Best for cross-platform: How to choose between PWA and Flutter

One solution for all devices. At first glance, this compelling concept should be driven by economics. But if you start thinking deeper, weighing up business needs, domain specifics and customer experience, the picture adds contrasting colours. Let's break down the halftones and look at how PWA and Flutter differ in key criteria: team composition, development speed, testing and suitable application areas.

1. Which team is easier and cheaper to assemble?

PWA

PWA development requires a team of web developers familiar with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS because PWAs are web applications. Usually, developers working with these technologies are more readily available in the market and cheaper than Flutter specialists. This is because web development is a broader field and JavaScript expertise is ubiquitous. Even more so, many frameworks (like React, Angular and Vue), support PWA creation, making it possible to use familiar tools and components.

Flutter

Flutter specialists are proficient in the Dart programming language. Although the technology allows an application to work on the web, iOS and Android, adapting it for рlatofrms requires specific skills. The technology is on the radar right now, yet experienced Flutter developers are statistically more expensive and less common on the market than web developers.

Conclusion: It is easier and cheaper to assemble a team for a PWA because it requires web developers, who are statistically more available on the market.

2. Which application is faster to develop?

PWA. Huge plus – the app runs in the browser, it doesn't need to be published in app stores and wait for moderation (it may take from several hours to several days). And if a company already has a website with ready-made business logic, switching to PWA can be especially fast, as it is essentially adapting an existing website for cross-platform work with offline access.

By the way, if necessary, PWA can also be published in the app stores. For this purpose, a native frame is created. And we use this technique in our projects and consider it as an independent step.

Flutter. The development process can take longer than creating a PWA, as a Flutter app requires writing more complex code and adapting the interface for mobile platforms. It also requires validation and publishing to app stores, which also increases the launch time.

Conclusion: PWA development can be faster because it doesn't require publishing in the stores. And it is even faster if there is a ready-made website with the required business logic.

3. Which application is easier to test?

PWAs work in the browser, their testing does not require device simulators or physical hardware - standard web testing tools are enough. Another important point: it is easiest to automate testing on the web. There are many specialists, many frameworks. For example, developers write e2e tests themselves, so only 2-3 testers will be enough to ensure the quality of the application.

Flutter. On the one hand, testing is easier than native testing: business logic is tested only on one platform, and the others don't need to allocate so many resources. On the other hand, it will be more complicated compared to the web. To ensure a quality user experience, you need to test on real devices. This lengthens the process and increases costs.

Conclusion: Testing PWAs is easier and cheaper because they work in the browser and don't require complex testing on different devices.

4. Updates and support

Updates to PWAs are instantaneous: just make changes on the server and users will automatically receive the updated version the next time they log in to the application. This greatly simplifies support and allows you to quickly make changes, test hypotheses, and fix bugs. And remember, we skip the stage of updates through app stores, so we don't waste time waiting.

Although Flutter offers technologies for partial updates without code intervention, changing the functionality or logic of an application will require a full-blown update. This adds time and administrative overhead, especially if updates are released frequently. And each time there's a wait before publishing.

Conclusion: PWA wins in the convenience of updates and the speed of delivering them to the user.

5. Access to native device features

PWA provides access to a limited set of native features such as camera, geolocation, push notifications and offline mode. Support for these features varies by browser and operating system. At the same time, we know from our experience in developing banking applications that Web APIs solve a significant part of these issues. For example, Web Share API is used to share links, text and files with other applications on the device. And Media Capture and Streams API allows you to scan a QR code with the device's camera for subsequent payment. 

At the same time, you need to consider that background work and geolocation are not possible in PWAs.

Flutter has almost full access to native device functions, which allows it to compete with native apps. If needed, Flutter provides the ability to integrate with native code in Kotlin, Swift, or Java, which expands the range of available features and allows any device functionality to be used without restriction. This is especially important for applications with access to biometrics, Bluetooth.

Conclusion: Flutter has an advantage when an application needs deep access to native device functions.

Which areas are best suited for?

PWAs are ideal for news portals, online shops, delivery services, blogs, corporate websites and other resources. They are also successfully used as mobile banks and payment applications. PWAs allow you to quickly deliver your product to a wide audience, they are easy to update, support offline mode, push notifications and look like native applications in the browser. These are pluses to saving budget and reducing time to market.

Flutter is ideal for mobile apps that require heavy use of graphics and interaction with the device. These can be financial applications, messengers, medical solutions, games and services that actively use camera and sensor capabilities. Flutter applications are more high-performance.

Let's summarise the results.

So, if a project needs to enter the market quickly and reduce development and testing costs, PWA will be the best choice. Flutter is suitable if you need a full-fledged native mobile application with a high interactivity level and specific design and performance requirements.

Now let's summarise all the pros and cons in one table.

PWA or Flutter? Or perhaps even a native application? The answer is only possible when you know the business needs in a particular situation. For those facing the choice, I suggest a personal meeting to discuss. DM me if you want a balanced assessment from me and my experienced team.