The popularity of Cross-platform app development is undeniable. And this is a well-known alternative to native development. The reasons for its gradually growing popularity are – reduced cost, quick time-to-market, and last but not least single codebase for more than one platform. Presently, it’s one of the significant trends in the world of software development.
As the cross-platform enters the app development industry, a large number of organizations and mobile app development team or developers have begun to move toward cross-platform to get good results. The framework and technologies of Cross-platform development are rapidly winning the heart of app developers and individuals are debating over frameworks to opt for the right framework at the right time.
In this blog, we will cover the main differences between the 2 most trending frameworks or technologies of cross-platform app development – Flutter and Kotlin.
Let us first initiate by knowing them separately…
Flutter
This is an open-source user interface toolkit that can be utilized to build beautiful, fast, natively completed cross-platform apps by utilizing the Dart programming language. Flutter was introduced by Google back in 2015, however, Flutter was officially released in 2017. Flutter framework is famous as compared to Kotlin. As with a single codebase, it builds the application. There are plenty of popular industries using Flutter including Square, Alibaba Group, Google, eBay, BMW, etc. Google introduced Flutter to build modern mobile apps for iOS and Android platforms.
A glance at the features of the Flutter framework which makes this framework preferable to Kotlin:
1. Hot Reload :
This one is surely a significant Flutter feature as it lets app developers make modifications in the backend and these changes can be seen instantaneously. So with the help of this feature the Flutter app development team can easily observe as well as fix the bugs instantly.
2. Customized:
Flutter framework is one of the famous SDKs where this toolkit provides plenty of widgets that make the highly customized process of Flutter app development which helps developers to create the apps quite faster.
3. Cost of Application Development:
This framework has fastened the process of app development by simply offering lots of facilities, especially in the app development ecosystem. And as it uses a single codebase to develop apps for multiple platforms then it surely minimizes the cost of Flutter app development whereas, the Kotlin framework requires a much higher cost of app development.
4. Firebase Integration:
For applications, Firebase offers a backend platform. As it is integrated with Flutter which offers a facility to the development team to store, access, as well as manage data very easily that too without maintaining its local DB server.
5. Prototyping:
The prototype provides the functionality of the real project as well as a dummy view. Prototyping not merely provides the Flutter app development team with a clear vision but also provides a pre-product or a dummy view to the valuable customers. Flutter can develop apps without taking much time that too at less cost. So, for prototyping, it is very much helpful.
Kotlin:
Kotlin is another open-source framework, which itself is a programming language that is utilized by a team of app developers to develop cross-platform apps by JetBrain. Kotlin was released in the year 2016. There is no doubt, this framework is less known as compared to Flutter, but no one can deny the popularity of the Kotlin framework is gradually increasing day by day. Kotlin comes in the list of statically typed PLs which is specially developed to interoperate with Java. Uber, Amazon, and Netflix, are a few popular companies that are utilizing Kotlin.
Have a quick glimpse at the features of Kotlin’s”
1. Kotlin Multi-platform:
Instead of just a PL, Kotlin is an open-source PL but Kotlin framework has a multi-platform functionality that offers it a uniqueness by letting the team of developers share code across plenty of platforms which includes Android, iOS, Web, etc.
2. Simplicity of programming language:
Its syntax is very similar to programming languages named Java, Scala & Groovy, so developers never find any difficulty to learn it from the basics. There are so many features where Dart language fails such as sealed, extension functions, no singletons, data classes, no concise syntax, classes, null-safety types, etc. and by simply supporting all these features Kotlin is becoming simpler and more advanced.
3. Reuse or sharing of the Logic:
For User Interface, Kotlin provides a separate platform. Kotlin employs shared logic as well as libraries below the layer of UI. So without utilizing any kind of bridge, for making the interaction b/w kotlin, android studio, javascript, etc.
4. Native User Interface Expertise:
For creating a User Interface, there is no any kind of specific instructions. It lets the team of app development work on applications’ performances, design, and appearance similar to the case of native.
5. Flexibility & Scalability:
It permits mobile app development team or developers to advance their mobile apps without using VM. So this feature makes it a great choice where factors such as flexibility and scalability are more focused.
Difference between Kotlin and Flutter
Developed By:
Flutter is developed and launched by Google.
JetBrain developed Kotlin.
Released on:
Flutter was released in the year 2017.
Kotlin was released in 2016.
Popularity:
Flutter is becoming the first choice of app developers, so Flutter is very popular.
Kotlin is less popular than Flutter. But the popularity of Kotlin is gradually increasing day by day.
Language:
Flutter uses only one language named Dart programming language.
Kotlin itself is an open-source general-purpose programming language designed to interoperate with other programming languages such as Java.
Performance:
The performance of Flutter is surely excellent.
Kotlin provides quite a good compatibility and security in case of performance.
Development Cost:
As compared to Kotlin, Flutter requires less development cost.
Compared to Flutter, Kotlin requires more development costs.
Support to platform
Flutter doesn’t support CarOS, television, Android Auto, or smartwatch Operating Systems.
Kotlin supports beyond mobile, such as television, smartwatch, etc.
Companies
Flutter has been used by so many popular industries which include Alibaba Group, Google, Square, eBay, CapitalOne, BMW, etc.
Kotlin is also used by popular industries which include Uber, Amazon, Trello, Netflix, etc.
Community Support
Flutter has good sustainable community support on Github.
As compared to Flutter, on GitHub Kotlin has less sustainable community support.
Pricing:
There is no price to use the Flutter system technologies and its libraries.
Kotlin also doesn’t charge to use its technologies.
Popular Apps
The popular apps created by the Flutter framework are Cryptograph, Google Ads, Hamilton, Alibaba, etc.
Evernote, Pinterest, Coursera, etc. are some popular apps built by Kotlin.
Flutter or Kotlin: Which is better in 2023?
Either you run a small, or medium business or have a well-established company. After going through the reviews, we can say that currently, Flutter is winning the hearts of developers, and entrepreneurs as it is doing very great in developing fintech, online stores, & business apps, and other android app development services.
As Flutter saves the cost and time of developers, this is surely the greatest Flutter framework. Flutter is surely a good choice for creating MVP, working prototypes, and mobile apps quite simple but efficient too and the most eye-catching thing about flutter is that it creates an app that immediately attracts a mass client.
The Final Take
Well, we can’t say this platform is perfect or this platform is great. Each framework works great for different-different purposes so every single platform has its own pros and cons. Both Flutter and Kotlin save development costs and time and deliver the best performance. But still, Flutter is getting more attention from mobile app development team as compared to Kotlin. Though Flutter is new in the market still, no one can ignore its growth. But, yes to develop an android app Kotlin is the best choice. In terms of cross-platform development, both Kotlin and Flutter offer native-like performances by utilizing a single code base.
Being a reliable Flutter app development company, we would surely want to say that selection of technology majorly depends on the business and entrepreneurs’ requirements and many other factors. We are completely hoping that this blog provides you with detailed information on these popular technologies so at last, it all depends on your requirement which suits you the best hire flutter expert from ionicfirebase.
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