Flutter vs Kotlin: Which Framework is Best for Your App?

Earlier businesses only focused on developing web applications, but after the popularity of smartphones, businesses’ primary focus is now shifted towards creating mobile applications for running a business. The future is handy devices like smartphones and tablets. After this pandemic, there have been a lot of changes in how companies operate. Companies want to cut costs and increase their sales and production. So in application development, their main focus is developing mobile applications.

Both Kotlin and Flutter are used for creating high-performance mobile applications. In this article, you will learn about the detailed comparison of Flutter vs Kotlin and which one is better for your mobile app development. But before comparing them, let us discuss both technologies in detail.

What is Flutter?

Flutter is a cross-platform user interface toolkit first introduced by Google in 2017; the ECMA standard manages it. Flutter is a framework which uses dart programming language, which is used to create beautiful and high-performance applications for mobile and desktop.

It has become popular due to its excellent native experiences. Google developed the Dart programming language in 2011, which is worthy of creating highly functional web and mobile applications.

Advantages of Flutter

It requires less testing.
Flutter can write code faster.
The same code works on other platforms too.
Applications made by using this technology are comparatively faster.

Disadvantages of Flutter

It has a limited number of tools and libraries.
Its iOS support isn’t that great.
The applications which are built using Flutter are a little bulky and heavy.

When to use Flutter?

When you have to create an app for a retail business.
When you need a budget-friendly app.

Apps built by using Flutter

Many big companies use Flutter for building their apps. Companies like:

GooglePay
Dream11
Alibaba
Google Ads

What is Kotlin?

Kotlin is an open-source, cross-platform, statically typed programming language. In 2011, a company named Jet brains first introduced it in the market, and the first official release was in 2016. It runs on JVM, that’s why it can be used anywhere where Java is used; that means Kotlin and Java can be used side by side.

Kotlin is used to develop both iOS and Android applications and is considered a highly acceptable technology. Statically typed means the type checking, and the variable type is known at the time of compilation. Kotlin has all the good features of most popular languages like Scala, C#, Java etc., making it user-friendly.

Advantages of using Kotlin

Kotlin is easy to maintain
It is completely interoperable with Java
It has easy bug detection
There are fewer chances of bugs’ occurrence

Disadvantages of using Kotlin

It is easy to learn
Kotlin will help you increase team productivity
It is compatible with existing Java code

When to use Kotlin?

When there is no need for cross-platform development of an application.
When you require a minimal, fast and lightweight app.

Apps built by using Kotlin

Kotlin is used by companies:

Pinterest
Trello
Tinder
Airbnb

Comparison Between Flutter and Kotlin

Feature	Flutter	Kotlin
Purpose	Mobile app development framework	General-purpose programming language
Platform	Cross-platform, supports Android and iOS	JVM-based, supports Android, desktop, and server-side
Programming Paradigm	Object-Oriented Programming, Reactive programming	Object-Oriented Programming, Functional Programming
Language	Dart	Kotlin
UI Toolkit	Flutter SDK, customizable widgets	Android SDK, Jetpack Compose, customizable components
Development Speed	Rapid development with hot reload	Slower development due to language verbosity
Performance	Good performance due to native code compilation	Good performance due to JVM optimization
Community Support	Growing community with good documentation	Large community with good documentation
Learning Curve	Moderate learning curve for beginners	Moderate learning curve for beginners
Tooling	Flutter provides extensive tooling and libraries	Kotlin has a range of tools and libraries
Debugging	Easy to debug with built-in tools	Easy to debug with a range of tools and IDE support
Third-Party Libraries	Large number of third-party libraries available	Large number of third-party libraries available

Comparison Table Between Flutter and Kotlin

After covid-19, companies want to develop cost-effective and high-quality apps in this competitive market; that’s why cross-platform is becoming famous day by day. These apps will generate revenue and create a strong online presence. But the most difficult question is, which technology to choose for your app development? Thank god we are here; this comparison of Flutter vs Kotlin will help you decide which technology is better. Before comparing the technical points, let us discuss some basic points.

Definition

Flutter is a cross-platform mobile app development framework that provides mobile app SDK to developers and designers to build modern mobile apps for iOS and Android.

In contrast, Kotlin is a statically typed programming language for the JVM, Android, and the browser. It is completely interoperable with Java.

Developed By

Flutter is a framework that Google first introduced in 2017.

At the same time, Kotlin is a programming language that JetBrains first introduced in 2010.

Popularity

On Github, Flutter has 88.7k stars and 11.7k folks.

In contrast, Kotlin has 31.1k stars and 3.8k folks on Github.

Performance

Flutter’s performance is impressive because of the Dart programming, and there is no need to use JavaScript Bridge to start interactions with the application.

Whereas, Kotlin’s performance is slow because it uses JavaScript and is entirely interoperable with Java, which decreases an application’s speed.

Documentation

Flutter has well-structured and informative documentation where we can get everything in one place.

On the contrary, Kotlin also provides well-organized documentation to the developers. Its libraries can be changed anytime because it is in the development stage.

Testing Support

Flutter has various testing features and a unique widget testing feature. In comparison, Kotlin’s primary focus is to deliver backend development services and uses Firebase as a secure backend option.

Flutter vs Kotlin-Technical Comparison

This technical comparison of Flutter vs Kotlin will help you determine which is better for your app development.

Popularity

Both technologies are free and open source, but Flutter is still more popular than Kotlin, and its popularity is proliferating.

From a business perspective, Flutter has a wider networking size than Kotlin. On Github, Flutter has 88.7k stars, 11.7k folks, and Kotlin has 31.1k stars and 3.8k folks. So Flutter topped this comparison.

Who Wins? Flutter

Learning Curve

The learning curve of Kotlin is sharp in comparison to Flutter. Google offered so many training classes for beginners to learn Kotlin.

Unlike Flutter, Kotlin has a limited number of resources. So learning Kotlin from scratch doesn’t take a long time.

Who Wins? Kotlin

UI/UX Experience

The user interface of Flutter has a collection of graphical primitives That are used for building highly expressive user interfaces. Flutter is a cross-platform UI framework which makes programming super easy.

Kotlin is used to create desktop and mobile applications. Kotlin’s extensive functional programming features are used to create high-quality applications. It works for both iOS and Android.

Who Wins? Flutter

Time to Hit Market

Flutter is simple to set up, and its hot reload feature accelerates development by enabling programmers to see changes in real-time. At the same time, Kotlin is also quick and used to build specialized mobile applications.

Who Wins? Flutter

Backend Capabilities

Flutter has a fantastic UI that makes it user-friendly and comes with various widget modification choices. It has super amazing excel and backend features, but they can take some time to activate.

On the contrary, Kotlin provides so much flexibility to developers for designing apps as required. But with Flutter, you can create more complex and large-scale applications.

Who Wins? Flutter

Community Support

Both technologies are equally popular among developers. Flutter has a larger dev community, active forums and is constantly expanding. And the reason behind Kotlin’s popularity is that Google is becoming Kotlin-centric.

Who Wins? Draw

Also read: – Comparing React Native vs Kotlin in 2023

Which is Better? Flutter or Kotlin?

In this detailed discussion of Flutter vs Kotlin, we concluded that both technologies make app development more straightforward. But in reality, no one is perfect; all things have flaws. So both technologies have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Flutter provides end-to-end development, so if you want to develop an app quickly that doesn’t require an upgraded UI, then use Flutter. But if you want to develop a customized and optimized app with a rich UI, use Kotlin.

But we always recommend that before starting your mobile app development, you always have a discussion with a reputed mobile app development company that will help you build the app of your dream. If you want to hire mobile app developer, then don’t hesitate to contact us.

We are more than happy to be a part of your journey.