2025 is almost over, and if you’ve been following the mobile development scene, you know both Flutter and React Native have come a long way. Let’s talk about where they stand now after a full year of updates, changes, and real-world testing.

What Changed This Year

React Native finally rolled out their new architecture to most projects. The bridge is gone, and apps feel snappier. Meta didn’t abandon it like some people worried – they doubled down.

Flutter hit version 3.x with better performance and desktop support that actually works. Google made it clear they’re serious about this being a true cross-platform solution, not just mobile.

Performance in 2025

Flutter still runs smoother, especially for animation-heavy apps. Games, creative tools, and finance apps with charts – Flutter handles them better. It compiles to native code and doesn’t have the overhead that React Native used to struggle with.

But React Native caught up more than we expected. The new architecture removed a lot of the lag. You can’t tell the difference between standard business apps, social media clones, or e-commerce.

We tested both on mid-range Android phones (because that’s what most users have), and React Native performed way better than last year. Flutter’s still the winner, but the gap narrowed.

Developer Experience Right Now

Flutter’s hot reload is still magical. Change UI, see it instantly. The widget inspector got better, and finding that one layout issue doesn’t take an hour anymore.

React Native’s developer tools improved, too. Debugging is less painful. The metro bundler is faster. Hermes engine became the default, which was a smart move.

Both frameworks now have decent IDE support. VS Code works great for both. Android Studio and IntelliJ support Flutter really well.

The Language Situation

JavaScript is everywhere. Your backend team probably knows it. Your web team definitely knows it. React Native means less context switching.

Dart is… still Dart. It’s a good language, clean and modern. But let’s be real – you’re learning it just for Flutter. The good news is that it only takes a few days to get comfortable with it. The syntax isn’t weird, and null safety actually helps.

This year, Dart got better tooling and some nice language features. But it’s still only used for Flutter, which limits its appeal.

UI Development

Flutter’s widget library is mature now. Need a calendar? There’s a good widget. Want a shimmer loading effect? Built in. The Material 3 support is solid, and the Cupertino widgets actually look like iOS now.

React Native still uses native components, which sounds great until you spend days trying to make a button look the same on both platforms. But you get native navigation and native feel, which some clients really want.

The React Native Paper library got way better this year. If you want Material Design in React Native, it’s actually usable now.

Package Ecosystem in 2025

React Native has more packages. Period. Need to integrate with some obscure payment gateway? There’s probably a package. Want to add a specific native feature? Someone built it.

Flutter’s pub.dev grew a lot this year. Most major services have official Flutter SDKs now. The quality is generally higher, too – Flutter packages tend to be better maintained.

But if you’re building something niche, React Native probably has the package you need. Flutter might make you write platform channels yourself.

What Companies Are Actually Using

This year we saw:

– More fintech apps moving to Flutter (performance matters for charts and real-time data)

– Social apps still prefer React Native (faster to hire, easier to iterate)

– Enterprise apps split between both (depends on existing team skills)

Flutter grew in the e-commerce space. Several big retailers rebuilt their apps in Flutter and reported faster development times.

React Native stayed strong in startups. When you need to move fast and hire quickly, JavaScript wins.

Web and Desktop Reality Check

Flutter’s web support is okay. It works, but the bundle sizes are huge and SEO is tricky. Don’t use Flutter Web for your marketing site. But for internal tools or web apps that need to match your mobile app exactly? It’s fine.

Flutter desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux) actually works now. We built a few production apps this year, and they’re solid. Not as polished as native Electron apps, but good enough.

React Native Web exists, but it’s not great. If you need a web, you’re probably maintaining a separate codebase anyway.

The Hiring Situation

React Native developers are easier to find. Every React developer can potentially work on your React Native app. The learning curve from web to mobile is gentle.

Flutter developers are rarer but getting more common. The pay is often higher because of a lower supply. If you’re learning Flutter, you’re in a good position.

This year, we noticed more bootcamps teaching Flutter. The gap is closing, but JavaScript’s head start is hard to beat.

Real Development Costs

Both save money compared to native development. You’re still writing one codebase for two platforms.

Flutter projects came in slightly cheaper in our experience this year. Less time debugging platform-specific issues, fewer surprises. But this depends heavily on your team.

React Native projects with experienced developers are fast, too. The keyword is “experienced” – juniors struggle more with React Native’s quirks.

What We Got Wrong

Earlier this year, people said React Native was dying. It’s not. Meta’s investment showed, and the framework improved significantly.

People also said Flutter Web was ready for primetime. It’s not. It works, but it’s not replacing Next.js anytime soon.

We thought the performance gap would stay huge. React Native’s improvements surprised us.

Looking at 2026

Flutter will keep pushing cross-platform. Google wants one codebase for everything.

React Native will focus on staying the easiest choice for mobile. They’re not trying to be everything.

Both will be around. Both will get better. Neither is going away.

Conclusion

After a full year of building apps with both frameworks, here’s what we know:

• Flutter feels more polished. When it works, it really works. But learning Dart is an extra effort.

• React Native feels more familiar if you do web development. But you’ll hit weird platform issues more often.

• Both will get your app built. Both can handle whatever you throw at them.

• Pick based on your team, not based on framework wars. Use what you know, or learn what excites you.

• 2025 proved that both frameworks are here to stay. That’s actually good news – you can’t make a wrong choice.