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Blog Summary:
This unique comparison guide will help businesses pick the best framework to build robust desktop apps. The blog breaks down factors like performance, native features, accessibility, and more. At the end, you’ll discover which framework is ideal for building your next winning app.
Table of Content
In today’s fast-paced digital software ecosystem, developers are always seeking to create systematic and profitable apps running on various platforms. This has escalated the requirement to develop cross-platform desktop apps that allow writing a single codebase for various platforms.
Moreover, programmers face the challenge of selecting the best software development frameworks that run well across prominent operating systems. This detailed analysis will aid everyone from beginners and experienced developers to business owners. There won’t exist any barriers to selecting the right fit in your next Tauri vs Electron vs Flutter vs React Native battle.
These are the four prevailing frameworks that have gained traction recently. After reading this blog, you will have a clear picture of which framework perfectly matches your particular project requirements.
Tauri and Electron frameworks enable building desktop apps using web development technologies. Flutter and React Native are used to develop mobile apps, but they can also be considered desktop platforms.
Let’s explore each framework and its feature set.
Tauri is a comparatively new framework gaining traction for developing secure and lightweight native desktop apps. It is written in Rust, which allows you to build fast executable apps that are compatible with all major OS. Moreover, it’s open-source, so you can explore a wide range of functionalities in this framework.
Electron (initially called Atm Shell) is a popular, open-source runtime framework started by GitHub on July 15, 2013. It is primarily a combination of Chromium (for rendering) and Node.js (for functionality).
The Electron framework uses familiar web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JS for cross-platform development. Prominent applications like Skype and Visual Studio Code are developed using the Electron framework.
The next framework in our detailed comparison of Tauri vs Electron vs Flutter vs React Native is Flutter. Launched by Google in May 2017, it is well-known for developing software applications for desktop, web, and mobile.
Flutter has the potential to develop effective applications with an aesthetic UI. According to a 2022 report by Statista, 46% of developers used Flutter, making it the most used framework. Some of the top Flutter-built apps include Google Pay, Alibaba, and eBay.
React Native was developed by Microsoft and uses JavaScript. It is basically built for mobile app development but also has an extension for desktop application development. Popular React native-based applications include Instagram, Discord, and Walmart.
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Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons to help you decide on the best cross-platform desktop app development framework.
| Advantages of Tauri | Disadvantages of Tauri |
|---|---|
| Security – Tauri was created in Rust, a language acknowledged for its memory safety and security features. Thus, Tauri apps are inherently more secure. | Learning Curve – Tauri relies on Rust libraries for the backend. It can be a steeper learning curve for developers unfamiliar with Rust compared to Electron’s JavaScript. |
| Performance – Tauri apps provide better performance due to their lightweight and more efficient use of system resources. It leads to rapid initiation times and smoother overall application performance. | Browser Compatibility – Tauri uses a WebView system, which affects Web API behavior across platforms. To ensure consistency, check the API development guide for your libraries. |
| Self-updater – Tauri includes a built-in self-updater feature. This allows you to easily keep your applications up to date without relying on third-party libraries. | Less Mature Ecosystem – As a newer framework, Tauri has a smaller community and resource pool than Electron. Finding libraries, getting help online, or troubleshooting issues might be more challenging. |
| Advantages of Electron | Disadvantages of Electron |
|---|---|
| Automatic Updates – Electron applications can be designed to update themselves automatically. This way, users always get the latest version of bug fixes and new features. | Large App Size – Electron apps bundle a whole Chromium web browser engine, which can make them much bigger than native apps. As a result, it can be a pain for users with slow internet connections or insufficient storage space. |
| Rich Functionality – Electron applications can access native operating system features like file systems, network communication, and hardware. | Security Concerns – Electron apps are basically web apps. So, they can be vulnerable to the same safety threats as websites. Subsequently, programmers are required to write secure code to reduce the likelihood of these risks. |
| Faster Development – Electron framework can speed up the development process as it uses a single codebase and familiar technologies. | Limited Native Features – Electron apps can’t always access all the features of the underlying operating system as easily as native apps. Consequently, it can make them feel less integrated with your system. |
| Advantages of Flutter | Disadvantages of Flutter |
|---|---|
| Access to Native Features – Flutter is a cross-platform framework. Despite that, you can still access the native functionalities of both Android and iOS through platform channels. | Limited Third-Party Libraries – Flutter’s collection of third-party libraries is continually expanding. Yet, this growth can limit the availability of pre-built solutions for specific functionalities. |
| Highly Customizable UI Design – Flutter’s rich widget library lets you build stunning UIs, and custom software development allows you to customize widgets according to brand identity. | Larger App Size – Flutter apps are usually larger than native apps, mainly because they consist of the Flutter engine and framework. As a result, users need more memory space or applications that require downloading over slow connections. |
| Open-source and Large Community – Flutter is an open-source framework with no licensing fees. Furthermore, its large and active community of developers is always happy to help and share resources. | Insufficient Access to Native Features – The Flutter framework offers access to versatile native features through modules, but only some of them are supported. However, it can be complicated to execute some advanced functionalities. |
| Advantages of React Native | Disadvantages of React Native |
|---|---|
| Faster Development – React Native enables faster development than native app development with platform-specific languages like Java or Swift. This is because it reuses code and leverages pre-built UI components, allowing you to get your app to market quickly | Limited Native Access – React Native doesn’t provide full access to all the features available on a device’s native platform. If your app requires very specific functionalities, you might need to write some native code. |
| Code Reusability – React Native enables you to write most of the code in JavaScript and then use it to build apps for iOS and Android. Hence, you can significantly save development time and cost. | Security – It is an ongoing concern with any technology, and JavaScript can be vulnerable to certain attacks. Hence, you need to be mindful when building apps that handle sensitive data. |
| Rich User Interface – React Native allows you to create apps with a native design and functionality. You can use native UI components to ensure your app feels polished and integrates seamlessly with the target platform. | Keeping Up-to-date – New device features and functionalities are constantly emerging. React Native might not always be the fastest to adopt these features, so your app might lag behind the latest trends. |
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Tauri and Electron are popular frameworks for developing desktop applications. On the other hand, Flutter and React Native are used to develop mobile and desktop apps.
Let’s examine all the frameworks through a quick tabular comparison with parameters.
| Parameters | Tauri | Electron | Flutter | React Native |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development Language | Rust (backend) + HTML, CSS, JavaScript (frontend) | JavaScript, HTML, CSS | Dart programming language | JavaScript |
| App Type | Desktop | Desktop | Mobile & desktop platforms | Primarily mobile but desktop apps as well |
| Performance | High (native UI components) | Good | High (compiled to native code) | Good (uses JavaScript bridge) |
| App Size | Small | Large | Moderate | Moderate |
| Learning Curve | Moderate (depends on web development experience) | Easy (uses web technologies) | Moderate (new language, Dart) | Easy (uses JavaScript) |
| Native Integration | Requires Rust or C plugins | Uses Node.js modules | Limited, requires platform channels | Requires native modules |
| Development Experience | Simple, hot reloading for frontend | Mature, active community, good tooling | Rapid development, hot reloading, and rich widget library | Familiar for web developers, large community |
| Community & Support | Growing | Very large & active | Large & active | Very large & active |
Let’s explore the breakdown of our Tauri vs Electron vs Flutter vs React Native comparison based on different factors.
Tauri uses web technologies but allows building native plugins with Rust or C to access platform-specific features. It is a comparatively new framework with a growing ecosystem.
With the Electron framework, web developers use technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JS (via Node.js). It has an active community and many pre-built UI components.
On the other hand, Flutter is based on Dart, a language well-known for its speed of development. It offers a rich widget library and compiles native code for each platform.
React Native relies on JS and React for mobile app development. It enables code sharing between mobile and web projects, but native integrations might require more effort.
Electron apps tend to use more resources, such as memory and CPU, which can make them run slower on older machines.
Flutter’s performance is excellent because it uses compiled code and GPU acceleration. This results in fast app startup and smooth animations.
Tauri is lightweight and uses minimal resources, making it a great choice for creating fast and responsive applications on desktop platforms.
React Native apps can be resource-efficient, but performance issues might exist when optimizing across different platforms.
Tauri is relatively low-cost. As it uses existing web technologies (HTML, CSS, JS), development time and cost are less. There are also minimal runtime fees.
Electron is a moderately expensive framework for building desktop apps. Building and distributing applications for multiple platforms can increase costs.
While development requires web expertise, consider looking for an Electron development company that can seamlessly manage the project. It requires packaging tools and may incur fees for some platforms’ app stores.
Flutter development is moderately expensive. As it uses the Dart programming language for app development, some additional investment is required to learn this new language. As an escape, consider searching for a Flutter app development company to hand it over to specialists.
However, its hot reload functionality can streamline development and reduce time to market. React Native development is moderately expensive. It uses JavaScript but requires knowledge of the React framework.
Similar to Flutter, hot reloading can improve development efficiency. However, potential costs might be associated with third-party libraries or UI component kits. It is better to find a cost-effective way out by hiring React Native developers.
All four frameworks are for building desktop applications, but they take different approaches to displaying web content within an app.
Tauri and Electron create native apps with a WebView component. They offer the finest control over the WebView and, due to native compilation, perform well for desktop use. Thus, Tauri and Electron offer more control and performance for WebView-centric apps.
On the flip side, Flutter and React Native build cross-platform apps using web technologies (Dart/JavaScript). They provide a more unified codebase for mobile and desktop. WebView integration requires additional plugins, and performance might be lower than native WebViews.
Next, let’s compare Tauri vs Flutter vs React Native vs Electron based on how all four frameworks handle plugins.
Tauri uses native Rust or WebAssembly plugins, which offer strong performance and access to system features. Moreover, it requires knowledge of Rust/WebAssembly development.
Alternatively, Electron relies on JavaScript plugins built with Node.js. Pre-built plugins are easy to find, but they may have performance limitations.
Meanwhile, Flutter Uses Dart plugins for native functionality. It offers good performance and a rich plugin ecosystem, but it requires learning the Dart programming language.
Lastly, React Native Integrates with native modules written in Java/Kotlin (Android) or Swift/Objective-C (iOS). It has a large plugin base but requires some native development knowledge.
Tauri and Electron are desktop app frameworks that are built using web technologies like HTML, JS, and CSS. This allows for high feature parity with web apps, enabling features like complex UIs, web view integration, and easy porting of web code.
Flutter and React Native, on the other hand, are mobile app frameworks that use a single codebase to target iOS and Android. They can achieve feature parity with native apps through plugins, but it might require more effort than Tauri and Electron for desktops.
The Tauri framework is new, yet it offers a simplified workflow with Rust and JavaScript and prioritizes rapid development. Subsequently, the Electron framework consists of a comprehensive toolkit and a vibrant community.
Moreover, it is easy to debug and reload. Flutter, on the other hand, streamlines development with its well-documented, widget-based approach.
Hot reloading is a major advantage. The React Native framework is familiar to web and mobile app developers, but the transition to desktop might require some additional learning.
After that, let’s break down Flutter vs React Native vs Tauri vs Electron in terms of who provides better mobile support.
Tauri primarily targets desktops (Windows, macOS, Linux). There are community efforts for mobile support, but it still needs to be officially offered and might have limitations. Likewise, Electron also focuses on desktops.
It uses web technologies for development but lacks built-in mobile support. Hotfixes like third-party libraries exist, but the experience may need improvement.
Flutter uses Dart programming language for code and compiles native applications for Android and iOS. It offers excellent mobile performance and access to native features.
React Native develops using JavaScript and React. It uses a bridge to translate JavaScript code to native code for Android and iOS, enabling mobile app development without rewriting everything in native languages.
Flutter is the best option for native mobile app development and has strong performance. React Native offers a JavaScript-based approach for mobile apps, but Flutter might have a slight edge in performance.
If your target is primarily desktop app development, Tauri and Electron are good options, but they need more official mobile support.
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The quadruplet—Tauri, Electron, Flutter, and React Native—are all good options for full-fledged desktop application development. Developers who prioritize performance, native user experience, and resource utilization pay attention to the Tauri framework.
Using Flutter, developers can build rich, complex, and high-performing applications with visually appealing user interfaces. If you’re looking to develop complex desktop apps, go with Electron. It has extensive native functionalities and an active community base.
Next, React Native has a strong component system and code-reusing capabilities for mobile and desktop apps. Native integration might require more effort. In that case, consider connecting with a React Native development company to execute your project seamlessly.
You can’t go wrong with any of the 4 options. The main point is your project’s requirements, whether you need better performance, development speed, or a native user interface.
Whichever framework you choose, be sure to be fully aware of all the functionalities and make optimum use of them. If you’re still not clear on which framework to choose, consult our experts at Moon Technolabs.
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Jayanti Katariya is the CEO of Moon Technolabs, a fast-growing IT solutions provider, with 18+ years of experience in the industry. Passionate about developing creative apps from a young age, he pursued an engineering degree to further this interest. Under his leadership, Moon Technolabs has helped numerous brands establish their online presence and he has also launched an invoicing software that assists businesses to streamline their financial operations.
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