In the fast paced world of mobile apps, getting your idea to market quickly and efficiently is everything. Principles from rapid web app development can further compress timelines, and this is where cross-platform mobile development shines. Instead of building separate apps for iOS and Android, which is costly and slow, you can use a single codebase to launch on both platforms at once.
This approach has become a go to strategy for startups and established companies alike. Big names like Instagram, Pinterest, and Skype have used cross-platform frameworks to build their apps. The reason is simple: it speeds up development, ensures a consistent user experience, and dramatically cuts costs. For founders, this means launching a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) faster and on a leaner budget.
Choosing Your Path: How to Select a Framework
Deciding on the right tools is your first big step. If you want a proven playbook, explore our 4 to 8 week process for selecting and shipping the right stack, then weigh the factors below to find the perfect fit for your project.
Key Framework Selection Factors
Think about these key areas before committing to a framework:
Performance: Your app needs to feel smooth and responsive. No one likes a laggy experience, so check how well the framework performs on both iOS and Android.
Community and Support: A strong community means you can find tutorials, libraries, and help when you get stuck. Robust documentation is a huge plus.
Features and Capabilities: Can the framework access native device features like the camera, GPS, or sensors? Make sure it can do everything your app needs, and if your app relies on third‑party services, plan your API strategy early.
Cost: Many frameworks are open source and free, but some might have licensing fees or require paid subscriptions.
Team Expertise: The best framework is often the one your team already knows or can learn quickly. A team of JavaScript experts might prefer React Native, while a C# shop would naturally gravitate toward .NET MAUI.
The Cross-Platform Ecosystem: A World of Options
The world of cross-platform mobile development is rich with a variety of tools, each with its own history and strengths. Early pioneers like PhoneGap (now Apache Cordova) proved that you could build mobile apps using web technologies, but they often struggled with performance and a native feel.
The game changed over the last decade with the arrival of powerful new frameworks from tech giants. Facebook’s React Native and Google’s Flutter redefined what was possible, offering better performance and a superior developer experience. Today, the landscape is a mix of these modern toolkits, web based solutions, and specialized game engines. Flutter has become the most popular choice, with a 2023 survey finding that 46% of developers use it.
Let’s break down the leading players, and for a deeper comparison, check our guide to the top cross-platform frameworks for 2025.
React Native
Created by Meta (formerly Facebook), React Native lets developers build mobile apps using JavaScript and the popular React library. It uses native UI components, so your app looks and feels like it was built specifically for the device. Big companies like Instagram and Skype have used React Native in their apps, proving it can handle development at a massive scale. While its popularity has been challenged by Flutter, it still has a massive community and a rich ecosystem of tools.
Flutter
Flutter is Google’s UI toolkit for building natively compiled applications from a single codebase written in the Dart language. Since its stable release in 2018, it has rapidly become the most used cross platform framework globally. Flutter takes a unique approach by using its own high performance rendering engine to draw the UI. This results in incredibly smooth animations and a consistent look across all devices. Its “hot reload” feature, which allows developers to see code changes in under a second, is a huge productivity booster. Companies like Alibaba, Toyota, and Google itself use Flutter for major applications.
Kotlin Multiplatform
Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) is an SDK from JetBrains that allows developers to share code written in Kotlin across different platforms. Unlike other frameworks that handle the entire app, KMP focuses on sharing the business logic (like data handling and networking) while letting you build a fully native UI for iOS and Android separately. This is a great strategy for teams who want maximum code reuse without sacrificing a pixel perfect native interface. It’s a promising approach, especially for companies that already use Kotlin for their Android apps.
.NET MAUI
.NET MAUI (Multi platform App UI) is Microsoft’s modern framework for building native apps with C# and .NET. As the evolution of Xamarin.Forms, it allows developers to target Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows from a single project. It’s a fantastic choice for teams with a background in C# or those who need to build for both desktop and mobile. While early versions had some rough edges, .NET MAUI has matured into a stable and powerful option backed by Microsoft’s reliable ecosystem.
Ionic
Ionic is a popular framework for building apps using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. An Ionic app is essentially a web app running inside a native container, with UI components that mimic the native look and feel. It’s a great option for teams with strong web development skills who need to get a mobile app to market quickly. Modern Ionic uses a tool called Capacitor, its own native bridge, which has improved its ability to access native device features.
NativeScript
NativeScript is an open source framework that lets you build native apps using JavaScript or TypeScript. Unlike Ionic, it doesn’t use a WebView. Instead, it directly calls native UI components, resulting in an app that is visually indistinguishable from one written in Swift or Kotlin. It offers a middle ground: you get to use web languages but with true native performance and UI.
Cordova and Capacitor
Cordova (formerly PhoneGap) is one of the original cross platform frameworks. It wraps a web app in a native container, allowing web developers to build for mobile. While its popularity has decreased, its legacy is immense, and it paved the way for modern tools.
Capacitor, developed by the Ionic team, is a modern successor to Cordova. It serves the same purpose but with modernized APIs, better tooling, and deeper integration with native development environments. For teams building with web tech today, Capacitor is often the preferred choice over Cordova.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
A Progressive Web App isn’t a framework but a type of web application that delivers an app like experience through a browser. PWAs can work offline, send push notifications, and be “installed” on a user’s home screen without needing an app store. This is the ultimate “write once, run anywhere” solution, as a single web app works across all devices with a modern browser.
Unity (for Mobile)
While primarily a game engine, Unity is a powerhouse for cross-platform mobile development when it comes to interactive 2D and 3D content. Developers write code once in C# and can deploy it to iOS, Android, consoles, and more. It’s the engine behind more than half of all mobile games, including the famous Pokémon GO. For standard, UI focused apps it is usually overkill, but for anything graphics intensive, it’s an unbeatable choice.
Key Concepts in Cross-Platform Mobile Development
Understanding the core ideas behind these frameworks will help you make better decisions and work more effectively.
Code Sharing and Reusability
The central promise of cross-platform mobile development is code reusability. The goal is to write code once and use it on multiple platforms, which saves an incredible amount of time and effort. Frameworks like Flutter and React Native often allow you to share over 90% of your code between iOS and Android. A code sharing strategy defines which parts of your app will be common (like business logic) and which might need platform specific adjustments (like parts of the UI).
The Platform-Specific Code Bridge
Many frameworks need a way for the shared code (like JavaScript) to communicate with the native platform code (like Swift or Kotlin). This connection is called a bridge. For instance, React Native uses a bridge to let your JavaScript logic control native UI widgets. The efficiency of this bridge can impact performance, and modern frameworks are constantly optimizing it to make apps feel faster and more responsive.
UI Customization
A great cross platform app shouldn’t feel generic. It should respect the design conventions of each platform. UI customization is about tailoring the interface to feel natural to both iOS and Android users. Frameworks provide tools for this, from widgets that automatically adapt their look (like in Flutter) to the ability to write conditional code that loads a different component for each OS.
Hot Reload
Hot reload is a developer favorite feature that dramatically speeds up development. It allows you to inject code changes into a running app and see the results instantly, without a full restart. Flutter’s sub second hot reload and React Native’s Fast Refresh make tweaking the UI a fast and fluid process, allowing you to iterate much more quickly.
Build Tooling and Compilation Models
Build tooling refers to the command line interfaces and automated processes that compile, package, and deploy your app. Good tooling abstracts away the complexities of the native build systems for iOS and Android.
The compilation model determines how your code is run on the device. Some frameworks, like React Native, use a Just In Time (JIT) model where JavaScript is interpreted at runtime. Others, like Flutter, use an Ahead Of Time (AOT) model where Dart code is compiled directly to native machine code for release builds, which often results in faster performance.
Business and Project Considerations
Beyond the tech, several practical factors influence the success of a cross-platform mobile development project.
Achieving High Performance
While frameworks have gotten very good, performance optimization is still key. It’s crucial to profile your app to find bottlenecks and ensure it runs smoothly, especially on older devices. This can involve reducing re renders, moving heavy computations off the main UI thread, and sometimes writing performance critical modules in native code.
Security, Maturity, and Vendor Reliability
Security is paramount. You need to follow best practices for data storage, network communication, and managing dependencies. Choosing a mature framework is often a safer bet, as it will have a history of bug fixes, extensive documentation, and a large community. Vendor reliability is also important; a framework backed by a major company like Google (Flutter) or Meta (React Native) is more likely to receive ongoing support and updates.
The Importance of Team Expertise
The skills of your team are a major factor. Leveraging your team’s existing knowledge of a language like JavaScript can make adopting a framework like React Native much smoother. If your team lacks mobile experience, partnering with an agency can provide the necessary expertise. A studio like Bricks Tech can act as an extended team for founders, bringing deep knowledge of rapid development and helping you choose the right technology for your MVP. See our recent projects for examples.
Cost Efficiency and Time to Market
This is where cross-platform mobile development truly shines. By using a single codebase, companies can save up to 40% on project costs compared to building two native apps. This efficiency also leads to a much faster time to market. Instead of waiting six months to launch on both platforms, you could potentially do it in three or four. For a week‑by‑week MVP timeline, see our guide to how long it takes to build an MVP.
Many founders need to validate their ideas without breaking the bank, which is why services that deliver an MVP in just 4 to 8 weeks are so valuable. By leveraging cross platform tools and efficient processes, you can get your app to market faster. Discuss your project to map the fastest path.
Why You Must Test on Real Devices
Simulators are useful, but they can’t replace testing on real physical devices. Real hardware can reveal performance issues, battery drain, and quirks with gestures or device specific features that an emulator would miss. Because iOS and Android are two very different platforms underneath the shared code, you need to ensure your app delivers a great experience on both.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cross-Platform Mobile Development
For broader founder questions on scope, timelines, and maintenance, see our FAQs.
What are the main benefits of cross-platform mobile development?
The top benefits are cost efficiency, faster time to market, and easier maintenance. With one codebase, you reduce development effort by nearly half, allowing you to launch on both iOS and Android simultaneously and on a smaller budget.
Which cross-platform framework is the best?
There is no single “best” framework. The right choice depends on your project’s needs, your team’s skills, and your performance requirements. Flutter is currently the most popular for its performance and UI flexibility, while React Native is a mature choice for teams with JavaScript experience.
Are there any disadvantages to cross-platform development?
While modern frameworks have closed the gap significantly, there can still be minor performance overhead compared to a fully native app, especially for graphics intensive tasks. Access to the very latest OS features might also be slightly delayed compared to native development.
Is cross-platform good for building an MVP?
Absolutely. It’s an ideal choice for MVPs. It allows startups and founders to validate their idea on both iOS and Android quickly and cost effectively, which is critical when you’re working with a limited budget and timeline.
Can a cross-platform app look and feel truly native?
Yes. Modern frameworks like Flutter and React Native do an excellent job of either using native UI components or recreating them so perfectly that the end user cannot tell the difference. With careful UI customization, you can create an app that feels perfectly at home on both platforms.