Cross-Platform Mobile Development refers to creating a single mobile application that works on both iOS, Android, and other systems, using a common source code. This “cross-platform” approach aims to speed up time to market and reduce costs by avoiding the need to develop two separate native applications. Nowadays, most mobile development is done using one of these technologies as they offer the best ROI and are ideal for most types of mobile projects.

For Swiss businesses, choosing the right cross-platform framework is a crucial issue. When mastered, a cross-platform solution helps optimize resources, maintain a consistent user experience across all devices, and accelerate digital transformation (for example, by quickly offering an innovative mobile B2B/B2C product). Conversely, poor technological choices or a haphazard implementation can jeopardize the project and lead to budget overruns.

In this article, we compare four major cross-platform frameworks – React Native, Flutter, Ionic, and .NET MAUI – by examining the technical and business implications of each in the context of an enterprise mobile project (internal business apps, public digital products, B2B/B2C mobile interfaces, etc.).

React Native: Flexibility with JavaScript & Mature Ecosystem

React Native is an open-source framework launched by Facebook (Meta) in 2015. It allows the development of iOS and Android applications using JavaScript (and React), reusing much of the code between platforms. Specifically, the user interface is rendered through native components controlled by a JavaScript engine. This “bridge” architecture involves a slight performance overhead when exchanging between JavaScript and native code, especially in the case of very complex animations. However, with appropriate optimizations, it delivers a smooth experience very close to native. React Native benefits from a large developer community and a multitude of third-party libraries, making it easier to implement common features (UI, APIs, etc.) and speeding up development. Facebook, the initiator of the project, continues to actively support it, and many open-source contributors enrich the ecosystem.

From a business perspective, React Native appeals due to its maturity and large-scale adoption. Leading consumer mobile applications use it in production (Facebook, Instagram, Walmart, Discord, among others), a testament to its reliability and longevity. The ability to leverage existing web/JavaScript skills within a development team is a significant advantage for Swiss companies seeking efficiency. It reduces the native mobile talent shortage by reallocating web developers to mobile projects. The learning curve is quick, as React Native tools (such as Hot Reload) make the development cycle highly productive, with real-time reloading of changes.

ROI: In practice, React Native significantly reduces development time and costs by sharing code between iOS/Android.

For example, a Geneva-based e-commerce scale-up recently chose React Native to launch its shopping app on iOS and Android simultaneously. By reusing existing web components and taking advantage of the rapid development cycle, the team delivered the B2C app in just a few months—twice as fast as a double native development—while controlling costs and maintaining a high-quality user experience.

Flutter: Native Performance & Consistent Rich UI

Flutter is Google’s open-source cross-platform framework (launched in 2018) that has quickly gained popularity. Technically, Flutter uses the Dart language (designed to be simple to learn) and stands out for its unique widget-based approach: the entire interface is composed of customizable widgets. Unlike React Native, Flutter does not use native interface components; instead, it relies on its own rendering engine (Skia) to draw the UI pixel by pixel, ensuring perfect visual consistency across platforms. Flutter applications are compiled into native machine code (AOT), eliminating intermediary layers, resulting in very high performance, with smooth 60fps animations and a user experience equivalent to a native app. Flutter also offers a rich catalog of pre-built widgets, and its hot reload feature allows for instant testing of code modifications, speeding up development.

From a business perspective, Flutter benefits from strategic support from Google, providing reassurance about its longevity (regular updates, broad compatibility). The community is growing rapidly, and many plugins/packages are available to integrate native services or features. More and more organizations are choosing Flutter for ambitious mobile projects. For instance, it’s behind the Google Ads interface and is used in applications for major companies (Toyota, BMW, Alibaba, eBay… use Flutter for some of their mobile applications).

Decision-makers particularly appreciate the quality of the UI and the ability to target other platforms beyond mobile. Indeed, Flutter also allows compiling applications for the web or desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux) with the same code, opening up reuse opportunities in a larger digital ecosystem. In terms of resources, Flutter may require training developers in Dart, but the language is accessible for experienced teams, and the learning curve remains moderate.

ROI: For projects where a rich user experience is a differentiating factor (e.g., consumer-facing apps with polished interfaces or innovative digital products), Flutter offers a compelling trade-off between cross-platform development speed and near-native performance, eliminating the need to code separately for each OS.

Use Case: A fintech company based in Lausanne, which we assisted, wanted to quickly launch a new cross-platform mobile service. They chose Flutter to ensure a consistent and highly responsive UI/UX on both iPhone and Android. This choice enabled them to offer advanced features (smooth animations, real-time charts, etc.) without developing two separate native applications, saving around 30% on development costs and timelines compared to a traditional native approach.

Ionic: Web Technologies for Agile Development

Ionic is an open-source cross-platform framework focused on web technologies. Founded in 2013, Ionic enables the development of mobile applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript/TypeScript, often leveraging popular web frameworks (Angular, React, or Vue). Specifically, an Ionic app functions as a web application embedded in a mobile container (via Cordova or Capacitor): the interface is rendered in a WebView, with pre-styled UI components that mimic the native look on iOS or Android. The major advantage of Ionic is its ability to leverage the web skills of a team: for developers familiar with Angular/React, the learning curve is minimal (the framework is known for its low learning curve).

The Ionic kit provides many pre-built UI components to speed up app design, and offers live reload for fast development. This web-based approach also provides great flexibility: an Ionic app can be deployed not only to mobile stores but also as a progressive web app (PWA) accessible through a browser, maximizing code reuse.

From a technical perspective, Ionic’s performance is sufficient for light to moderate applications, typically content-oriented apps, forms, dashboards, etc., where intensive hardware access and complex animations are not central. Ionic excels in these types of projects with smooth transitions and decent user experience. However, for very complex or demanding mobile applications (games, 3D rendering, real-time processing, etc.), the WebView approach quickly shows its limitations: slowdowns or less responsiveness can occur if the app is large or requires heavy calculations. In such cases, native optimization or considering a framework closer to hardware (Flutter, React Native) might be necessary.

From a business perspective, Ionic is an open-source solution (MIT license) with no licensing costs and benefits from an active developer community that enriches the framework via plugins and offers support in forums. The publisher of Ionic also offers optional commercial services (enterprise subscriptions providing access to premium support, additional cloud build tools, monitoring, etc.), which can reassure businesses looking for professional support while staying on open-source. Ionic aligns well with an agile and custom development strategy: it enables rapid creation of a functional cross-platform prototype and allows for iterations.

ROI: Ionic is particularly effective for internal business apps or B2B projects that don’t require full native phone capabilities. The gain lies in the speed of development and the ability to reuse existing web code, which reduces initial costs.

For example, a small industrial business in the canton of Vaud developed an internal inventory management business app with Ionic, designed for its field employees (smartphones and tablets). The existing web development team was able to create this cross-platform app without hiring specialized mobile developers, and deploying it as a PWA allowed some users to access it from a simple browser. In just a few months, the company achieved a custom, scalable, and secure solution (thanks to web best practices) while saving nearly 40% on development costs compared to an equivalent native app.

.NET MAUI: Microsoft’s Cross-Platform Solution for the .NET Ecosystem

.NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI) is Microsoft’s cross-platform framework, the modern successor to Xamarin.Forms. Open-source and integrated within the .NET ecosystem, .NET MAUI allows the development of native applications for Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS using C# and XAML from a single codebase. Microsoft launched .NET MAUI in 2020 as part of .NET 6, unifying and improving its cross-platform offering, to the point that by May 2024, support for the older Xamarin was officially discontinued in favor of MAUI.

Technically, .NET MAUI produces true native interfaces on each platform (using a specific rendering engine for Android/iOS and relying on Apple’s UIKit/SwiftUI APIs, Android’s Material Design, Windows’ WPF/WinUI, etc.). This results in applications with a 100% native user experience and good performance on each OS, especially as .NET MAUI benefits from optimizations in .NET 6/7, such as AOT compilation for iOS and various runtime improvements for increased speed. The framework also covers a wide range of devices: in addition to smartphones, it can target tablets, Windows PCs, and desktop Macs with appropriate interfaces. This is a benefit if your product also requires a desktop application in addition to mobile. In terms of tools, .NET MAUI developers work in a familiar environment – Visual Studio (or VS Code) – equipped with all the professional tools from Microsoft, improving productivity (XAML editor, graphic designers, integrated debugging, unit tests, etc.).

For Swiss companies already using Microsoft technologies, .NET MAUI holds significant value. They can leverage their existing C# developers and expertise without needing to train an entire team in Java/Kotlin or Swift/Objective-C. Many organizations globally have built their digital infrastructure on .NET/C# over the past two decades, and this expertise is still widely available. With .NET MAUI, these companies can create modern mobile applications while staying within their trusted technological ecosystem (tools, language, architectures) – a continuity welcomed enthusiastically by the .NET community.

From a business perspective, this also potentially reduces technological dependencies if the company is already heavily using Microsoft’s development environment: a unified team can work across all platforms, and integration with existing systems (Microsoft SQL databases, .NET web services, Active Directory, etc.) is often simpler due to common libraries.

Security: The framework benefits from Microsoft’s legacy in application security (e.g., compatibility with .NET cryptography modules, Azure AD/B2C authentication, etc.), making it easier to meet the high standards often required in Switzerland (financial, medical sectors, etc.).

ROI: .NET MAUI will be particularly cost-effective for an organization already focused on Microsoft that is launching a mobile application related to its internal information system or existing offerings. The gain comes from shared development (a single codebase for mobile and desktop) and the reuse of existing business code in .NET.

Use Case: A Swiss insurer chose .NET MAUI to develop the mobile interface for its client portal, providing access to contracts and services. This choice was made because the company had a strong .NET team and wanted to tightly integrate the mobile app with its existing backend architecture (microservices in C#, SQL Server database). By using .NET MAUI, the insurer was able to develop this cross-platform B2C application without relying on an external provider, while ensuring scalability (shared components with the desktop version of the portal) and meeting strict security and compliance requirements.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the choice of a cross-platform mobile framework should be guided by both technical and business considerations. Each technology offers distinct advantages: React Native provides the flexibility of JavaScript and a rich ecosystem, making it ideal for leveraging web resources and achieving a short time-to-market while delivering a high-quality user experience and ease of maintenance as the application evolves. Flutter offers a premium user experience with native performance, making it suitable for digital products where UI/UX is a key success factor. Ionic enables very agile development by utilizing common web skills, making it a great option for business applications or projects with budget constraints. .NET MAUI integrates seamlessly into a Microsoft environment, making it the preferred solution for companies looking to evolve within their known ecosystem and combine mobile and desktop development without venturing outside of what they already know.

There is no “best” absolute framework: the decision depends on your project context (business objectives, target audience, existing technical constraints, team skills, etc.). The key is to evaluate specific requirements upfront (performance, interface quality, IT integration, scalability, etc.) to choose the platform that will maximize ROI and the long-term sustainability of the application.

At Edana, we advocate for hybrid or custom solutions built on open and robust technologies. This translates into a preference for widely supported open-source frameworks, scalable architecture that avoids excessive dependencies, and a constant focus on security and long-term cost efficiency.

Need help making a decision or support for your mobile project? Our experts are available to advise you on the best solution for your goals and to successfully lead the development of your enterprise mobile application in an innovative and cost-effective way.

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