Flutter vs Kotlin: Which One is the Ideal Option for Cross-Platform App Development?

Cross-platform development is gaining immense popularity, and you might be wondering why. As implied by the name, it allows running apps across several platforms, including iOS and Android, and helps businesses reach a larger consumer base and generate high revenues.

It is understandable why the best cross-platform frameworks are increasingly coming into the limelight, and new technologies are emerging more frequently.

The Statista Digital Market Outlook predicts that mobile app revenue will increase in most sectors over the next few years and will total over USD 613 billion by 2025.

When choosing the best framework for cross-platform mobile app development, two competitors were initially battling for the crown: Flutter vs React Native. However, a new programming language based on Java has become sufficiently popular over the past decade that developers are beginning to take note of it.

The new tongue is Kotlin. And the recent arguments between the programming languages Flutter vs Kotlin are grabbing the interest of many web developers.

Flutter and React Native were the past industry-standard programming frameworks for cross-platform app development. These languages used to be actively utilized by developers. Kotlin, however, has currently made a name for itself among the developers.

In 2019, Google first launched Kotlin support for Android mobile application development. However, it's also important to remember that Google also created the open-source mobile application development platform Flutter.

The primary difference between Flutter and Kotlin is, Flutter is an open-source framework by Google that uses Dart as a programming language, while Kotlin is a programming language with type inference.

However, before delving into their comparison, let's first quickly define cross-platform development and also go through the advantages of cross-platform development.

Understanding Cross-Platform Development

Developing software solutions for different operating systems or software environments is called cross-platform development. Engineers and web developers leverage various methodologies to adapt a single application or solution to several environments and operating systems.

The utmost goal of cross-platform development is to develop software applications that function well across many digital environments. Functionality is frequently pursued in order to offer software solutions for multiple proprietary operating systems, such as to support use on both Apple and Microsoft platforms.

Let's now take a glance at the advantages of cross-platform development:

• Quicker development time
• Launching the software solutions all together on different platforms
• Rapid and seamless updates
• Helps to reach an extensive crowd
• Cost-effective and lesser time to profitability

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Now, let's move to the next section of our article and discuss what makes Flutter count among the best cross-platform frameworks, the advantages of Flutter development, and which significant apps were built utilizing the Flutter framework.

What is Flutter?

Google's launched portable UI toolkit, Flutter, allows web developers to design and develop appealing, natively built mobile, web, and desktop applications utilizing a single codebase. Flutter is utilized by organizations to develop flutter web apps worldwide that functions with pre-written code.

In 2013, Google first came in for Flutter, which had already begun collaborating with industry titans. Fundamentally, Flutter is a free, open-source framework for developing apps with a native look and feel for iOS and Android, all from utilizing a single codebase. In addition to being used on PCs and the web with the help of Flutter Desktop app development, thousands of new Flutter apps are created daily and released in the Play and App Store.

Surprisingly, even though Flutter 3.0 was only released a few months back, the momentum has not stalled. It gets better and better with each new and advanced version that the Flutter team publishes. Recently, it released its newest version, known as Flutter 3.3.

To know more about it, you can visit our most recent article on what's new in Flutter 3.3. You could get a lot of additional information and familiarize yourself with Flutter development.

Features of Flutter

The following are the most significant features of Flutter:

• Cross-Platform Development – It features as one of the best frameworks for cross-platform app development. It enables the developer to create their code just once and run it across various platforms. It helps developers spend less time, money, and effort.
• Widget Availability – The widgets are used to create specialized, customizable designs. For a bug-free experience across all platforms, Flutter provides two sets of widgets: Cupertino widgets and Material design.
• Minimal Code – Flutter employs the JIT and AOT compilation techniques and the Dart programming to enhance an app's overall performance and speed.
• Open-Source – The open-source Flutter framework can be utilized to develop desktop and mobile applications.
• Hot Reloading – With hot reload, we could instantly view the changes made to the Flutter code. This functionality enables the developer to rectify the bugs quickly.
• Native Features – Thanks to this capability, we can simply access the platform APIs, third-party integration, and native code of Flutter.

Flutter is among the best cross-platform frameworks in today's time. In addition to the features mentioned above, web developers can enjoy and utilize more efficient features of Flutter app development.

Advantages of Flutter

Several benefits that Flutter provides set it apart from its competitors. You will undoubtedly adore working with this framework, which includes the simple-to-learn Flutter language called Dart and hot reload.

Let's go over some of the most significant benefits in greater detail.

1. Real-Time Output – Flutter allows you to alter your code and see the changes in action as they happen through a hot reload feature. With hot reload, you can implement alterations to the backend and see the frontend changes immediately, reducing the need to reload the entire program often.

2. Ease of Use – The Flutter-Dart combination for coding is simple to use and quick to pick up. With a lot less code, you can make completely functional apps. The 30-minute installation time of the Flutter framework enables you to begin developing your first Flutter application immediately.

3. Growing Popularity – Although Flutter hasn't yet gained as much traction, its popularity is rising swiftly. Among other cross-platform development platforms, Flutter received the most GitHub stars, while Dart quickly rose to the top of the list of programming languages.

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Disadvantages of Flutter

Nothing is flawless, and Flutter has its drawbacks as well. The most important limitations you could experience when using this framework are outlined below:

1. Bigger App Sizes – The size of Flutter-built apps is an issue for developers who work hard to create apps that won't take up too much room on limited Android and iOS devices. The utilization of Flutter has certain drawbacks. However, the Google app framework update team should be able to resolve the issue.

2. Not So Widely Accepted – Although developers appreciate the current structure of Flutter, there aren't many tutorials and workshops available for aspiring programmers. However, the rapidly increasing popularity of Flutter may soon make this drawback irrelevant.

Examples of Kotlin Apps

Industry giants as well as small and medium-sized organizations have identified the advantages of Flutter app development. They have utilized it while integrating the top Flutter DevTools to optimize the app development.

Mentioned below is the list of topmost applications developed using this Google UI framework:

• KlasterMe
• Xianyu by Alibaba
• PostMuse
• Lunching
• Watermaniac
• Hamilton
• Dream11
• Pay N Park
• Google Ads
• SpaceX Go

Now, let's move to the next section of our article and learn about Kotlin.

What is Kotlin?

Before directly moving onto Kotlin Multiplatform vs Flutter, let's first understand what exactly is Kotlin. Kotlin is a cross-platform programming language integrated with open-source properties. It is also considered a general-purpose language. It is utilized anywhere Java is used and operates on JVM, ultimately known as statistically-typed language.

You can create server-side applications, Android applications, and much more with Kotlin. Kotlin was created by JetBrains and debuted in 2010 as a small project. Kotlin's original release was formally announced in February 2016.

From the opening line of this section, you might be wondering: What is Kotlin Multiplatform?

As a feature, Kotlin offers Kotlin multiplatform, which you can compile with JavaScript, LLVM code, and JVM bytecode. It is an experimental feature that enables the development of an iOS application and writing code for an Android app. As a JavaScript and iOS development language, it offers fully open-source programming.

Features of Kotlin

Kotlin has a number of exciting features that make it one of the best cross-platform frameworks. Let's have a look at some of them:

• Null Safety – Kotlin is an excellent null safety language. The prime motive of this property is to get rid of the NullPointerException in code.
• Smart Cast – The immutable values are explicitly typecast and automatically inserted into their safe cast.
• Extension Function – In Kotlin, you can expand the functionality of classes without changing their source code by using extension functions and attributes.
• Concise Nature – Developers can write fewer unnecessary lines of code while using the Kotlin language, eventually making the code shorter.
• Interoperable – With this functionality, developers may quickly call Java code, and Java code can also use Kotlin code.
• Tool-Friendly – The command line and any Java IDE can be used to create Kotlin programs.

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When thinking of Flutter vs Kotlin, we must discuss both sides of the story. Therefore, in the next section, we'll go through the advantages and disadvantages of Kotlin as we did for Flutter.

Advantages of Kotlin

Does Kotlin bring in better opportunities in cross-platform development? Let's discuss the advantages of using Kotlin and then compare- which is better, Flutter or Kotlin.

1. Clean and Brief Code – Because of Kotlin's simple syntax, your code is more concise and understandable. Your development becomes more effective when you spend less time creating fewer lines of code, saving time and money. Less code means fewer bugs, which saves time and resources. Therefore, Kotlin makes it possible to build apps more quickly, easily, and reliably.

2. Secure and Steady – Your code base is lighter and easier to read, which reduces flaws early in the development phase and allows for the quick identification and rectification of mistakes. Developers of Kotlin made a great effort to improve upon Java by developing one of the greatest mobile programming languages for Android. As a result, in some cases, Kotlin wins in the Kotlin vs Flutter performance.

3. Complements Java – It is simple to convert any existing Java code to Kotlin because it retains many of Java's object-oriented features. This compatibility makes switching from Java to Kotlin for applications considerably simpler and quicker. The Kotlin advantage is extremely helpful when deciding between Flutter and Java when you switch between technologies, making it a better preference in Flutter vs Kotlin for Android.

Disadvantages of Kotlin

What are the drawbacks of Kotlin? Do they outweigh the advantages? Let's examine the most frequently encountered limits of Kotlin.

1. Slow Compilation Speed – A major drawback is that Kotlin takes longer to compile than Java. Although it's typically much slower, Kotlin, in rare cases, outperforms Java in terms of compilation speed. Kotlin does an adequate job at compiling incremental changes but is still slower than modernistic approaches like Flutter when comparing Flutter vs Kotlin speed.

2. More Costly – The cost of developing a mobile app skyrocketed since the Kotlin SDK provides semi-native functionalities. Kotlin is a hefty programming language, especially when creating MVPs and prototypes. Additionally, as Kotlin is still a relatively new language, you'll need to invest in training to acknowledge your web developers about it.

Examples of Kotlin Apps

Many huge organizations have utilized Kotlin. So, let's go through some of the best applications developed utilizing Kotlin:

• Evernote
• Netflix
• Square
• Swiggy
• Corda market
• Duolingo
• Postmates
• Kickstarter
• Basecamp 3
• Trello

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Let's now move to the heart of this article; here, we'll discuss Flutter vs Kotlin and compare which is better for your next mobile application. In this section, most of your important questions will be answered: What is the major difference between Flutter and Kotlin? Is Flutter better than Kotlin in terms of performance? Which is easier to learn? Will Flutter replace Kotlin in terms of efficiency? Etc., Etc.

Comparing Flutter and Kotlin

Let's compare Flutter vs Kotlin and see which tends to be the best framework for cross-platform mobile development.

So, by considering different parameters, let's determine the difference between Flutter and Kotlin.

By Definition:

• Flutter – It is a cross-platform mobile framework that gives designers and developers the tools they need to create state-of-the-art mobile applications for Android and iOS.
• Kotlin- Kotlin is a detailed statically typed programming language for the Android, browser, and JVM. It is also absolutely functional with Java.

By Language Stack:

• Flutter – It utilizes Dart programming language for developing mobile applications.
• Kotlin – It is a programming language that utilizes JVM, Native, Java, and JavaScript for developing applications.

By Performance:

• Flutter – Because it is written in Dart programming, there is no need for JavaScript Bridge to begin with app interactions, which ultimately results in incredible efficiency.
• Kotlin – Its utilization of JavaScript and complete Java interoperability drags down the application's performance.

Flutter and Ionic both offer better performance for cross platform app development. However, Flutter is faster than Ionic in terms of raw performance due to its compilation with native code. Besides, Ionic apps are essentially web apps that execute in a native container.

By Learning Curve:

• Flutter – To create an app using Flutter technology, developers must become skilled in Dart programming.
• Kotlin – Since it is related to Java, learning is rather simple.

By Technical Support:

• Flutter – It includes numerous testing features, including a special widget testing tool.
• Kotlin – It leverages Firebase as a secure backend alternative and focuses mostly on providing backend development services.

By Documentation:

• Flutter – We can find all the information we need in one location, thanks to its highly organized and helpful documentation compared to Kotlin.
• Kotlin – Kotlin also provides somewhat well-organized documentation. Its libraries are subject to alterations at any time because it is still in development.

By App Size:

• Flutter – The Flutter app is larger.
• Kotlin – Compared to Flutter, the Kotlin app is smaller.

By Implementation Options:

• Flutter – It can be leveraged on desktop, web, and mobile.
• Kotlin – Similar to Flutter, it can also be leveraged on desktop, web, and mobile.

By Third-Party Integrations:

• Flutter – Since Flutter is a UI-based framework, it requires using third-party tools and libraries to connect it with the native environment.
• Kotlin – It does not necessarily require third-party libraries and tools.

By Pricing:

• Flutter – The Flutter system technologies and associated libraries can be utilized without cost.
• Kotlin – It is also free, but as Kotlin SDK only offers semi-native features, some additional expenses may be involved.

Future of Mobile App Development: Flutter or Kotlin?

Coming to an end, you'll be wondering- Which is the best cross-platform framework and future of mobile app development among Flutter vs Kotlin?

Let's understand differences in a much simpler way!

Flutter is used to build cross-platform applications that run on both iOS and Android platforms using a single codebase, while Kotlin is primarily used to build native Android applications. Though, Kotlin is considered for cross-platform development as well.

Flutter is definitely better than Ionic. If you have a web development team on your side, Ionic would be a better and clearer choice.

It is the best solution for developing Flutter applications for start-ups, medium, or large organizations. Developing applications with Flutter are the ideal approach when the goal is to save time and money. Flutter also helps developers create applications, functional prototypes, and viable solutions.

Kotlin, on the other hand, is completely compatible with Java and is also regarded as Java's advanced version. Kotlin and Java similarities makes it easy to call Kotlin code to Java or the other way around, which allows both languages to be used in the same development project. So, Flutter is a better option for projects that aim to span multiple platforms, while Kotlin is suitable for Android-centric projects with specific requirements.

The rest is up to you to decide between Flutter and Kotlin, depending on the needs of your project.

However, a little extra help can never be harmful.

Suppose you're still in a dilemma deciding which framework to use to create your mobile application. It's always a good idea to consult a reputable mobile app development company like Radixweb, which can evaluate your requirements and priorities and helps you in selecting the best option between Flutter vs Kotlin.

Now, Why Radixweb?As one of the best mobile app development companies globally, Radixweb’s primary focus is on creating efficient applications for the Android and iOS platforms. Our web developers at Radixweb are highly skilled with technical capabilities to help you upscale your projects. Customized applications development with modern frameworks like Flutter assist in speeding up the workflows of globally recognized organizations.Get in touch with our skilled team at Radixweb.