Flutter and Xamarin are two mobile application development platforms developed by Google and Microsoft, respectively. Flutter and Xamarin each offer cross-platform solutions that developers can use to create apps and games on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone (in the case of Xamarin).

The platforms are similar in functionality but differ in a few key ways. In this article, we’ll cover the basics of Flutter and Xamarin, then discuss their similarities and differences.

Main Difference

In the cross-platform mobile app development world, there are two clear frontrunners: Flutter vs. Xamarin. Both have pros and cons, but which is the best for your project?

Flutter is an open-source framework created by Google. It allows developers to create native apps for both iOS and Android with a single codebase. One of the biggest advantages of Flutter is its hot reload feature, which allows you to see changes made to your code instantly in the app.

Xamarin is a Microsoft-owned framework that allows developers to create apps for both iOS and Android with a single codebase. However, Xamarin uses C# instead of Dart as Flutter does. This can make it more difficult for some developers to start with Xamarin. So, which one should you choose?

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Introduction To Flutter

Flutter is a cross-platform mobile application framework built using C and.Net framework. It provides a high-performance UI rendering engine and supports both native and hybrid apps. It works across iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and Linux devices. It uses the same code base for all platforms and provides native APIs to access device features.

Advantages

Flutter is a cross-platform app development framework that enables developers to write one codebase for Android and iOS platforms. In this article, we will discuss the advantages of Flutter over other app development frameworks.

One of the main advantages of Flutter is its hot reload feature. This feature allows developers to make changes in the code and see the results instantly on the simulator or emulator. Hot reload makes it easier and faster for developers to experiment with different UI designs and implement new features.
Another advantage of Flutter is its widget library. The widget library provides many ready-to-use widgets that can be used to build complex UIs. The widgets are also highly customizable, which gives developers the flexibility to create unique UIs.
Flutter also has excellent documentation that covers all the aspects of the framework.

Disadvantages

Flutter is a new toolkit for building beautiful native apps for both iOS and Android. It’s based on Google’s Dart programming language and uses the Skia graphics engine.
While Flutter has a lot of advantages, like being able to produce apps with high-quality graphics, there are also some disadvantages to using Flutter.
One disadvantage is that Flutter is still in beta, which means it’s not as stable as other platforms. There have also been reports of performance issues, especially on older devices.
Another downside is that because Flutter is so new, there aren’t a lot of resources available yet to help developers learn how to use it. And because it uses Dart, which isn’t as popular as other languages, it can be harder to find developers familiar with it.

Introduction To Xamarin

Xamarin is a cross-platform mobile app development platform that provides native iOS, Android, and UWP (Universal Windows Platform) apps. It integrates closely with Visual Studio 2015 and includes features like code sharing between platforms, IntelliSense for C, F, and VB.Net on Mac and PC, and unit test automation.

Disadvantages

There are a few disadvantages to using the Xamarin platform for developing mobile apps.

One such disadvantage is the cost of the platform itself. Xamarin licenses start at $999 per developer, making it one of the more expensive options available.
Another downside is that app development can take longer with Xamarin, as it can be more complex than other platforms.
Additionally, a smaller pool of experienced developers with Xamarin can make finding talent to work on your project more difficult and costly.

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Disadvantages

Advantages of using Xamarin cross-platform app development tools include the ability to share code across platforms, access to native API libraries, and the use of a common language – C#.
Code sharing is one of the most significant advantages of using Xamarin. By sharing code across platforms, developers can save significant amounts of time and effort. Code sharing also allows for more consistent results across platforms.
Access to native API libraries is another advantage of using Xamarin. This allows developers to take advantage of the features and functionality that are specific to each platform. For example, developers can access the iOS SDK within a Xamarin app.
Using a common language – C# – is another advantage of using Xamarin. C# is a powerful and popular programming language that is easy to learn and use.

Platform Support: Flutter vs. Xamarin

One of the critical differences between Flutter and Xamarin is platform support. While Xamarin supports both iOS and Android, Flutter only supports Android. This may not be a big deal for some developers, but for those who want to develop for both platforms, it’s a significant drawback.

Interoperability: Flutter vs. Xamarin

Both Flutter and Xamarin allow for the creation of cross-platform applications. However, there are some critical differences between the two. For example, Flutter uses Dart while Xamarin uses C#. Additionally, Flutter apps are compiled using ARM code, whereas Xamarin apps are compiled using Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compiler.

Performance: Flutter vs. Xamarin

When it comes to performance, Flutter and Xamarin are on par with each other. However, because Flutter uses Dart, a language that is not as widely known as C#, it can be difficult to find developers who are familiar with it.

As a result, your team may need to spend more time learning how to use Flutter. However, this is an advantage for some companies who want to restrict their hiring pool to those already versed in the language. Furthermore, because of the number of tools that Flutter provides out-of-the-box, many teams have been able to get their apps up and running without having any experience in mobile development.

Learning Curve: Flutter vs. Xamarin

Choosing the proper framework for your mobile app development can be daunting. There are so many options, and it can be hard to know which is right for you. When it comes to Flutter vs. Xamarin, there are some key differences that you should be aware of.

The first thing to understand is that Flutter uses Dart language while Xamarin uses C#. One of the great things about using Dart is that you don’t need a lot of experience with programming languages because Dart has been specifically designed to make coding easier.

If you’re more comfortable with C# than Dart, I recommend choosing Xamarin because your learning curve will be shorter. As far as performance goes, this depends on what type of project you’re working on.

Development Model: Flutter vs. Xamarin

There are two main development models for creating mobile apps: native and cross-platform. Native apps are written specifically for one platform, while cross-platform apps are written in a language that can be compiled for multiple platforms.

It is easier to create native apps because developers use the same programming languages and tools as the ones on the specific operating system. Cross-platform development, on the other hand, requires developers to write different code for each of the operating systems they want their app to run on.

Openness: Flutter vs. Xamarin

When it comes to cross-platform app development, there are two main choices: Flutter or Xamarin. But what’s the difference between the two? 1) Openness – with Flutter, you’re not limited to C# for coding but can also use Java, Swift, or Kotlin. With Xamarin, you’re limited to C# for coding unless using a third-party plugin.

Key Differences Between Flutter and Xamarin

Flutter is a cross-platform mobile app framework built using C and.NET. Xamarin is a cross-platform application development platform based on Mono and C. These frameworks allow developers to create iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Mac OS X apps.

Flutter is a toolkit for building native mobile applications for iOS and Android platforms. Xamarin is not a toolkit but a set of tools that help developers build cross-platform mobile apps.
Flutter is a framework for developing cross-platform mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. Xamarin is an integrated development environment (IDE) that helps developers write code once and deploy it across different platforms.
Flutter is a UI library for building apps for iOS and Android. Xamarin is the IDE that helps developers write code for iOS and Android.
Flutter is a language for writing cross-platform mobile apps that run on iOS and Android. XAMARIN is a programming language for building cross-platform apps.
Flutter is a technology for building cross-platform mobile apps on iOS and Android. Xamarin is a programming language for cross-platform app development.
Flutter is a visual design system for building cross-platform native mobile apps. Xamarin is used to develop cross-platform apps.
Flutter is a mobile app development framework for building cross-platform applications. Microsoft develops Xamarin.
Flutter is a software development kit (SDK) that lets developers build cross-platform apps for iOS and Android platforms using C and.NET. Xamarin is created by Microsoft and uses C and.NET technologies.
Flutter is a way to make cross-platform mobile apps using C and.Net. Xamarin is designed to make cross-platform apps using C and Mono.
Flutter is a collection of libraries and APIs that let developers build cross-platform native mobile applications for iOS, Android, and macOS. Xamarin is primarily used to build cross-platform apps.

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Comparison Chart Between Flutter and Xamarin

Flutter	Xamarin
Google created Flutter.	Microsoft created Xamarin.
The applications are developed using the Dart programming language.	Applications are developed using the C# programming language.
It can work with any IDE.	It cannot work with any IDE; it supports Visual Studio only.
Third-party services are needed at times.	No third-party services are required.
No proper documentation is maintained, i.e., no well-written documentation.	It is well-documented and formatted as compared to Flutter.
The installation of Flutter is easy.	Installation of Xamarin is also easy.
The percentage of reusability of code is low as compared to Xamarin.	The code reusability and support code reusability are high and much more significant.

Conclusion

In the end, both Flutter and Xamarin have their pros and cons. It depends on what you’re looking for in a cross-platform development tool. If you’re primarily focused on developing for iOS and Android, then Xamarin is a good choice. But if you’re interested in building for multiple platforms, including web and desktop, then Flutter might be a better option.