React Native vs Flutter in 2026 - business decision guide
In 2026 React Native with Expo wins for most React/TypeScript teams: 30-40% savings vs dual native, faster hiring and shared code with Next.js. Flutter stays when your team already ships Dart or pixel-perfect UI without native bridges is the priority.
React Native vs Flutter in 2026 - market context
In 2026 both frameworks are production-ready - you are not choosing between “works” and “experimental”. React Native with New Architecture, Hermes and Expo EAS is the stack GMI ships to stores for years. Flutter 3.x still wins on UI animation and cross-platform visual consistency, but Dart onboarding cost and separation from JavaScript grow when you already run Next.js, Medusa and NestJS on the backend.
The business decision is not an FPS chart on a slide. It is: who you hire in 90 days, who maintains the app in 2 years, whether mobile shares types and logic with web, and how fast you ship a critical fix during a campaign peak (OTA vs full store release).
GMI case: the SFD app (React Native plus headless backend) - 100k+ downloads, 4.9★ in stores, stability during seasonal promos. A high-traffic production reference, not a demo-day PoC.
Decision table: RN vs Flutter
React Native wins when: you run React/TypeScript (Next.js web), need shared types with NestJS/Medusa backends, time-to-market is priority (3-5 month MVP) and OTA updates via Expo avoid Apple/Google review waits on hotfixes.
Flutter wins when: your team already writes Dart, custom UI with heavy animation is priority (games, visual editors), there is no JS web synergy and you accept a separate mobile hiring pipeline.
Both lose vs dual native (Swift plus Kotlin) when: the app needs deep hardware integration (medical BLE, ARKit-only features) beyond what cross-platform bridges cover without heavy custom native code. Then RN plus native modules or narrow-scope dual native fits.
GMI defaults to React Native with Expo for commerce, loyalty and B2B apps - because 80% of our clients already run JavaScript on web.
Team, hiring and total cost of ownership
React Native shares the talent pool with web frontend. Senior React developer ramp-up on mobile is weeks, not months. Flutter needs separate Dart profiles - smaller market, higher rates in some EU regions and no code reuse from a Next.js storefront.
The 30-40% savings vs dual native is a real number from GMI projects: one codebase for iOS and Android, shared E2E tests (Maestro/Detox), one CI/CD pipeline via EAS Build. With two native teams cost scales linearly and feature parity sync eats PM and QA time.
Maintenance after 12 months: RN with Expo needs React Native release train tracking and periodic Expo SDK upgrades (usually 1-2 times per year, planned). Flutter needs similar discipline. The gap is whether the same tech lead owns web and mobile or you coordinate two delivery lines.
Performance, UX and native bridges
Flutter renders with its own engine - list animations and transitions are often smoother out of the box. React Native with Hermes, Reanimated 3 and Fabric (New Architecture) covers most commerce cases: product catalogue, cart, payments, push notifications. End users rarely notice the gap with well-designed UX.
Native bridges (BLE, scanners, NFC payments) in RN need Expo modules or custom Swift/Kotlin code. GMI has both - on IoT and commerce projects we pair RN with native modules where required without rewriting the whole app.
A performance test that matters commercially: cold start, time to interactive catalogue, scrolling 500 products, checkout end-to-end. Synthetic emulator benchmarks do not predict behaviour at 3-5x traffic on Black Friday.
When GMI picks React Native
Default: commerce, loyalty, B2B apps, omnichannel with Medusa/Next.js, when the client has or plans a JavaScript team. Expo EAS, TypeScript, shared backend types, Maestro/Detox in QA.
We consider Flutter when the client already runs Dart and will not integrate with JS web. We recommend dual native only on narrow scope needing platform-specific APIs with no viable bridge.
If you have a Next.js storefront and plan an app - React Native is the shortest path to one API and consistent UX across channels.
Sources and references
React Native documentation: https://reactnative.dev
Flutter documentation: https://flutter.dev
Expo (builds and OTA): https://docs.expo.dev
React Native at GMI: https://gmi.software/technologies/react-native
Frequently asked questions
- Is Flutter faster than React Native?
- Flutter can be faster on UI animations out of the box. RN with Hermes, Reanimated and New Architecture covers most commerce cases. The choice is team ecosystem and TCO, not slide benchmarks.
- Is React Native suitable for commerce apps?
- Yes - it is our main use case. SFD (100k+ downloads, 4.9★) is a production example with headless backend integration, payments and campaign peaks. RN plus Expo plus TypeScript plus shared API with Next.js.
- What does a React Native app cost vs Flutter?
- On similar scope development cost is comparable. RN wins TCO when you already run React/Next.js - no separate Dart hiring pipeline. MVP ranges: EUR 18k-55k depending on integrations.
- Does GMI build Flutter apps?
- We focus on React Native with Expo - 50+ store apps. We consider Flutter when the client explicitly requires it and already runs Dart. For new commerce projects we recommend RN.
Content updated: July 2, 2026