Ionic vs Flutter – Which is better?

Ionic and Flutter are well-known cross-platform development frameworks with different features and functions. In case you are wondering about how these two platforms differ, this ionic vs Flutter article shall compare and contrast the two frameworks. 

Keep on reading to gain a better understanding of these two app development frameworks.

Key Takeaways

• Flutter was developed by Google as an open-source framework for building cross-platform apps.

• Ionic is a cross-platform framework for building Android, iOS, and web apps from a single codebase.

• The main difference between Ionic and Dart programming languages lies in the programming language used and performance on mobile and web apps.

• Provision of an open-source framework, native APIs are the main similarities of Ionic and Flutter.

Overview of Ionic

Ionic is an app development framework for building modern hybrid apps for Android and iOS platforms.  This framework leverages the power of Angular to build high-performance apps for modern mobile operating systems. The premium services and ready-to-use functions are dual features that make the Ionic framework stand out among others, 

With the Ionic framework, developers can build apps for the web, Android, and iOS devices. Developers that prefer building apps with GUI tools would love the Ionic Studio, it’s a version of Ionic with incredible speed and other powerful GUI development functions.  

App developers can access premium and free plugins for building modern functions into mobile apps and integrating with third-party platforms. 

Features of Ionic

Below are some of the major features of Ionic.

• Cross-Platform Development: Ionic apps can be deployed to various platforms including web, desktop, Android, and iOS.  In essence, you can write a code once and use it to build apps for multiple platforms. 

• Leverages Web Standards: Ionic was designed to use the latest standard in web development related to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript through web APIs that incorporate custom elements, DOM, and many others. This makes the Ionic app very stable when deployed on any platform.

• Visual Appeal: Ionic apps are known for their intuitive, neat, and functional visual features. Whatever platform you deploy Ionic apps, they maintain attractive visuals Development features such as typography, ready-made components, and the bade theme enhances the development of apps with excellent visuals. 

• The Command Line Interface:  The CLI of Ionic gives developers access to several commands for performing app development assignments. For instance, the interface can be used to build, start, emulate and run Ionic apps. 

• Compatibility Advantage: The previous versions of Ionic are packaged with Angular. But recent versions have been redesigned as an independent library component of the JavaScript framework. Therefore, besides Angular, it can serve as a frontend framework for React.js, Vue.js, and many others. 

The Benefits of Ionic Framework

• Easy to Use

Ionic framework makes the procedure for developing apps simple for website developers and experienced programmers that write advanced app codes.

This easy-to-use app development technique minimized the skillset required to build Ionic apps. It also expedites the app development procedures for experienced developers too. For instance, you can simply use the drag-and-drop functions of Ionic to assemble pre-built components to build an app. 

• Native Features

Ionic framework enjoys the support of an active developer community that provides innovative tools for testing, and adding new features that complement the Ionic API.  

For instance, Ionic developers have access to loads of plugins, graphics libraries, building blocks, UI components, and many other tools that enhance the app development process. Some plugins help developers add native functions such as GPS or Bluetooth to mobile apps. 

• Frontend Development Features

Before now, developers are restricted to React and Angular, but Ionic has opened a new frontier for JavaScript app development. With the recent version of Ionic, a developer can use any JavaScript framework to build an app. 

An Overview of Flutter

Flutter provides developers with features that allow them to build apps and see the changes in real-time.  This Google-owned framework is an open-source toolkit for building different types of visually appealing user interfaces from computer code.

The layered architecture and vast amount of widgets that developers can customize to suit their development objectives make this framework stand out among others.

The widget design aligns with platform-specific features like navigation, fonts, icon, and the scrolling system. The use of Dart programming language for coding and compiling apps is another factor that adds value to Flutter development. 

The Google developer community offers useful content and videos that would help you get up and running developing apps in Flutter. 

Features of Flutter

Here are the features that make Flutter one of the best options for developing cross-platform mobile apps. 

• Integration and Flexibility Options

Flutter offers extensive flexibility and integration option to developers. Whether you want to create a wireframe quickly or a build/redesign full-fledged app with modern functions, Flutter presents all the tools you need to achieve your objectives quickly. 

• Hot Reload

The procedure for modifying app code can be clumsy and time-consuming. That is not the case with Flutter.  The changes made to the Flutter code reflect on the screen in real-time, allowing you to expedite the app developing process and saving costs.  

The Dart Virtual Machine that creates a widget tree with the embedded codes makes this feature possible. During editing, only the relevant code is affected while the rest code remains on the server. Therefore, changes made to the code do not affect the hardware or simulator. 

• Comprehensive Development Tool

Flutter is a versatile tool that allows developers to build, deploy and manage apps for multiple platforms. In essence, it is a tool for developing fascinating Uis for mobile and web apps, you can also use it to troubleshoot and fix bugs when the need arises. It helps reduce your app development cycle significantly. 

• Native Performance and Valuable Libraries

Whether you are building an app for Android, or iOS, Flutter gives you access to widgets for building platform-specific UIs.  This is possible through the relevant Flutter native libraries that offer platform-specific functionalities.

That is why Flutter apps provide a native experience on all mobile platforms. It can even deploy specific UI to apps based on the user’s geolocation. 

The Benefits of Flutter

Below are the benefits of Flutter:

• Highly Productive

Whether you are building an app for iOS or Android, Flutter provides valuable tools for building native Uis for your app. Flutter developers can achieve more at a lower cost and in a shorter time.

Since Flutter uses the highly efficient Dart programming language, you do not need to write lengthy codes. Moreover, the compilation technology of the Dart programming language improves the app’s speed, responsiveness, and general performance. 

• Expedites Development

Features like Widgets and Hot Reload that allow developers to create Uis, fix bugs and view changes in the app codes in real-time expedites app development procedures.  App development with Flutter is simple, it requires little prior experience and has a short learning curve. 

• Highly Compatible

Flutter widgets work excellently on any platform because they are integrated with the app. Therefore, Flutter developers experience fewer compatibility issues with their apps, so lesser time is spent on troubleshooting app issues. 

Flutter vs Ionic: A comparative analysis

Here is an overview of the differences between Ionic and Flutter.

Conclusion

This article has reviewed Ionic and Flutter frameworks, emphasizing the features and benefits of each platform.  Ionic and Flutter have a few similarities and vast differences in their approach to app development.  

While you can use both platforms to build beautiful and functional apps for Android and iOS, issues relating to performance, and programming language used can be deciding factors.

So, you have enough information to select a suitable platform for your next app development project.