Flutter or React Native- Which is better for Fintech App Development

Bringing out the best requires choosing the best from the sea of options available.

Choosing a development partner with proven expertise is crucial for ensuring your business outcomes align with your strategic goals.

We are here to make it easy for you and your developers. 

Read this blog to understand the differences between Flutter and React Native and what would be best for you Fintech. 

What exactly is Flutter and React Native?

You can skip this part if you are already a seasoned developer, but if you are someone beginning your Fintech Journey, this portion of the blog will make these big terms easy for you to understand. 

Flutter- The partner for your Fintech App 

Flutter is an open-source UI software development kit created by Google. It is often used for frontend development, though backend development is also possible. It can be used to develop cross platform applications from a single codebase for the Web, Fuchsia, Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. 

You can check out our blog on Best Ui/Ux practices for Fintech Apps for more context:

10 Reasons Your Fintech App Isn’t Gaining Sales: A UI/UX Expert’s Perspective

Flutter ships applications with its own rendering engine which directly outputs pixel data to the screen. This is in contrast to many other UI frameworks that rely on the target platform to provide a rendering engine, such as native Android apps which rely on the device-level Android SDK or React Native which dynamically uses the target platform’s built-in UI stack.

Flutter’s control of its rendering pipeline simplifies multi-platform support as identical UI code can be used for all target platforms.

Here’s a quick overview of how Flutter is great to use:

Benefits of Flutter 

Also, Flutter 3.24 has been released and here’s a snippet of major changes:

Significant GPU Rendering Improvements

One of the major highlights of Flutter 3.24 is the enhancement in GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) rendering, which is critical for applications that require smooth animations and visually intensive graphics.

Multi-View Embedding: A New Dimension of Flexibility

The introduction of multi-view embedding in Flutter 3.24 is a game-changer for developers working on complex applications. It allows for the embedding of multiple Flutter instances within a single app, each managing different views or sections. 

Dart 3.5 Integration: Elevating Development Efficiency

The release of Dart 3.5 has introduced a suite of new features and optimizations that improve both the development experience and the performance of Flutter apps. Dart 3.5 has brought enhanced type inference, making it easier to write concise, maintainable code.

Advanced DevTools for Enhanced Development Experience

A slice of happiness for the Developers- this latest version comes with advanced DevTools that offer you more powerful debugging and profiling tools. It’s an enhanced experience in itself. There is more to add, but let’s stick to our main learning for this blog. 

Now, Let’s move forward to React Native:

Is this the same as React? NO.

But its functionality is the same as React, right? WRONG.

React Native was first released by Facebook as an open-source project in 2015. It is considered one of the top solutions used for mobile development. It is a free, open-source JavaScript framework for building apps. 

What makes React Native stand out is usability for both Android and iOS mobile apps. Also, since React Native was built based on React – a JavaScript library, which was already hugely popular when the mobile framework was released, it comes with an easy learning curve since developers are already accustomed to using React. Instagram, Pinterest and Skype are built on React Native. 

Here are some more benefits of using React Native:

Which would be better for Fintech Applications?

For Fintech app development, the decision of using Flutter or React Native often hinges on factors like performance, development speed, community support, and specific project requirements.

Let’s discuss each of them here:

Here’s an insight: Majority of Fintech Startups prefer using Flutter, for its obvious use cases and advantages. You can still choose between the two, but make sure your App’s features are not compromised by any of them.

Performance: Flutter’s compiled native code often delivers superior performance compared to JavaScript-based frameworks like React Native. This is crucial for financial apps where speed and responsiveness are paramount. So for better performance delivery, Flutter is the better choice

Cross-platform development: Flutter allows you to build apps for both iOS and Android from a single codebase, saving time and effort.  

UI/UX: Flutter’s rich widget library and declarative programming style make it easier to create visually appealing and consistent user interfaces.  

Hot reload: This feature of Flutter enables developers to see changes instantly, accelerating the development process.  

Community and ecosystem: While the Flutter community is growing rapidly, it may not be as mature as React Native’s, especially in terms of third-party libraries and tools specifically tailored for Fintech.

Learning curve: If your team is primarily familiar with JavaScript, React Native might have a shallower learning curve. Flutter uses the programming language Dart , which isn’t that hard to adapt to.

Large community: React Native boasts a vast and active community, offering a wealth of resources, libraries, and support. But with Flutter’s success strides and new versions being released, we think this might become a debatable topic in a few years.

Third-party ecosystem: React Native benefits from a mature ecosystem of libraries and tools, including many specifically designed for Fintech applications.  

Bridging: React Native relies on a JavaScript bridge to communicate with native components, which can introduce potential performance overhead.  

So, we have summed up the differences between Flutter and React Native, the use cases for each, the pros and cons depending on different scenarios, and what factors you need to keep in mind while choosing for your Fintech App.

Let’s go a step further and see which one is better for different domains of Fintech:

Yes, we got it simplified for you! 

How can we be sure of this? We are experts in building Fintech Apps. Having built apps across all domains, we have the experience and expertise for choosing the right technology for each of them.

You can check a few of our apps here: https://profitmatics.anantkaal.com/projects/ 

So, let’s get started! 

Payment Apps

• Flutter: Flutter’s native-like performance and ability to create visually appealing UIs make it a strong contender for payment apps. Its cross-platform capabilities ensure a consistent experience across different devices.  
• React Native: While React Native might not offer the same level of performance as Flutter, its large community and extensive ecosystem provide a wealth of libraries and tools for payment processing.
• Expert Advice: Use Flutter for Payment Apps to build better UX.  

Trading Apps

• Flutter: High-performance and ability to handle real-time data are the non-negotiables for Trading Apps. Its cross-platform nature ensures a seamless experience for traders on both iOS and Android.  
• React Native: Charting, Data Visualization and real time updates are some of the benefits React Native but these can be equally utilised through Flutter as well.

Wealth Management Apps

• Flutter: It’s ability to create complex UIs and handle data-intensive operations makes it a strong contender for wealth management apps. 
• React Native: As mentioned for Trading Apps, data visualization, financial calculations, and integration with third-party services can be some pros that come with React Native, but can be easily replaced with Flutter.

RegTech (Regulatory Technology)

• Flutter: Reg Tech apps don’t work if you make the UI confusing and cluttered to fill in buckets of information on a small screen. Flutter helps create complex UIs, and hence is often considered the first choice of Reg Tech Developers. Its cross-platform capabilities ensure a consistent experience for compliance officers and auditors.
• React Native: Here React Native might stand a bit behind in the queue, for the requirements of RegTech get fulfilled by Flutter quite efficiently. 

Blockchain

• Flutter: Blockchain Apps rely on data, huge amount of data. Flutter’s high-performance capabilities and ability to handle complex data structures make it a suitable choice for blockchain-based apps. 
• React Native: A variety of libraries for interacting with blockchain networks, building decentralized applications, and managing digital assets. It can be a good option for blockchain apps, especially if your team is already familiar with JavaScript.

InsurTech (Insurance Technology)

• Flutter: Cross-platform capabilities ensure a consistent experience for policyholders and agents.
• React Native: React Native’s large community and ecosystem provide a variety of libraries for Data Visualization, Risk Assessment, and Integration with Insurance Systems. 

Still confused over what would be the best choice for your Fintech Application?

We can consult you on the basis of your app’s requirements and your problem statements.

Connect with us for a quick 30 min call, tell us your project needs and leave the rest to us.