Kotlin vs Flutter – Comparison of Popularity, Performance in 2024

In the battle of cross-platform mobile app frameworks, two players were battling it out for the throne – React Native Vs. Flutter. Over the last decade, a new java-based programming language has gained enough popularity that developers are starting to notice. This new language is Kotlin. There is a new debate that is catching the attention of many developers – Kotlin Vs. Flutter

The past standard programming frameworks for cross-platform development were Flutter and React Native. Developers used to utilize these languages a lot. However, currently, Kotlin has established itself in the developer community. Google formally launched Kotlin support for Android mobile app development in 2019. But it’s also critical to remember that Google developed the open-source mobile application development framework known as Flutter.

Kotlin and Flutter both have a Google Label associated with them. Therefore, the crucial question for developers is which is more appropriate. To help readers choose a mobile app development platform wisely, we will compare Kotlin and Flutter’s unique features in this article. So let’s take a quick look at both before delving into their differences.

Understanding Your Project Needs: Kotlin vs Flutter

When deciding between Kotlin and Flutter, it’s important to first consider the specific needs of your project. Each framework excels in different areas and understanding what matters most to your project will clarify which option is better suited for your goals.

Kotlin: Ideal for Native Android Development

Kotlin is a statically typed programming language that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It is fully supported by Google as the official language for Android development and offers seamless interoperability with Java. Kotlin is ideal for:

• Java-based ecosystems: Kotlin can work alongside existing Java codebases, making it a natural choice for updating or maintaining Android apps that were initially developed in Java.
• Kotlin Multiplatform: While Kotlin shines in native Android development, it also offers cross-platform capabilities through Kotlin Multiplatform, enabling code sharing across platforms like iOS, desktop, and backend systems.

Flutter: Best for Cross-Platform, UI-Rich Applications

Flutter is Google’s UI toolkit that uses the Dart programming language to build applications for multiple platforms, including iOS, Android, and the web, from a single codebase. Flutter’s strengths are in:

• • Cross-platform consistency: With one codebase, developers can deploy applications across multiple platforms, reducing development time and effort.
  • Custom, rich UI design: Flutter’s widget-based architecture allows for extensive customization of UI components, making it easy to create beautiful, interactive interfaces.
  • Faster development cycles: Features like Hot Reload speed up the development process, enabling quick testing and iteration.

Kotlin: Overview

Kotlin is a general-purpose programming language developed by JetBrains in 2016. The major focus of Kotlin is on interoperability, clarity, and safety. Some of the tech giants using Kotlin are Amazon, Netflix, Uber, Trello, etc. Kotlin multiplatform is an additional feature provided by Kotlin for enabling developers to reuse the business logic by not imposing any rules on how they want to build their app UI.

Note: Google also announced Kotlin as an officially supported language to write Android apps in their Google I/O in May 2017.

Flutter : Overview

Flutter is Google’s open-source and cross-platform UI development kit. It uses Dart as its programming language that makes use of Ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation. Google introduced flutter framework in 2017, and it has been the talk of the town ever since. The Flutter architecture is divided into three broad categories – Platform, Engine, and Framework.

The Ultimate Technical Kotlin Vs. Flutter Comparison – 2024

Now that we have a better understanding of both the platforms let us dive straight into the ultimate Kotlin Vs. Flutter comparison and see which one is better suited for your app development needs.

Popularity and Market Share

In terms of popularity, both Kotlin and Flutter are popular in mobile app development. There are plenty of reasons why Flutter shines, however Kotlin, with its features and functionalities, is one of the top mobile app development tools. When comparing in terms of popularity, Kotlin has 42.5K stars and 5.2K forks on GitHub. On the other hand, Flutter has 144K stars and 23.1K forks. Let’s take a look at the google trends stats.

Google Trends Comparison Between Kotlin Vs Flutter

The Google Trends graph shows the data for the last 5 years for the technology where the blue color represents Kotlin, and the red color represents Flutter. You can see a steady rise in both technologies. This graph represents the average queries asked about both the technology in general. Kotlin generates an average of 22 questions, whereas Flutter generates 35 queries.

StackOverflow Stats – Kotlin vs Flutter

According to the Stackoverflow developers survey 2022, Kotlin is used by 9.16% of developers. Regarding salary, As of 2021, the median yearly salary of Kotlin developers was $55,071, which increased to $69,318 in 2022.

While talking about Flutter, it is used by 12.64% of developers in the other frameworks and libraries.

Flutter has remained in the top three most loved technology with 68.03%.

Flutter Vs Kotlin: Learning Curve

One of the first things new developers are interested in knowing when deciding on a new framework is the learning curve that comes with it. Overall, Kotlin is easier to learn since Google has many detailed courses available for Kotlin, and it is also interoperable with Java. However, the focus of Kotlin currently is more on its extension –Kotlin Multiplatform. And there is limited documentation and resources available for it in the market compared to Flutter.  Flutter has better comprehensive documentation compared to Kotlin.

Winner for this round of Kotlin Vs. Flutter – Flutter.

#3. Flutter Vs Kotlin: Performance

The programming language Dart is used by Flutter. Apps developed using Flutter are incredibly quick since they are directly compiled to machine code. It renders each view component using its own rendering engines, not the widgets provided by the device’s OEM or the web view. The entire essential range of platform variations, including typefaces, navigations, scrolling, and other UI elements, are included in its comprehensive widget collection.

Flutter uses the programming language Dart. Since Flutter apps are directly built to machine code, they are extraordinarily quick to develop. Instead of using the widgets offered by the device’s OEM or the web view, it draws each view component utilizing its own rendering engines. Its extensive widget library contains every important variation of a platform, such as typefaces, navigations, scrolling, and other UI elements.

When we compare the performance of flutter with kotlin, flutter performs better on the performance test. It strives for 60 frames per second in order to assess how well the application’s user interface (UI) performs with flutter. It’s because flutter, a UI toolkit, focuses mostly on the application’s front end.

Winner for this round of Kotlin Vs. Flutter – Draw.

#4. Flutter Vs Kotlin: User Experience – UX perspective

Flutter is a widget-oriented cross-platform framework. It has unparalleled customization options, allowing Flutter developers to create unique, functional, and scalable applications. Kotlin is a general-purpose language that makes it cross-platform capable. Using this language, Kotlin developers can easily create efficient applications without any issues.

Winner for this round of Kotlin Vs. Flutter – Draw.

#5. Flutter Vs Kotlin: Third-party libraries and Tools Integration

Flutter is an open-source, cross-platform SDK. It provides easy integration of third-party UI development tools. Kotlin is a programming language that is capable of developing native-like cross-platform apps. For this, it makes use of native tools like SwiftUI and Jetpack Compose.

Winner for this round of Kotlin Vs. Flutter – Kotlin.

#6. Flutter Vs Kotlin: Scope in Backend Development

Google backs Flutter; hence it lets Flutter developers leverage Firebase (Backend-as-a-service platform) to write codes at the backend. Kotlin multiplatform allows developers to directly write the backend code without any hassle.

Winner for this round of Kotlin Vs. Flutter – Kotlin.

#7. Flutter Vs Kotlin: Pricing

We are comparing pricing in regards to the app development costs with Kotlin and Flutter framework. Both Kotlin and Flutter are open-source and free to make use of platforms. Flutter provides the fastest way to build an MVP – Minimal Viable Product. Moreover, it significantly reduces app development cost and time as you can make Android and iOS apps using a single codebase at the same time with Flutter. Since Kotlin is also open-source, you can directly download it from Github and start using it.

Winner for this round of Kotlin Vs. Flutter – Draw.