Both frameworks are inherently different, despite having the common goal of developing high-performing mobile apps. And if you think there will be many similarities between the working process of the leading cross-platform app development frameworks, you are highly mistaken.

1. Ionic vs Flutter: Best Platform for Hybrid
App Development
Being part of a world increasingly working on mobile devices, it has
become imperative for companies to have performant cross-platform

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mobile apps that work seamlessly on all operating systems and
cater to a more significant share of the customer base.
When it comes to cross-platform mobile apps, the two leading
frameworks used in the modern-day tech realm to build
high-performing cross-platform apps are Ionic and Flutter.
Both frameworks are inherently different, despite having the common
goal of developing high-performing mobile apps. And if you think there
will be many similarities between the working process of the leading
cross-platform app development frameworks, you are highly mistaken.
For any enterprise, deciding which one is best for their project can be
tricky. Thus, this article will try to understand and conclude the debate
between Flutter and the Ionic framework to help enterprises decide
the best mobile app development framework for their business
requirements.

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Flutter: An Overview
Do you know, according to the 2021 developer survey, Flutter is the
most popular cross-platform mobile framework, and 42 percent of
software developers use Flutter for hybrid mobile app development.
Google’s brainchild – Flutter, is a relatively scalable and fast
cross-platform framework that primarily functions as a UI toolkit to
create feature-rich and powerful cross-platform applications.
Developed in 2017, the first version of Flutter was released in 2018
with the support of the ECMA standard.

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Empowered with an intuitive interface, a library of elements, and
many templates, Flutter support Dart programming language, utilizes
Swift and Objective C for iOS integration and Java for Android.
The framework’s thriving user community with open-source libraries,
resources, and answers to all programming dilemmas is what sets
Flutter framework apart from the rest of mobile app development
frameworks.
Advantages of Flutter
While comparing Flutter vs. Ionic, Flutter has many decent selling
points, including:
● Hot-reload — One of the unique features of Flutter is Hot
Reload. The changes are visible as soon as the flutter app
developer or designer updates the code.
● Rich & Powerful Widgets — Combined with RichWidgets,
the Flutter framework equips mobile app developers with
an extensive library to add rich, layered functionalities in
apps compatible with any operating system.
● Flawless back-end integration — Whether the backend is
in Java supporting Android or Objective C or Swift

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supporting iOS, Flutter integrates smoothly enough to
make the frontend look as native as the backend.
● Quick iteration — Flutter offers swift iteration cycles that
save coding and quality control hours as testing is needed
for one codebase only.
Disadvantages of Flutter
It is always advised to remember that every tool or technology has its
definite downsides. They may or may not affect the flutter app
development for your business. But here are some common
disadvantages you may experience:
● Immaturity of the platform — Compared to Ionic, Flutter
is competitively a new platform launched less than three
years ago; therefore, one major downside of using flutter
for hybrid mobile app development is the lack of
community-generated tools and libraries.
● Rendering issues — Another downside of flutter app
development that comes into consideration is the plug-ins
rendering issues if you’re using vectored or moving images
while developing a hybrid mobile app.

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● Platform compatibility — While Flutter offers
cross-platform interoperability, apps like tvOS, Android
Auto, CarPlay and watchOS won’t function flawlessly.
● Updating roadblocks — Flutter makes you work through
its processes every time to post system changes.
When to use Flutter Framework for Hybrid Mobile Application
Development
Flutter can be used for the following purposes:
● Developing Minimally Viable Product (MVPs), utilizing
Flutter’s light construction to make speedy first edition or
proof of concept apps
● Building apps using material design language
● Building Apps having Simple Logic OS Plugins
● High-performance apps featuring Skia rendering engine
● Flexible UI that use brilliant code-dense widgets
● Reactive apps with heavy data integration and user
interaction
Also Read: Flutter App Development: Common FAQs Answered

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Ionic: An Overview
Do you know, Currently, there are more than 5 million apps built on
Ionic available in the market. And approximately 86% of developers
prefer using Ionic.
The first version of Ionic came into existence in 2013 when three
coders named Max Lynch, Adam Bradley and Ben Sperry built an
open-source UI toolkit on AngularJS. On 25th July 2019, the latest yet
stable version of the Ionic cross-platform app development framework
was released, and since then, Ionic has become one of the most
popular cross-platform app development frameworks known for
providing efficient performance with minimum DOM manipulation.
To define, Ionic is a well-integrated, open-source framework and UI
toolkit used to build high-performing desktop & mobile applications
with well-known languages like HTML, CSS, React Native, Angular,
Vue.JS and JavaScript for integration with your backend.
The Ionic framework primarily targets to improve the frontend user
experience by equipping hybrid app developers with vast libraries of
mobile-optimized UI components, tools and gestures to build
future-ready mobile apps that reciprocate impact and increase
customer engagement.

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Advantages of Ionic
Ionic is the only framework that allows developers to create a single,
simple-to-use JavaScript codebase. In addition, here are a few
advantages of using Ionic for cross-platform application development.
● Platform-independence — Being a platform-independent
framework, Ionic reduces the time, effort, and resources
employed to build a cross-platform app with a native look
and feel.
● Simplified developer interface — Ionic uses a capacitor
that saves development time and creates an easy-to-use
interface to access native API and native SDK on platforms.
● Community Support — Ionic is built on top of popular
technologies such as Cordova and Angular and has an
active community for support. This makes it easy to access
quick responses to queries while developing cross-platform
apps.
● Easy Testing — Another advantage of Ionic is mobile app
testing. It is easier to test on a desktop browser or perform
simulator testing for iOS, and Android apps using Cordova
commands with Ionic.

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● Scalability — Scales efficiently as the number of active
users doesn’t affect its performance.
Disadvantages of Ionic
Now that we’ve covered some of the significant advantages of the
Ionic mobile application development framework, now is the time to
look at some of the disadvantages.
● Plugin Dependent System — Ionic offers a plethora of
plugins, yet it’s imperative for developers to create some
highly-specific features. In simpler words, if you’d like to
use another plugin that uses other languages/libraries, you
may find yourself trying to version them back over to
JavaScript on your own.
● Absence of Hot Reloading — Ionic doesn’t
accommodate hot reloading and refreshes the whole app
whenever the developer changes, slowing down your
development speed.
● Security threats — While this isn’t the case on the newer
updates of Ionic, using older versions won’t provide code
uglification.
● Performance — Using Ionic to build heavy applications
makes the app crawl. Thus it isn’t suitable for

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memory-intensive or complex applications as Ionic uses
WebView to render apps.
When to use Ionic Framework for Hybrid Mobile Application
Development
Ionic can be used to develop:
● Hybrid mobile app development
● MVC mobile apps
● Native wrapper
● Cross-platform mobile application development
● Hardware functionality enabled app
● High-performance UX/UI applications
Popular Applications built with Flutter and Ionic
The best way to judge Flutter vs. ionic framework is to see the
differences between the real-world use cases. Here’s a list of some
tech giants who are entrusting Flutter and Ionic to meet their market
needs.
Popular apps made with Flutter
● Google Ads
● Tencent

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● Alibaba
● eBay
● BMW
● Reflectly
Popular Apps built with Ionic:
● Nationwide
● Pacifica
● MarketWatch
● JustWatch
● Microsoft Flow
Flutter Vs Ionic: Comparison
Parameter Ionic Flutter
Language(s) HTML, CSS, JavaScript Dart
UI elements
Standard-based web
components
Proprietary widgets

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Native API
access
Native plugin library,
using Cordova and
Capacitor
Native plugin library,
using Flutter native
packages
Runtime Web browser
Custom graphics
machine
Offline
access
Yes Yes
Mobile
performance
Very good Excellent
Type Software framework Application framework

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License MIT License New BSD License
Hot Reload No Yes
Performanc
e
Moderate Amazing controller
Testing Any browser
Mobile device or
emulator
Code
reusability
98% of code is reusable
50-90% of code is
reusable
Typical use
cases
Hybrid app
development, App with
hardware functionality,
MVP applications, Apps
with material design,
High-performance apps

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MVC mobile apps, and
more
with a Skia rendering
engine, and more
Deployment
Options
Mobile, Desktop, Web,
PWA
Mobile, Desktop, Web
Popular
apps
Diesel, Sworkit,
Microsoft Flow, Pacifica,
Watch
Google Ads, BMW,
Tencent, KisterMe
The Winner – Flutter or Ionic?
With all of that read, we hope this article helps to clear up some of the
similarities and differences between Ionic and Flutter so that you can
make an informed decision. However, the end decision of selecting
the best-suited framework amongst the two will solely depend upon
business objectives, user requirements, where and how you plan to
launch your app.

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If you choose to build a cross-platform app with Ionic, you will learn
and apply the tools and languages of the web, as Ionic uses the web
platform open standards wherever possible to deliver great
performance on mobile, desktop, and web.
On the contrary, Flutter has a self-contained ecosystem well-equipped
with the common languages, toolsets, and standards in the broader
hybrid app development world. Thus, if you choose Flutter, you will be
doing things the Flutter way.
The easiest way for any enterprise willing to have a performant app is
to partner with a renowned mobile app development company with a
successful history of developing mobile apps that drive value and
impact.