Cross Platform Application Development has a huge set of perks. Once, this method for building an application was used the most with the help of React Native and Flutter app development companies. You might be wondering how the native applications become different from the cross-platform application. This article will discuss everything you need to know about cross-platform functionality.

What is Kotlin Multiplatform? 

Kotlin Multiplatform is a simple feature of Kotlin, which was released with version 1.2. With the help of this feature, you can write the same code on different platforms directly. It uses the “Write Once Run Anywhere” property on a very high level so that you can write the code just once and run it on different platforms. This Kotlin Multiplatform Programming feature has solved many problems regarding platform dependency. It also helps reduce the time spent writing and maintaining the same code on different platforms. 

Features:

• Supports cross-platform framework. 
• Highly adaptable and flexible. 
• Allows the reuse of logic.
• Concise. 
• Has a friendly approach to any tool. 

What is Flutter UI Framework? 

The Flutter App development company launched the UI Framework of Flutter way back in 2015 to set up a market for Google Fuchsia. It is used for making native mobile applications with the help of a single codebase. Dart has powered the Flutter UI Framework. It helps the developers to maintain a single codebase for multiple platforms. It helps to prepare a smooth and responsive UI application. If this framework is used, most of the developed application seems to be a native application for every platform. Flutter also helps a lot to reduce the required time of development and maintenance to a great extent. 

Features:

• You have access to native features. 
• The implementation of logic is platform specific. 
• Very little code is required to be written. 
• It is an Open Source language. 

Major Comparisons Between Flutter UI Framework and Kotlin Multiplatform

Following are some brief comparisons that you must know about Flutter and Kotlin. 

Performance 

It is one of the major factors considered while comparing Flutter and Kotlin. Flutter and Kotlin have very good performance features: hot reload and hot restart. This feature allows the users to view the changes made by them in the code from the user’s point of view almost immediately. It helps to speed up the time required for development and makes it easier to develop such applications. 

Again, Kotlin allows the user to use more native features such as a camera and Bluetooth. In contrast, in Flutter, they use the library functions more frequently, which are written in languages like Java and Kotlin. 

Market Popularity 

Both Flutter and Kotlin are tools that are open-source and free to use. That is the reason why the app developers are showing an interest in both of them. But according to Google Trends, the popularity of the Flutter app development company has shown a steeper rise than that of Kotlin. According to GitHub’s presence, Kotlin has 3.5k stars and 415 forks, whereas Flutter has 133k stars and 19.5k forks. Thus, Flutter has more popularity and momentum than Kotlin. 

User Experience 

Flutter is such a cross-platform framework that is basically widget oriented. Various customization options allow Flutter developers to develop scalable, functional, and unique applications. On the other hand, Kotlin is known to be a language used for general purposes, which makes it capable enough to work as a cross-platform framework. Thus, with this language’s help, users can develop highly efficient applications. 

Pricing 

Here we have compared the prices according to the application development cost between Kotlin and Flutter. Flutter and Kotlin are both free and open-source platforms. Using Flutter, you can quickly achieve a minimum viable product, significantly reducing the application’s development cost. You can make Android and iOS applications using any single codebase. Also, since Kotlin is open-source, all you need to do is download it from GitHub, and you will be good to go. 

Scope in Backend Development 

While considering the backend development for various mobile applications, Kotlin stands on a higher edge than Flutter. Since Google backs Flutter, the language of Flutter goes with Firebase, which is a Backend as Service Platform, so that you can ensure better opportunities for the backend. On the other hand, Kotlin multiplatform allows developers to write backend code directly without hassle. 

Learning Curve 

The learning curve is the first and foremost thing the new developers are interested in while deciding which framework to use. The learning curve depicts how much difficult it is to learn the framework. On an overall basis, learning Kotlin is much easier as compared to learning Flutter. Many videos and detailed courses are available on Google, verified by Flutter App Development Company, which you can use to learn the new framework effectively. But for Kotlin Multiplatform, there are few materials available compared to Flutter. Thus learning Flutter is much easier as compared to Kotlin Multiplatform.

Support for Testing 

Flutter provides excellent support for testing multiple features and widgets, performing Unit Testing, and various application integration. Flutter also has a very well-documented, which is a significant advantage. Flutter integrates with iOS and Android, thus making testing easier and faster. At the same time, Kotlin does not need to integrate. Since Kotlin is a multiplatform tool, developers can use their native frameworks. Thus The developers find it easy to work with their native tools for the cross-platform frameworks. 

Pros and Cons of Kotlin Multiplatform

Pros:

• Provides 100% interoperable JAVA code. 
• Bug detection is not at all a problem. 
• Very easy to learn for people who are new to this field. 
• Highly compatible with the existing JAVA code. 
• Very easy to maintain. 
• Highly Flexible and Scalable framework. 

Cons:

• The compilation speed is very low. 
• Does not have many resources required for learning. 
• The development community is pretty small. 
• Has a very small pool of talent. 
• Kotlin Multiplatform is still in an experimental state. 

Pros and Cons of Flutter UI Framework

Pros:

• Writing the code is very fast compared to Kotlin. 
• Provides consistent application UI for the old devices. 
• Applications made with Flutter work faster. 
• A single code can be used for two platforms.
• It has an excellent feature of Hot Reload. 

Cons:

• The set of tools and libraries is very limited. 
• The iOS support is not that good. 
• The applications become heavy. 
• Does not have any support for password management. 
• Lack of third-party libraries. 

Conclusion

Thus, before we conclude, both Kotlin Multiplatform and Flutter UI Framework are good and highly reliable. Both of them aim to reduce the time that is usually required to create a presence on the iOS and Android platforms. Both Kotlin and Flutter app development companies are facing cutthroat competition in the market and are becoming increasingly competitive with each update.  

Author Bio:

Prashant Pujara is the CEO of MultiQoS Technologies., Top NodeJS Development Company in USA where you can hire web developer for your business. He is in charge of the company’s commercial and delivery operations and strategic planning and strategy.

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