NativeScript vs. Flutter: A Comparison for Tech Businesses and Entrepreneurs

With the growing demand for lifestyle and communication apps, mobile app development has become a booming industry. Building apps for both iOS and Android requires having two different teams with different skill sets. This can be a challenge for companies that might not have the resources to invest in two other teams.

This process can be pretty time-consuming and expensive, but there is a solution. Cross-platform app development with technology like Flutter and NativeScript can be a more cost-effective solution.

The popularity of cross-platform app development has exploded in recent years, thanks to the availability of powerful frameworks that make creating apps for multiple platforms easy. With so many options available, making the right choice between NativeScript vs. Flutter can be tricky! And where there are too many choices, getting confused is natural, isn't it?

Nativescript and Flutter are both technologies that allow you to build cross-platform mobile apps. They both have their pros and cons, but in general, Nativescript is more potent while Flutter is flexible and easier to use. So, in this blog post, we'll take a look at the similarities and differences between Nativescript and Flutter so you can decide which one is right for your next mobile app project.

All About Flutter 

Flutter, an open-source, cross-platform framework, uses Dart, a language created by Google. Flutter also provides a better UI toolkit for building cross-platform applications from one codebase. Flutter has many advantages, but the primary one is that it allows developers to create expressive and flexible UI with native performance.

Additionally, Flutter is backed by Google developers and a large community of developers who are constantly working to improve the platform. The Flutter team is very active in the community and has been very responsive to issues raised by the budding developers.  

Live Apps

Google Ads – To make ads work on both iOS and Android, Google used Dart packages, Firebase AdMob plugins, and static utility classes from Flutter.

Cryptograph – Cryptograph is an app that lets you keep track of a bunch of different cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum and Bitcoin. You can see how they're doing and check market history and stuff.

Tencent – Tencent, a prominent Chinese company with international operations, has used Flutter to build digital products, such as DingDang, AITeacher, K12, QiDian, Mr. Translator, and Now Live.

Alibaba – The Alibaba Group implements the Flutter technology stack in a number of commercial contexts, from e-commerce, feed streams, gamification-based interaction, and internationalized services.

Realtor.com – Using Flutter and existing infrastructure, realtor.com built and released new advanced features and user experiences to production in just a few days.

Advantages

Fast and simple development: Flutter's Hot Reloading feature is beneficial because it shows code changes immediately on emulators, simulators, and hardware without losing the application state.

High productivity: Flutter's cross-platform capabilities allow you to use the same codebase for your iOS and Android app, saving you time and resources.

Fast and simple development: Flutter's Hot Reloading feature is beneficial because it shows code changes immediately on emulators, simulators, and hardware without losing the application state.

Compatibility: As widgets are part of the app and not the platform, there is a lower chance of encountering compatibility issues on different OS versions. This results in less testing time needed.

Open-source: Flutter and Dart are both open-source and free, and they have a lot of documentation and community support to assist with any problems you might run into.

Plentiful widgets: Flutter's widgets are rich and follow the Cupertino (iOS) and Material Design (Android) guidelines.

Seamless integration: With Flutter, you can easily integrate your code with Java for Android and Swift/Objective C for iOS and do not require rewriting the code.

Codesharing: Flutter is perfect for MVP development because it allows you to write code once and share it across multiple platforms.

Disadvantages 

• Flutter has some great libraries and tools, but it's not as robust as React Native.

• The one drawback of Flutter apps is that they are bigger than 4MB.

  
  

All About NativeScript

NativeScript is a framework that allows you to build native mobile apps using JavaScript. It provides you with the tools and APIs you need to develop fully functional native apps that run anywhere on iOS and Android. It also allows you to share code between your apps, which will help you build apps faster and with less code. 

With the power to transpile one programming language to another, NativeScript lets you develop genuinely native apps. Moreover, you can access the native APIs of devices directly using JavaScript, TypeScript, or Angular. 

Live Apps

Aura CO2: CO2 monitors the air you breathe, allowing you to make the right decisions to promote an air quality that is high quality and healthy.

Stonks Pro: The Meme investing Stock Market app allows users to browse dank memes and win the best amongst Leaderboards and their Friends. 

PUMA: Built High-Quality, Simple-Interface Mobile Apps in a Short Time with features including cloud storage, messaging, push notifications, and user authorization, among others.

SAP: has built a mobile development kit with NativeScript that allows higher code abstraction levels and enables JavaScript code rendering into native codes without influencing the system network.

Advantages

Web skills: You can reuse web skills (JavaScript, CSS & HTML) and create truly native mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Quick to get started: Deep integration with popular JavaScript frameworks like Angular or Vue to minimize the learning curve.

Code sharing: You can share code between the web (when used with Angular) and mobile platforms, including UI.

Support: Dozens of online resources available for getting started, staying up-to-date, and troubleshooting.

Disadvantages 

• Not all user interface components are free to use;
• Hard to share code with web build;
• Requires a long time to test apps;
• Poor and sometimes buggy plugin support.
• Low response time to new android features;

Flutter vs NativeScript Battle 

Performance 

Flutter utilizes a hardware-accelerated Skia 2D graphics engine for rendering and aims to deliver 60 to 120 FPS on devices capable of 120Hz updates. On the other hand, NativeScript can also maintain 60 FPS. 

Architecture 

Flutter uses a layered architecture, allowing the use of simple or complex components as needed. In contrast, NativeScript follows the MVC or MVVM architectural pattern, enabling efficient module management and helping enterprise-grade applications have certain features.

Debugging 

Flutter offers a pack of testing features for widgets, integrations, and the entire app with clear documentation and also supports automated testing. Inversely, NativeScript now has its Quality Analysis workflow to follow since the version 2.5 release. 

So, Which Is Better: Flutter or NativeScript? 

When it comes to building a mobile app, it's hard to choose one framework over another. Both Flutter and NativeScript have their strengths, but it's important to consider your app's needs and goals when deciding which framework to use. 

Flutter and NativeScript frameworks alike make it easy to build beautiful apps that run on multiple platforms. Both have a long way to go in terms of performance, infrastructure, and plugins, which will make your decision even more challenging. 

If you want to build a high-quality app for the mobile world, hiring Flutter developers is the right choice for you. Flutter is a complete framework with many more advanced testing and debugging features.