex apps and don’t care about the budget.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, each framework has a lot to offer if chosen. Simultaneously, they have their limitations too. If you still want to figure out which one would work well and have your requirements ready on hand with you, it's advisable to consult a Custom application development service provider that gives you a final call as per your needs.