KMP versus Flutter versus React Native

Flutter, React Native, and KMP all promise cross-platform apps. But they take very different approaches under the hood. Let's compare. 🧭

Flutter draws its own pixels with a custom engine. It ships a rendering engine that paints UI itself instead of using native widgets.

React Native runs JavaScript and maps it onto real native views through a bridge. Your logic lives in JS, the widgets are native.

KMP compiles Kotlin straight to each platform's native code. There is no extra runtime; it relies on direct native interop.

Flutter and React Native usually own the whole UI. KMP often shares only logic and lets you keep a fully native UI per platform.

Flutter uses Dart, React Native uses JavaScript, and KMP uses Kotlin. Android teams often already know Kotlin, so the ramp is short.

Because KMP compiles to native, there is no JavaScript bridge in the middle. That removes a common source of overhead and quirks.

KMP can call platform APIs directly when needed. This easy access to native APIs means you are never locked out of the OS.

You can add KMP to an existing app one shared module at a time. This incremental adoption is harder with all-in-one frameworks.

KMP can share UI too, using Compose Multiplatform. But unlike the others, sharing UI stays optional rather than required.

There is no single winner. Your team's skills, native needs, and how native you want the UI all guide the right choice.

Let's contrast the approaches.

Flutter paints its own UI, React Native bridges to JS, and KMP compiles to native and shares logic. Choose by your team and native needs. ✅