Owner

.NET MAUI (formerly Xamarin): Developed by Microsoft.

React Native: Developed by Meta (Facebook)

Flutter: Developed by Google

UI / UX

Both .NET MAUI and React Native utilize Android and iOS APIs for UI elements. For instance, .NET MAUI UI components are directly mapped to the corresponding Android and iOS APIs. A button in .NET MAUI automatically becomes an iOS native “UIButton” when the app runs on an iOS device, and an Android native “Button” when it runs on an Android device. This direct mapping ensures that the UI elements look and behave as expected on each platform, providing a native user experience.

React Native follows a similar approach, using JavaScript to bridge between the app’s code and the native APIs of Android and iOS. This allows React Native to render true native components, ensuring high performance and a seamless user experience across platforms.

Flutter, however, takes a different approach. Instead of using native APIs for UI elements, Flutter draws its interface using Skia, a high-performance 2D graphics library. This means Flutter has its own rendering engine, which allows it to maintain consistent performance and appearance across different platforms. Flutter provides a wide range of pre-defined UI elements that mimic the native components of Android and iOS. These elements ensure that the apps have a familiar look and feel, even though they are not using the native UI components directly.

One advantage of Flutter’s approach is the control it gives developers over the rendering process, potentially leading to better performance for complex UIs and animations. However, this also introduces a risk similar to that faced by Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). If Google or Apple update their design guidelines, the pre-defined UI elements in Flutter need to be manually updated to comply with the new standards. In contrast, .NET MAUI and React Native automatically adapt to these changes since they use the platform-specific APIs directly.

Development Speed

Development speed is a significant advantage of using Cross-Platform Native frameworks. Similar to other cross-platform techniques, these frameworks allow developers to share the majority of the codebase between different platforms, drastically reducing the time and effort required to develop and maintain the app.

By leveraging a single codebase, developers can build and update apps for both iOS and Android simultaneously. This unified approach typically means that only one development team is needed to manage the app across multiple platforms, further streamlining the development process and reducing costs. The efficiencies gained from this approach are particularly beneficial for startups and small businesses that need to bring their products to market quickly and efficiently.

Maintenance costs

Maintenance costs for Cross-Platform Native applications are generally low because most bugs only need to be fixed once, affecting both platforms simultaneously, which simplifies the maintenance process. Similarly, when developing new features, you typically only need to implement them once for both platforms.

There are exceptions, however. If your app includes platform-specific functionality that lacks pre-built packages, you might need to develop and adjust these features manually for each platform. This scenario is similar to the challenges faced when developing purely native apps for iOS and Android. While these cases are usually exceptions rather than the norm, it’s important to be aware that they can occur.

A specific caution with Flutter, as mentioned in the UI/UX section, is that if design guidelines change suddenly, it may require more work to adapt. Unlike .NET MAUI and React Native, which use native UI components and automatically adapt to new guidelines, Flutter’s custom rendering engine might need manual updates to align with the new standards.

Overall, Cross-Platform Native frameworks like .NET MAUI, React Native, and Flutter offer significant advantages in reducing maintenance costs by allowing shared codebases and streamlined updates. However, being prepared for occasional platform-specific adjustments is crucial for efficient maintenance.

Performance

The performance of Cross-Platform Native frameworks is close to native, making them a viable option for many mobile applications. Among these frameworks, Flutter stands out because it renders its entire interface using Skia, a high-performance 2D graphics library. This approach can actually result in faster performance for UI elements compared to native-specific APIs. However, as previously mentioned, most users will not notice any difference in performance for typical applications.

Programming Languages

When developing mobile applications with Cross-Platform Native frameworks, the choice of programming language is a crucial consideration. Each framework utilizes a specific language, impacting the availability of developer expertise and the development process itself.

.NET MAUI: This framework uses .NET with C# or F#. The vast majority of developers prefer C# due to its widespread use and robust features. C# is a mature language with a large developer community and extensive resources, making it relatively easy to find skilled developers. The .NET ecosystem provides powerful tools and libraries that enhance productivity and facilitate the development of high-quality applications.

Flutter: Flutter uses Dart, a relatively new programming language developed by Google specifically for Flutter. While Dart offers features that are well-suited for building high-performance, cross-platform apps, its relative newness can make it more challenging to find developers with Dart expertise. However, the growing popularity of Flutter is steadily increasing the number of developers proficient in Dart.

React Native: React Native employs JavaScript, a language well-known for its versatility and widespread use in web development. JavaScript’s popularity means there is a large pool of developers with expertise in the language, making it easier to build and scale development teams. The vibrant ecosystem of libraries and frameworks available for JavaScript further supports efficient app development.

Maturity

.NET MAUI, React Native, and Flutter are all considered mature compared to other cross-platform frameworks. Each of these frameworks has its bugs and areas for improvement, but this is not unique to cross-platform development; even native iOS and Android development have their own set of bugs and challenges.

A notable point is that bugs and issues in the native iOS and Android APIs and tools are inherited by these cross-platform frameworks. This is particularly significant for .NET MAUI and React Native, whose UI/UX components are directly tied to native UI APIs. Consequently, any instability or bugs in the native APIs can directly impact the performance and reliability of apps built with these frameworks.

Feature Access

All these cross-platform frameworks—.NET MAUI, React Native, and Flutter—provide full access to platform-specific APIs. There are numerous well-supported packages that cover most of the APIs developers might need to use in an app. However, if a specific API is not covered by an existing package, developers will need to implement these integrations themselves. The approach and requirements for doing this vary between the frameworks.

.NET MAUI: This framework allows developers to access iOS and Android APIs directly from the shared codebase using C#. This means you can use the same development tools (Visual Studio, VS Code, Rider) for both platforms without needing to write separate packages in Swift or Kotlin. This unified approach simplifies development and maintenance by keeping all platform-specific code in a single language and environment.

React Native: When existing packages do not cover specific platform APIs, developers need to create native modules in Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android. This requires using platform-specific tools like Xcode for iOS development and Android Studio for Android development. While this approach allows fine-grained control over native functionalities, it also means that developers must be proficient in both Swift and Kotlin to extend the app’s capabilities.

Flutter: Similar to React Native, Flutter requires developers to write platform-specific code in Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android if the needed API is not covered by existing Dart packages. The platform channels in Flutter facilitate communication between Dart and native code, but this approach necessitates knowledge of both the Dart language and the respective native languages and development environments.

Additional Considerations

Learning Curve and Expertise: Depending on the framework, developers may need to be familiar with multiple programming languages and development environments. .NET MAUI’s approach of using a single language (C#) for both platforms can simplify the learning curve and development process, making it an attractive choice for teams already experienced with .NET.

Extensibility and Flexibility: While the need to write platform-specific code can be seen as a downside, it also offers flexibility and extensibility. Developers can leverage the full power of native APIs to create highly customized and performant applications.

Community and Ecosystem: The strength of the community and the availability of third-party packages play a crucial role. Mature frameworks like .NET MAUI, React Native and Flutter have extensive ecosystems with many community-contributed packages that reduce the need to write custom native modules.

Open Source

All the major Cross-Platform Native frameworks—.NET MAUI, React Native, and Flutter—are open source.

The open-source nature of .NET MAUI, React Native, and Flutter brings numerous advantages, including transparency, community contributions, rich ecosystems, and cost-effectiveness. These benefits make open-source Cross-Platform Native frameworks an excellent choice for developing high-quality mobile applications. By leveraging the strengths of these frameworks and engaging with their communities, developers can create innovative, performant, and reliable apps that meet the demands of modern users.