Flutter builds one app for Android and iPhone from a single codebase, so it suits many store, booking and service apps in less time and at lower cost. Native, meaning a separate app in each platform's own language, is chosen when the app depends on device-specific features or very high performance.
Step by step
- 1
What Flutter is
An open-source framework backed by Google, written in the Dart language, that builds apps for Android, iPhone, the web and desktop from one codebase.
- 2
What native is
An app for each platform in its own language: Kotlin, which Google recommends for Android, and Swift, Apple's language for its devices. That means two teams and two codebases.
- 3
When to choose Flutter
Store, booking and service apps and staff dashboards, when you want one release for Android and iPhone and easier maintenance.
- 4
When to choose native
When the app relies on the newest device features as soon as they are released, on heavy graphics and processing, or when you target only one platform.
- 5
Plugins and integration
Payments, maps and notifications are available in Flutter through plugins, and it can call platform-specific code when needed.
- 6
Think about maintenance
One codebase means one update and one team, while two codebases mean double the testing and updating over the long term.
Choosing the technology before defining the app's features. Decide what users need first, then ask whether any of those features truly requires native.
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