Quick Summary: Flutter is a Cross Platform Framework developed by Google that allows you to create native quality ios & android applications with one base of code, which in turn will reduce your cost of developing an application by as much as 40-60 percent and cut your time it takes to develop an application in half (30-40%) when compared to creating two completely different native applications. As long as the application does not have extreme hardware requirements like augmented reality / virtual reality, or if the application requires immediate access to the newest operating system specific APIs then native development would be unjustified.
For many years, there has been an accepted way of developing applications: “if you desire a high-quality mobile application, develop the application in its own programming language” — which means having one Swift-based project for creating an iOS application and one Kotlin-based project for creating an Android application. As this type of development typically requires at least two different teams (iOS team + Android team) working on a minimum of two codebases; therefore, at least double the time, resources and budget are required to develop, maintain and update these two native applications.
The Cross-Platform Revolution
The move to developing apps with multiple platforms is based on economic factors and improving quality. Cross-platform development earlier was either less expensive than building an application for each platform but had lower quality or it could have higher quality but be as expensive as developing separate applications for each platform. This issue does not exist when you develop your application using Flutter.
Apps developed with Flutter do not run inside a browser view within a native wrapper; instead, Flutter compiles your Dart code down to native ARM machine code. Your user interface is then displayed by Flutter’s own high-performance graphics rendering engine (Impeller), not via a web-based rendering view provided by the operating system. In addition, since Flutter renders its UI at 60 frames per second (FPS), and on some supported devices even up to 120 FPS, the performance of Flutter-based apps can often be indistinguishable from their native counterparts.
Some companies currently utilizing Flutter in production environments include Google (Google Pay and Google Earth), BMW, Alibaba, eBay, Toyota, and many others.
What Makes Flutter Different
Native Code Generation. Native apps use direct access to hardware; however, most cross-platform development frameworks introduce a latency “bridge” when using their native platform API’s to create an app. In contrast, Flutter produces native ARM code with virtually no noticeable difference in overall application performance from apps created natively for iOS or Android devices.
Widget-based architecture. A major part of what makes Flutter such a powerful tool for building modern mobile applications is its “widget based architecture.” Every single item you will want to add to your screen including buttons, layout, spacing/padding around your widgets, animations, even the entire screen itself are all represented as individual widgets. These can be combined together to create the exact look and feel you need for each specific aspect of your app. With this type of model you have complete control over how everything looks on the screen.
Hot reloads for faster builds. During the build phase, developers will notice that their code changes are instantly visible in the running app. The developer won’t lose any of the application’s state or data when this happens. This drastically reduces the time it takes for testing, developing and experimenting.
Multiple applications from one base of code. Apps for iOS, Android, web, Windows, macOS and Linux can all be created from a single base of code. Most companies will focus on creating apps for both iOS and Android with optional web. However, being able to easily add desktop versions later will be an important long term benefit.
Flutter vs. Native Development: An Honest Comparison
| Factor | Flutter | Native (Swift + Kotlin) |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 95% of native for most apps | 100% native performance |
| Development cost | 40–60% less (one codebase) | Full cost for two codebases |
| Development timeline | 30–40% faster | Full timeline × 2 |
| UI consistency | Identical across platforms | Platform-specific look and feel |
| Platform features | Excellent coverage via plugins | Immediate access to all APIs |
| Team size | One team | Two specialized teams |
| Maintenance cost | Single codebase to maintain | Double maintenance burden |
The 5% performance difference exists, however for nearly all organizations it does not matter. As long as you’re creating an application such as an AR gaming application, or a Video Editing App where your application must take advantage of every possible frame the hardware can deliver then Native Application Development will be the correct choice. For nearly all other types of applications (Business Apps, Delivery Platform Apps, E-Commerce Apps, Content Apps, Productivity Apps), Flutter’s Performance is Not Distinguishable From Native in Real-World Usage.
When Flutter Is the Right Choice
Startup MVPs. A major advantage of using Flutter is that it will allow you to validate your idea for both iOS and Android in a rapid manner (simultaneously) while staying within budget. Ship early/learn from customers/iterate.
Business applications. In general, Flutter has been shown to be very beneficial when developing internal business applications such as Employee facing apps, CRM Mobile Interfaces, Field Service Apps, Inventory Management Applications and other similar apps that do not require or attempt to utilize hardware limits.
E-commerce mobile apps. Browsing products, managing a shopping cart, and check out process as well as tracking an order all work well in Flutter because it can handle animation, transition, and more complex user interface (UI) states with ease.
Content and media apps. Apps that consume news feeds, display social media, play video or audio files, and/or serve content to users perform best when using Flutter’s rendering abilities and its ability to provide smooth scrolling performance.
When You Might Need Native Instead
Hardware-intensive applications. Apps using heavy camera processing (example: portrait mode), bluetooth low energy for iot (example: smart locks), arkit/arcore for augmented reality, and health sensors (apple health/google fit), will see a performance gain by developing natively so you can use all of your platform’s api directly without an abstraction layer.
Platform-specific apps. Widget and apps that are a part of android auto, apple watch apps, etc.
Latest OS Features Only. Native Development gives developers immediate access to brand-new (Apple) or feature-updated (Google) Operating System features when they are released. While many of those same features become available as a Flutter Plugin soon after native SDK’s are able to use them, if your application requires that you have access to all new features from the operating system on Day One, then native app development is the way to go.
Most Business Apps will never be impacted by one of these two limitations because Flutter already has mature and well-supported Plugins for each of Camera Access, GPS Usage, Push Notifications, Biometric Authentication, Local Storage and Network Communication.
The Deutrix Flutter Development Process
We do both of these processes the same way for mobile apps as we would for a web project. The process starts at discovery and then getting the requirements. In this phase we determine what your customers need from you. Once we have determined how your customers will interact with the app and how it works we can move into the design of the user interface (UI) / User Experience (UX). For mobile apps we start by doing mobile-first wireframing and creating interactive prototypes. These are tested prior to writing any code.
The next step in the process is where we create the actual application using an iterative sprint model. As part of each sprint we give the customer a demo of the application. We also use a feedback loop to get input from the customer. Throughout the development process, we test the application on actual devices, not just emulators.
Once the application is complete, we take care of submitting the application to the Apple App Store and/or the Android Google Play store. This includes providing all of the necessary information for the stores to approve the application such as: application name, icon, description, screenshots etc… Additionally, we ensure that the application meets all applicable laws and regulations.
Have a mobile app idea? Let us assess whether Flutter is the right fit and provide a realistic scope and budget estimate. Discuss your Flutter project →
For the broader technology picture, read our Web Development Technology Stack Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
The cost of building an application using Flutter can be anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000 for small applications that have fewer than ten screens and limited functionality. If you are looking to build an application with medium complexity such as user authentication or API integration then it will likely fall into the price range of $25,000 to $50,000. If your application is going to have advanced functionality like real time data feeds, or multiple levels of integration, along with advanced business logic, the cost could be in excess of $50,000.
Yes. There are mature plug-ins in Flutter for camera, GPS, fingerprint/face recognition, Push notification, File System Access, Local Storage, Bluetooth and most all hardware interaction.
Yes. With Flutter’s ability to write code once, development and maintenance costs will be lower — A big benefit for companies with apps on several platforms. Flutter has an excellent testing environment which helps meet all of the QA needs for enterprise level development.
