React Native vs Flutter in 2025: A Practical, Developer-Focused Guide

Why this guide

You build mobile apps and need a concrete 2025 view on React Native (RN) vs Flutter. This guide is practical, code-first, and tuned for React Native developers evaluating Flutter.

Summary at a glance

Bottom line: Choose RN if you want native look, JS/TS skills reuse, and tight platform interop. Choose Flutter if you value consistent performance, custom UI, and a single toolkit across targets.

Minimal working examples

React Native (TypeScript, Fabric-ready)

// App.tsx
import React from 'react';
import {SafeAreaView, Text, Pressable, StyleSheet} from 'react-native';

export default function App() {
  const [count, setCount] = React.useState(0);
  return (
    <SafeAreaView style={styles.container}>
      <Text style={styles.title}>RN Counter</Text>
      <Text testID="count">{count}</Text>
      <Pressable accessibilityRole="button" onPress={() => setCount(c => c + 1)}>
        <Text style={styles.button}>Increment</Text>
      </Pressable>
    </SafeAreaView>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {flex: 1, alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'center'},
  title: {fontSize: 20, marginBottom: 12},
  button: {padding: 8, color: '#0a7', fontWeight: '600'},
});

Flutter (Dart)

// lib/main.dart
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

void main() => runApp(const MyApp());

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const MyApp({super.key});
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      home: const CounterPage(),
      debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false,
    );
  }
}

class CounterPage extends StatefulWidget {
  const CounterPage({super.key});
  @override
  State<CounterPage> createState() => _CounterPageState();
}

class _CounterPageState extends State<CounterPage> {
  int _count = 0;
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('Flutter Counter')),
      body: Center(child: Text('$_count', style: const TextStyle(fontSize: 24))),
      floatingActionButton: FloatingActionButton(
        onPressed: () => setState(() => _count++),
        child: const Icon(Icons.add),
      ),
    );
  }
}

Quickstart

React Native

1. Install prerequisites: Node LTS, Java 17 (Android), Xcode (iOS).
2. Create app (bare):

   npx react-native@latest init RnApp --template react-native-template-typescript
   cd RnApp
   npx react-native start
   

3. Run platform:

   npx react-native run-ios
   npx react-native run-android
   

4. Optional (Expo):

   npx create-expo-app ExpoRnApp -t expo-template-blank-typescript
   cd ExpoRnApp && npx expo start
   

Flutter

1. Install Flutter SDK and platform toolchains.
2. Create app:

   flutter create flutter_app
   cd flutter_app
   flutter run
   

3. Hot reload: save file; use r/R in terminal for reload/restart.

Performance in 2025

• Startup time:
  • RN: Hermes bytecode precompilation and Fabric reduce startup costs; keep JS bundle lean.
  • Flutter: AOT-compiled Dart; predictable startup, larger base size.
• Rendering:
  • RN: Native UI threads; Fabric improves sync with JS runtime; 120 Hz support depends on platform widget support.
  • Flutter: Impeller engine reduces jank on iOS/Android; excellent 120 Hz handling.
• Animations:
  • RN Reanimated/Animated with Layout/JSI deliver smooth 60–120 fps when offloaded to native/Worklets.
  • Flutter: Built-in animation framework is highly consistent and performant.
• Memory/CPU:
  • RN: JS heap + native; monitor with Flipper. Avoid large object graphs and unnecessary re-renders.
  • Flutter: Single engine + widget tree; watch widget rebuilds and image cache.

Interop and native APIs

• React Native
  • TurboModules and JSI offer low-overhead native bindings.
  • Easy reuse of existing native SDKs via minimal wrappers.
  • Ideal when you need niche device APIs or to embed RN into existing native apps.
• Flutter
  • Platform Channels and FFI for native/host interop.
  • Consistent, but requires boilerplate when bridging complex streams or high-frequency calls.

UI development experience

• RN
  • Uses platform-native components by default; matches platform look automatically.
  • Styling with Flexbox; many devs reuse web/React patterns.
• Flutter
  • Everything is a widget; Material/Cupertino ready-to-use.
  • Full control over pixels; custom UI is often faster to implement.

Ecosystem, packages, and tooling

• RN
  • Leverage NPM/TypeScript, Metro, Jest, ESLint, and community libraries.
  • Expo accelerates delivery (OTA updates, assets, EAS build) if you accept its managed constraints.
• Flutter
  • Cohesive pub ecosystem; strong first-party plugins.
  • Great DevTools (widget inspector, performance overlays) out of the box.

Testing and CI/CD

• RN
  • Unit: Jest + React Testing Library.
  • E2E: Detox or Maestro.
  • CI: Gradle/Xcode + fastlane or EAS.
• Flutter
  • Unit/widget tests built-in (flutter test).
  • Integration tests with flutter drive or integration_test.
  • CI: flutter build across targets; consistent pipelines.

When to choose which

Choose React Native if:

• You have strong React/TS skills and want fast onboarding.
• You need deep native integrations or to incrementally adopt in an existing app.
• You want platform-native look and accessibility without extra tuning.

Choose Flutter if:

• You need custom, uniform UI across platforms and hardware.
• You want predictable performance and cohesive tooling.
• You target mobile plus desktop/web with one engine-first stack.

Pitfalls and gotchas

• React Native
  • Mismatch between new architecture (Fabric/TurboModules) and old modules can cause runtime issues; prefer modules updated for the new arch.
  • Hermes requires native build settings aligned (ProGuard/R8 rules, bytecode precompile); misconfig leads to crashes.
  • iOS: CocoaPods version drift; always pod repo update and use consistent Ruby/Pods.
  • Android: Gradle plugin/JDK version mismatches; pin versions in gradle.properties.
  • Performance: avoid chatty bridges; move work to native/JSI or Reanimated worklets.
• Flutter
  • Larger APK/IPA sizes; enable tree shaking, split per-ABI.
  • Platform Views (embedding native views) can impact performance; batch operations.
  • Plugin compatibility lags for niche device features; be ready to write platform code.
  • Asset-heavy apps can grow memory; manage image cache and precache strategically.

Performance tips

• React Native
  • Enable Hermes and the new architecture; use React 18 concurrent features cautiously.
  • Memoize with React.memo, useCallback, useMemo. Use FlatList with getItemLayout.
  • Offload animations to native (Reanimated) and heavy work to native threads.
• Flutter
  • Prefer const constructors; minimize rebuilds with ValueListenableBuilder or state management.
  • Use RepaintBoundary wisely; cache images; compress assets.
  • Profile with the Performance view; fix layout thrash and shader compilation.

Migration notes for RN teams sampling Flutter

• Start with a feature prototype in Flutter to validate workflows and UI feasibility.
• Expect 1–2 weeks to get comfortable with Dart idioms and widget composition.
• Reuse business logic via FFI or by hosting shared logic in backend services.

Decision checklist

• Team skills today (React/TS vs Dart/Flutter)?
• Target platforms and UI requirements (native look vs custom)?
• Need for niche native SDKs?
• Performance constraints (startup, animations, memory)?
• Build/release velocity and tooling preference?

Tiny FAQ

• Does React Native still need a bridge?
  • The legacy bridge is being replaced by JSI/TurboModules; fewer bottlenecks in 2025.
• Is Flutter web production-ready?
  • It works well for app-like UIs; for content-heavy sites, traditional web stacks may be leaner.
• Which has better hiring pool?
  • React/TypeScript remains broader; Flutter talent is strong but smaller.
• Can I mix native screens?
  • Yes. Both support adding a single screen or embedding into existing native apps.