Flutter by Google vs. Ionic

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Flutter
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Flutter is an open-source mobile application development framework created by Google. It is used to develop applications for Android and iOS, as well as being the primary method of creating applications for Google Fuchsia.
$0
Ionic
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Ionic empowers teams and businesses to build, secure, and deliver enterprise-grade mobile and web apps. The vendor states that with Ionic, enterprise development teams can speed up and simplify app development, including: Build app experiences with over 100 UI building blocks Edit and customize using familiar web languages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) Connect to new or existing cloud services or backend systems Deploy directly to app…N/A
Pricing
Flutter by GoogleIonic
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
FlutterIonic
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Flutter by GoogleIonic
Considered Both Products
Flutter
Chose Flutter by Google
I think that Flutter is now much better than Microsoft's Xamarin and the old Apache Cordova. I was able to go from a concept design to a working application in almost no time and with almost no experience with Dart at all. It helps (but it is not a requirement) to have some …
Ionic

No answer on this topic

Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Best Alternatives
Flutter by GoogleIonic
Small Businesses
Swiftify
Swiftify
Score 9.0 out of 10
Swiftify
Swiftify
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Swiftify
Swiftify
Score 9.0 out of 10
Swiftify
Swiftify
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Swiftify
Swiftify
Score 9.0 out of 10
Swiftify
Swiftify
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Flutter by GoogleIonic
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(17 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Flutter by GoogleIonic
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
Flutter is well known for native app development, if you have android studio installed on your system, you can quickly start using it. This might not be the best choice for you if you do not wish to learn a new language, i.e. Dart and you do not know it already.
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Ionic
- Inexpensively and rapidly creating multi-device (Android, iPhone) native apps. - Quick ramp-up time allows for rapid development. - Open source tools can be used to develop. - Lightweight code-based can be easily shared and developed in a team environment. - Use of React, Vue, and angular leverages well-known coding and application design frameworks that are transportable.
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Pros
Google
  • User interface design works great across all platforms, including native styling for iOS/macOS.
  • Native compilation for mobile platforms and a decent rendering engine results in slick apps that can make the most of your device.
  • Dart is a well thought out language and easy to pick up.
  • Makes cross-platform development of good looking GUI apps a doddle.
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Ionic
  • Nice command line interface for repetitive development and deployment tasks.
  • Realtime preview (in web browser) during development.
  • Easy to update and keep current (open source) via command line.
  • Provides nice set of mobile widgets for consistency across devices.
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Cons
Google
  • Occasionally updates to the Flutter SDK result in wide-sweeping changes that seem to not be thoroughly tested and considered. Flutter sometimes evolves too fast for its own good.
  • While the 3rd-party Flutter package ecosystem is vast and rich, 1st-party support for basic things (audio/video playback, battery information, Bluetooth services, etc.) are lacking. You are occasionally forced to rely on an open-source package for use-cases that other platforms have native support for.
  • Documentation, particularly around testing, is lacking. While there are some great docs, like the Dart Style Guide, many Flutter-focused support documents are lacking in quality and real-world usability.
  • Flutter allows you to architect an app however you want. While this is a great feature, it also adds complexity and leads to the current state of Flutter's state management, where there are 50+ options on how to organize your app, with very little official guidance or recommendations from the Flutter team. For a beginner, this can create decision paralysis.
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Ionic
  • Slightly better documentation when it comes to command line build troubleshooting.
  • Increased widget library (even though it's much improved today).
  • Native chart/graphing widgets.
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Alternatives Considered
Google
I have experience with react and React Native. I would say that the idea behind all those frameworks are quite similar. However, I found the javascript-based frameworks a bit more accessible as you could utilise your javascript knowledge. Here, Flutter works with its own language. This has advantages and disadvantages sometimes. I found the community around javascript frameworks bigger and therefore sometimes more helpful. However, Flutter does a good job here as well. I think the main argument for Flutter is its usability for less experienced developers. If you do not have knowledge in javascript or other programming languages then I think it is much easier to start with Flutter than with another framework like react. I think the package that you get form scratch is better than in the other frameworks were you have to set up and learn a lot more before you can start.
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Ionic
Android Studio
  • Busy
  • Confusing
  • Marginal IDE
  • Large footprint
  • Single device development
IonicFramework
  • Lean, no IDE needed
  • Web browser preview
  • Multi-device development
  • Scripting of build packages for deployment
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Return on Investment
Google
  • The rapid development capabilities of Flutter allow us to build apps we could not have previously considered commercially viable, opening new revenue streams.
  • Free and open licensing made adoption very easy (ie. free/low cost!).
  • In comparison to Qt, our time spent arguing with build tools and perfecting development environments has decreased substantially.
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Ionic
  • The ability to create a mobile app quickly by a single developer (saving $20K).
  • Increased customer satisfaction.
  • Avoids outsourcing costs of $10k-$20k.
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