Top Cross Platform App Development Frameworks

With new technological advancements shaping the face of the earth, it comes as no surprise that business operations & even day-to-day communications have become more inclined towards the digital world. 57% of all digital media usage comes from mobile apps!

A recent study showed that the number of mobile app downloads have skyrocketed to 140.7 billion apps in 2016 to 204 billion apps in 2020. The world is, even more, mobile-centric now and is going to be in the future. Mobile apps are expected to generate $189 billion in revenue by the end of this year. 2020 seems like the tip of the iceberg for what’s yet to become of mobile platforms in the future.

Irrespective of the size, business operations are now shifting towards the mobile app platforms by the day. With more than 3.5 billion people using smartphones daily– it makes sense that businesses are looking for an established mobile app development company to build their business app. However, with Android & iOS making up the majority of the app market, it is crucial to develop an app for both platforms. Selecting the right one out of the many cross-platform app development frameworks that meet all your business requirements is crucial.

But why Cross-Platform App Development Frameworks?

Developers choose to work with cross-platform app development frameworks over native app development because it makes their life easier. Some of the main benefits of cross-platform app development frameworks are:

  • It leads to a lower cost of development as the core code has to be written only once for iOS & Android.
  • Updates can be rolled out quickly to enhance the user experience.
  • Better Return on Investment
  • Cross-platform app development frameworks require less development time.
  • It has a wider audience reach and very effective for marketing.
  • Cloud technologies can be easily integrated into such cross-platform hybrid apps.

If you are looking to choose a cross-platform app development framework, let us help you make the right choice. Being a dedicated mobile app developer, we at Communication Crafts have developed more than 4000+ live apps for our clients around the world. From a comprehensive list of cross-platform app development frameworks available, we select the one which is just right for our client’s business requirements.

Here we’ve listed top 7 best cross platform app development frameworks for you to consider.

7 best cross-platform app development frameworks

1. Flutter:

Coded in Dart language, Flutter is an open-source mobile application development SDK released by Google back in 2017. It is a very popular cross-platform app development that is best suitable for the development of hybrid apps. Owing to its ability to work over existing code and utilize a 2D rendering engine (Skia) to develop visuals- it is a favorite amongst developers. Flutter promotes portable GPU, which renders the UI power, allowing it to work on the latest interfaces.

Advantages of Flutter:

  • Reduces testing time.
  • App development is faster.
  • Clear documentation that helps developers code better.
  • Easy-to-use UI.
  • Provides a wide range of widgets.

Disadvantages of Flutter:

  • A limited set of libraries make it difficult to add features to the app.
  • Maintaining the code is difficult in the long run.
  • Flutter apps require large storage.

Flutter might not be an established framework to handle complex projects as of now, but it is the popular choice for startups & Minimum Viable Project (MVP) as it expedites in the development process and is cost-efficient.

2. Xamarin:

Launched by Microsoft in 2011, Xamarin is a streamlined framework used to develop mobile applications for Windows, iOS, and Android. To unlock the full potential of Xamarin, the developers must learn C# & .NET codebase to implement it. It allows the developers to use 90% of the code for building an app for these three platforms.

Advantages of Xamarin:

  • Mobile apps developed using Xamarin are easy to maintain.
  • Performance is as great as a Native app.
  • Reduces hardware compatibility problems with the help of plugins and specific API’s.
  • Testing can be done over multiple mobile platforms with the help of Cloud technology.
  • Xamarin reduces the time and cost of app development as it supports the WORA (Write Once, Run Anywhere).

Disadvantages of Xamarin:

  • The higher cost of development.
  • Limited access to open-source libraries.

Its amazing aesthetic appeal enhances the user experience which is the reason it is currently one of the best cross-platform app development platforms.

3. React Native:

When talking about cross-platform app development frameworks, we have to talk about the famous React Native. Launched by Facebook in 2015, it is an open-source app development framework for Android, iOS, and Web apps.

Advantages of React Native:

  • React Native is highly compatible with third-party plugins- such as Google Maps.
  • Web app development is easy.
  • It has a large community that provides valuable feedback to Facebook, which helps them improve the framework.
  • It supports WORA. It reduces the development cost.
  • Supports the creation of highly interactive UI that provides a smooth user experience.

Disadvantages of React Native:

  • Compatibility & debugging issues.
  • The lack of out-of-the-box support for many native app functionalities requires native app developers at times.

With 42% of the business market using React Native, its popularity has seen companies like Whatsapp & Instagram also switch to it, making it one of the most trending cross-platform app development platforms in the market as of now. Hire Dedicated React Native Developers!

4. Ionic Framework:

An open-source user-friendly platform, Ionic easily makes the list of the top cross-platform app development platforms in 2020. Ionic uses HTML, CSS & JavaScript technologies. This framework is based on a SAAS UI framework designed specifically for mobile operating systems.

Advantages of Ionic:

  • A broad range of UI components helps develop robust apps.
  • Combined with Angular, it provides great performance.
  • Easy to learn.
  • Fast prototyping of apps.

Disadvantages of Ionic:

  • It is plugin dependent.
  • Security-related issues are common.
  • Overall performance is less compared to other cross-platform app development frameworks.

Using this framework, developers can alter the development process according to their distinctive ideas. The fact that Ionic gives a native-like feel to the mobile apps is what makes it a favorite among developers. It helps develop cross-platform apps and provides seamless performance across iOS & Android platforms.

5. PhoneGap:

PhoneGap is one of the impeccable cross-platform mobile app development frameworks which can be used to develop apps in JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS. By leveraging existing web technologies, PhoneGap helps develop robust, scalable mobile apps.

Advantages of PhoneGap:

  • Supports inbuilt device features such as GPS, Camera, Storage, and much more.
  • Cloud integration possible for developers who want to follow the DevOps method.
  • Support for many mobile platforms.
  • One main code base for development for different platforms.

Disadvantages of PhoneGap:

  • Lack of UI widgets.
  • Performance is less compared to other frameworks.

Building a complete mobile app in the Cloud using PhoneGap is easy. This is the main reason many businesses still use this cross-platform framework.

6. jQuery Mobile:

jQuery Mobile is an app development framework based on HTML5. One of the core benefits of jQuery is that you can develop mobile apps and websites that can be run across different types of operating systems and devices such as Windows, Mac OS, Firefox, Kindle, and many more.

Advantages of jQuery:

  • It is SEO-friendly.
  • Wide range of plugins.
  • Developers need to write less code.
  • Easy to use compared to JavaScript.

Disadvantages of jQuery:

  • jQuery library is large which the developers have to download.
  • Abstraction hides part of JavaScript, making it difficult to learn.
  • jQuery DOM API’s are outdated.

jQuery helps make apps more interactive, simple, and user-friendly. As it helps create dynamic content that is readable by search engines, businesses love to use it for marketing.

7. Mobile Angular UI:

Mobile Angular UI makes the app development process easy by combining the Bootstrap and Angular framework. With Mobile Angular UI, you can build apps using HTML5. Most importantly, Mobile Angular UI is free to use a cross-platform app development framework.

Advantages of Mobile Angular UI:

  • Two-way data binding reduces the code to be written and thus leads to shorter development time.
  • Developers can control the Document Object Model (DOM) that allows developers to create dynamic and rich content for apps.
  • Cleaner code & higher scalability.
  • Higher performance rate.
  • Powerful ecosystem.

Disadvantages of Mobile Angular UI:

  • Steep learning curve.
  • Challenging to configure the framework.
  • Debugging is difficult.

As a leading app development company, we at Communication Crafts have developed mobile apps for our clients all around the world. Our teams of expert cross-platform developers, iOS developers, Android developers, Backend developer, Business analyst, software testers, UX/UI designers, and QA engineers cater to your app development needs specifically. We select the best cross-platform app development framework that will go hand-to-hand with your business needs.

With the latest Mobile App monitoring systems, our app developers not only gather in-depth analytics of your mobile app’s performance after it is launched but also help roll out timely updates to make your app performance even better. With the best mobile app developers working in our development team, every line of code we write for your mobile app is quality assured. Using the latest technologies available in the market, we always aim to create interactive mobile apps that your target audience would love. We craft your mobile app in a way that is engaging and also cost-effective to help achieve your business goals. Also, our expert project managers help in successfully launching your app into the global markets and handle all aspects of your app development step by step. Developing the best mobile app features that provide great customer experience is our forte!

Apps can’t succeed without downloads. Get us on board & get your business mobile app crafted to perfection quickly!

Need to build an Mobile App for your next big idea?

Get in touch


    Don’t forget to share it