Difference Between Flutter and Kotlin

Before, for cross-platform development Flutter and React Native were the go-to programming solutions and these languages were highly used by the developers. But today Kotlin has also become very popular and it has managed to enter the competition. So, the debate started that who will rule the market and which one will be more demanding for application development. Let’s go into the depth of it to understand what is the difference between them then we can think which one we should prefer.

Flutter

Flutter is an open-source Software Development Kit that can be used to build cross-platform applications that are developed by Google. It is introduced back in 2015 and released on the year 2017. It is more popular than Kotlin. It uses Dart programming language. It has more sustainable community support on Github as compared to Flutter. Users can build custom user interface with it. Companies using Flutter are Google, ebay, BMW, Square, Alibaba group, CapitalOne, etc.

Below are some of the top features of Flutter which makes it more preferable than Kotlin :

1. Hot Reload :

It is one of the important feature of Flutter which makes it distinct from Kotlin as it allows developers to make backend changes with respect to frontend impact. So this due to this hot reloading easily effect of changes with various components of application can be observed.

2. Highly Customizable:

Flutter is an open-source software development kit where this kit provides numerous widgets which makes the application development process highly customizable and the development ecosystem becomes easier and faster for the developers.

3. Development Cost:

Flutter is one of the more popular cross-development framework which makes the development process faster by providing a lot of facilities in the development ecosystem along with this as the solution works fine with multiple platforms with only a single codebase it reduces development cost where Kotlin requires higher development cost.

4. Firebase Integration:

Firebase is a real-time cloud-hosted database and it provides a backend platform for mobile application and its integration with Flutter provides a facility to the developer to store, manage and access data easily without maintaining own local database server.

5. Prototyping:

The prototype is something that gives a dummy view and functionality of the real project. Prototyping not only gives clear vision to developers also it gives a pre-product view to the client. As Flutter is cross-platform and with less time and less cost it can be developed. So, it is very helpful for prototyping.

Cons of Flutter :

• Not as Widely Adopted
• Large App Sizes

Kotlin

Kotlin is an open-source, general-purpose language that can be used to build cross-platform applications that are developed by JetBrain. Kotlin, the project started in 2010 and released in the year 2016. Kotlin is less popular than Flutter, but now Kotlin popularity is also increasing so fast. It is statically typed programming language designed to interoperate with Java and for JVM (Java Virtual Machine). With these users can have their native app experience. Companies using Kotlin are Amazon, Netflix, Uber, Trello, etc.

Below are some top features of Kotlin which makes it more preferable than Flutter :

1. Kotlin Multiplatform:

Kotlin is not only a language like another general-purpose language, it is for sure that it is an open-source general-purpose language but it has a multiplatform functionality which gives it a uniqueness by allowing developers to share code and business logic across multiple platforms like iOS, Web, and Android etc.

2. Simplicity of language:

Kotlin syntax is very similar to syntax of Java, Scala and Groovy language so it is very simple to learn from basic and easy to use. Features like data classes, extension functions, no concise syntax, no singletons, null-safety types, sealed classes etc. are the features where Dart fails and there Kotlin becomes simpler and advanced by supporting all these.

3. Reuse of the Logic:

It gives a separated platform for UI and enterprise logic like Xamarin and React Native. The main fact is that it employs shared logic and libraries below the UI layer. So kotlin, android studio, javascript etc are used and interacted without utilizing any bridge.

4. Native UI Expertise:

There is no specific instructions for creating UI. It allows developers to work on design, appearance, and performance of the application similar to the case of native.

5. Scalability and Flexibility :

It allows developers to scale up their application without using any VM. So it makes it great choice where scalability and flexibility factors are more focused.

Cons of Kotlin :

• Relatively New Language
• Slower Compilation Speed

Difference between Flutter and Kotlin :

Features	FLUTTER	KOTLIN
Definition	Flutter is an open source Software Development Kit which can be used to build cross platform applications.	Kotlin is an open-source,  general-purpose language which can be used to build cross platform applications.
Developed By	Flutter is developed by Google.	Kotlin is developed by JetBrain.
Released on	Flutter is introduced back on 2015 and released on the year 2017.	Kotlin, the project started on 2010 and released on the year 2016.
Popularity	Flutter is more popular than Kotlin.	Kotlin is less popular than Flutter, but now Kotlin popularity is also increasing so fast.
Language	It uses Dart programming language.	Kotlin itself is a programming language and designed to interoperate with Java.
Performance	It provides excellent speed in case of performance.	It provides better security and compatibility in case of performance.
Development cost	It requires less development cost as compared to Kotlin.	It requires more development cost as compared to Flutter.
Support to platform	It does not support television (tvOS), Android Auto, CarOS, or smartwatch OS.	It supports platforms beyond mobile, like television, smartwatch, etc.
Companies use	Google, ebay, BMW, Square, Alibaba group, CapitalOne etc companies are using Flutter.	Amazon, Netflix, Uber, Trello etc. companies are using Kotlin.
Community Support	It has more sustainable community support on Github as compared to Flutter.	It has less sustainable community support on Github as compared to Flutter.