One codebase, two platforms

Both are excellent frameworks with different strengths. React Native is ideal if your team has web developers with JavaScript and React experience, as the skills transfer directly. Flutter offers slightly better performance, a more consistent visual appearance across platforms, and a growing ecosystem of packages. We recommend the best fit based on your project requirements, your team existing skills, and your long-term plans. For most New Zealand businesses building their first app, both frameworks will deliver an excellent result.

For the vast majority of apps, cross-platform performance is indistinguishable from native. React Native and Flutter both compile to native code and deliver smooth animations, fast load times, and responsive interactions. The only scenarios where native development offers a meaningful advantage are apps with very heavy 3D graphics, complex real-time video processing, or deeply integrated hardware features. For business apps, utility apps, ecommerce apps, and social apps, cross-platform delivers full native-quality performance at a lower cost.

Yes, both React Native and Flutter provide access to camera, GPS, push notifications, biometrics (Face ID and fingerprint), local storage, Bluetooth, and most other native device features through plugins and native bridges. If a specific feature is not available through an existing plugin, we can write custom native modules that bridge the gap. This means you get the cost efficiency of a shared codebase without sacrificing access to the platform capabilities your app needs.

Cross-platform apps built with React Native can use over-the-air (OTA) update services like CodePush to push certain changes directly to users without going through App Store or Play Store review. This is valuable for quick bug fixes and minor UI updates. For larger feature changes, the standard store review process still applies. Flutter apps follow the standard store submission process for all updates. In both cases, the single codebase means you only need to make changes once rather than updating two separate native apps.

Cross-platform development typically costs up to ~40% less than building separate native iOS and Android apps (industry estimates), because you are writing one codebase instead of two. The exact cost depends on your app complexity, features, and design requirements. You also save on ongoing maintenance since updates only need to be made once. For New Zealand businesses with limited budgets that need to reach both platforms, cross-platform development is often the most pragmatic approach, delivering quality apps on both iOS and Android without doubling the investment.

The main trade-offs are that some highly platform-specific features may require additional work through native modules, and the app might not feel quite as "native" in its micro-interactions compared to a platform-specific build. However, for the vast majority of apps, these differences are imperceptible to users. The frameworks have matured significantly, and companies like Meta, Google, BMW, and Alibaba use cross-platform technology for production apps serving millions of users. The cost and time savings usually far outweigh any minor trade-offs.

Yes, we can rebuild an existing native iOS or Android app using React Native or Flutter to create a single codebase that serves both platforms going forward. This is a strategic decision that makes sense when you are spending significant time and money maintaining two separate codebases, or when feature parity between your iOS and Android apps has become difficult to maintain. We assess your current app, advise on whether migration is worthwhile, and if so, build the cross-platform version while preserving all existing functionality.

Cross-platform apps connect to your existing backend and APIs exactly the same way native apps do, through standard HTTP requests, WebSocket connections, and third-party SDKs. If you already have a backend serving a web application or one native app, the cross-platform app can use the same APIs without modification. If you need a new backend, we can build one alongside the app. We also integrate with common backend-as-a-service platforms like Firebase and Supabase, which can reduce backend development costs significantly for many app types.