Mobile applications have become the backbone of digital businesses. From fintech startups to e-commerce giants, nearly every company today needs a high-quality mobile app to engage users, generate revenue, and scale globally.

Mobile applications have become the foundation of digital business growth. From fintech startups to global e-commerce companies, nearly every organization today requires a high-quality mobile app to engage customers, drive revenue, and scale internationally. Choosing the right framework and development approach is therefore one of the most important strategic decisions a company can make. In recent years, Flutter—Google’s open-source UI toolkit—has emerged as a leading solution for cross-platform mobile app development.

At ScaleTech, we help startups and scale-ups use modern frameworks like Flutter to accelerate product launches and reduce development costs. In this article, we explore the rise of Flutter, its main advantages, its limitations, and when it makes sense to adopt this technology for your next mobile project.

The Rise of Flutter

Flutter was introduced by Google in 2017, and in only a few years it has become one of the most popular frameworks for mobile development. According to the 2023 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, Flutter is used by 12.64 percent of developers worldwide, making it the most widely adopted cross-platform framework ahead of React Native. The Flutter community on GitHub has grown rapidly, reaching more than 158,000 stars in 2024, which shows the scale of developer interest and adoption.

This momentum is not limited to small projects. Large companies such as Alibaba, BMW, eBay Motors, and Google itself rely on Flutter for critical mobile applications. Clearly, the framework has matured into a serious choice for both startups and enterprises.

Why Companies Choose Flutter

One of Flutter’s biggest attractions is its ability to streamline development. Instead of maintaining two separate codebases for iOS and Android, Flutter allows teams to build a single app that runs on both platforms. For businesses, this means faster development cycles and savings of up to 40 percent compared to fully native approaches.

The framework also offers a hot reload feature, which enables developers to view code changes instantly without restarting the application. This makes testing and iteration significantly faster, which is especially valuable in agile development environments where quick adjustments are essential.

Performance is another strength. Unlike some other cross-platform tools that rely on bridges or layers, Flutter compiles directly into native ARM code. This ensures that animations, scrolling, and overall responsiveness are smooth and comparable to fully native apps.

From a design perspective, Flutter stands out with its rich library of customizable widgets. These allow developers to create visually appealing and modern user interfaces without heavy reliance on external libraries. Combined with Google’s continuous support and an expanding ecosystem, Flutter provides both stability and innovation for companies building mobile products.

The Limitations of Flutter

While Flutter brings significant advantages, it is not without drawbacks. One issue is application size. Flutter apps tend to be larger in file size compared to native apps, which may be problematic in regions where users have limited storage or slow internet connections.

Access to certain native APIs can also be restricted. Although Flutter covers most common use cases, projects that require advanced hardware integrations such as Bluetooth Low Energy, augmented reality features, or very specific device functions may demand additional plugins or even custom native coding.

Another challenge is the availability of talent. Although the Flutter developer community is growing, it is still smaller than the pool of experienced Swift developers for iOS or Kotlin developers for Android. Companies looking for specialized expertise may face longer recruitment timelines. At ScaleTech, we address this by helping clients quickly find and onboard experienced Flutter engineers in Lithuania and across Europe.

The Future of Flutter

One of Flutter’s most exciting developments is its expansion beyond mobile. Google has been extending Flutter’s reach to web applications, desktop software, and even embedded devices. This positions Flutter as a truly universal toolkit for cross-platform development. As companies increasingly seek efficiency across digital platforms, Flutter’s role is likely to grow.

Flutter offers a powerful combination of cost efficiency, speed, and high-quality user experience, making it one of the best frameworks for cross-platform mobile app development today. Its strengths—such as a unified codebase, hot reload, near-native performance, and design flexibility—make it especially valuable for startups and scale-ups. At the same time, businesses should remain mindful of its limitations, particularly in projects requiring advanced native features or the smallest possible app sizes.

At ScaleTech, we help companies make the right decision between Flutter, React Native, or native development, depending on their unique goals. By leveraging outsourcing and outstaffing models in Lithuania, we provide businesses with access to top-tier Flutter developers who deliver quality and speed at competitive costs.

👉 Get in touch with ScaleTech today to explore how Flutter can power your next mobile app project.