Top 10 Best Cross-Platform App Development Frameworks
In today’s time, you need an application that can span any device without any issue. The look and feel of the app should remain the same whether it runs on Android platforms or iOS platforms. A cross-platform framework helps to develop such types of mobile apps.
Businesses need a mobile app development company that can meet their requirements and provide robust cross-platform apps. Because their app users can use multiple platforms. The top cross-platform apps are Firefox, OpenOffice, TeamViewer, Adobe Reader, Chrome, Thunderbird, Apache, and MySQL Workbench.
For several years mobile app development firms were looking for the best solution so that the apps can run on any platform consistently. Because native apps could not run on all the platforms so the developers had to write code again for building the same app for the different platforms.
But, cross-platform app development has made the life of developers easy. Now they can develop cross-platform mobile apps using some frameworks.
What Is a Cross-platform Development Framework?
Let’s understand the meaning of a cross-platform framework with an example. Suppose you have an Android phone and you use an important app on this device. After some time, you buy an iOS phone. But now, when you try to download the same application, it doesn’t work.
It might be a native app, so could not run on multiple platforms. To overcome this problem, an integrated development environment (IDE) was developed. So that, developers can build an app for both Android and iOS platforms using a single code. The IDE is called a cross-platform framework.
There are many popular frameworks. Developers use them for different platforms and produce hybrid mobile apps (Cross-platform) in a short time. Have a look at the image below to know the cross-platform mobile frameworks used by developers worldwide from 2019 to 2021.
Native Apps vs Cross-Platform Apps
To understand the cross-platform app development frameworks better, you should understand the difference between native and cross-platform
Cost to File for a Patent long time Less time
| Criteria | Native Apps | Cross-Platform Apps |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cost | High-cost | Low-cost |
| 2. Performance | Higher performance | Performance issues |
| 3. Development Time | long time | Less time |
| 4. Architecture | Different apps for different platforms | One app for multiple platforms |
| 5. User Experience | Excellent | Average |
| 6. Target Audience | Limited users | A large number of users |
| 7. Hardware Accessibility | Complete hardware support | Limited |
| 8. Code Reusability | Almost none | 80% of code can be reused |
These are some points about the types of apps so that you can understand why to go for the particular one.
Top 7 Benefits of Cross-Platform Framework
Before you think about how to hire mobile app developers, you need to know the benefits of a cross-platform framework for app development. Today, most businesses want cross-platform app development because they want to reach a larger audience. And a cross-platform app makes it possible. Let’s know more benefits of cross-platform development below.
- Code Reusability
- Code Reduction
- Fast Development
- Broader Market Reach
- Supports Any Platform
- Quick Prototyping
- Easy Maintenance
Read about all these benefits briefly below.
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Code Reusability
It is one of the greatest advantages of cross-platform app development. You will not have to write the code from scratch for app development for multiple platforms. Sometimes back, the app developers had to use different programming languages to build mobile applications, but now they can use one programming language and reuse it. Thereby, you can avoid many recurring, repetitive tasks, and codes during the app development.
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Cost Reduction
You will not have to write code separately for different platforms. Write it once and use it multiple times. Consequently, it reduces the development cost because now developers don’t have to work as much as they used to. The organizations had to assemble developers with different skill sets to develop large business apps. It used to take their budget high. On the other hand, now organizations need developers with a common skill set and fewer resources for cross-platform development. So, cost reduction is one of the important benefits.
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Fast Development
The more the app development time will be, the more the cost will be. Building hybrid mobile apps require lesser time than native apps. Because you will not have to write code from scratch and for different platforms. You can reuse the code as a result it will save your time. Likewise, businesses can get a seamless and consistent user experience. The shared codebase feature in the cross-platform app development fastens product development and launch.
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Broader Market Reach
You can deploy hybrid apps on various platforms so that they can give wider exposure to your business. More people get to know about your business through the cross-platform app. This type of app is crucial in today’s time because universally accepted mobile apps leave more impact on the brand. It is real, especially if you have developed a strong brand identity with a logo maker and other design tools. There are around 1 billion iPhone users and this platform has more than 60% share of smartphone sales in the USA. So, you can understand as more people use your app, it will multiply the revenue.
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Supports Any Platform
If you have two different teams one for Android apps and another for iOS apps, it would not be feasible to manage them financially and mentally. For cross-platform app development, you need only one team because it can develop the app for any platform with a single code base. cross-platform application development supports any platform; this is the most significant advantage of using this technology.
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Quick Prototyping
Prototyping is vital because it ensures that you are on the right path for developing cross-platform apps. You will not have to create app prototypes separately for numerous platforms. You only need to make it once, when you are developing a cross-platform app. Thereby, a quick development process helps to create mobile apps fast.
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Easy Maintenance
Since a single code base is used for cross-platform app development, the maintenance requires less time. You will have to fix the bugs and errors only once. Likewise, the update process takes less time as it is promptly synced over all platforms and devices. So, you can easily maintain cross-platform apps and save time and money.
Top 10 Cross-Platform App Development Frameworks
For the development of the best cross-platform app, you need the best cross-platform tools. There are many cross-platform frameworks, but finding the right one according to your app type would be a difficult task. Many businesses want native features in their cross-platform apps. Likewise, web developers want to use cross-platform frameworks for their progressive web apps.
I am presenting the top 10 cross-platform frameworks below. So, you can choose the right one to make a mobile app for your business.
- Flutter
- React Native
- Xamarin
- Native Script
- Node.JS
- PhoneGap
- Sencha Touch
- Corona SDK
- Ionic
- Accelerator Titanium
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Flutter
Flutter is the most popular mobile framework. Around 42% of the software developers use flutter, as per the 2021 survey on developers. Google introduced this framework in 2017. Flutter is a software development kit that is helpful to build attractive, natively compiled mobile apps without using multiple programming languages.
Flutter Apps:
- Alibaba Group
- Groupon
- eBay
Features:
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- Open-source mobile app development framework
- Rich widgets for elegant and expressive UI
- Google firebase support
- Single code base
- Hot reload feature
- Minimum viable product development
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React Native
React Native apps give the feel of native apps. Meta (Facebook) community developed meta in 2015 to make creating interactive UIs painless for the mobile app development company. This framework is built on JavaScript to build a cross-platform app for Android and iOS. Likewise, find out why are developers choosing React over Angular.
React Apps:
- Bloomberg
- Uber eats
- Meta
Features:
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- large community support
- Backed by Meta
- Open-source
- Tried and tested
- Highly compatible with third-party plugins
- Renders highly responsive interface
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Xamarin
You can develop apps for Android, iOS, and Windows, with C # and .NET using this streamlined framework. You don’t have to use JS libraries and HTML. Likewise, you can use 90% of the code to develop an app for three platforms. Moreover, with the help of Xamarin code, you can develop a native user interface. Microsoft released Xamarin in 2019 and its latest stable version came on May 19, 2022. This is also an open-source platform for innovative mobile app development.
Features:
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- Allows modern cross-platform app development
- Uses C# and .NET programming languages
- Provides native level-up app functionalities
- Allows linking with native libraries
- Supports direct inclusion of Object C and Java
- Offers WORA (Write Once, Read Anywhere)
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Native Script
Native Script was developed by Progress. It is based on JavaScript with native APIs. This open-source framework helps to create mobile apps for multiple platforms. Likewise, many developers choose it, due to the WORA functionality for cross-platform development. It also supports Vue.js and AngularJS. You will not have to install extra plugins for different functionalities.
Features:
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- Attractive and platform-native UI without the WebView
- Offers complete web resources
- Easy access to native Android and iOS APIs
- Supports segments like Cocoapods and Android Arsenal
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Node.JS
Node.js is a back-end run-time JavaScript environment. It runs on the V8 engine. This cross-platform tool executes the JavaScript code outside the browser. Moreover, Node.js is widely used for non-blocking and event-driven servers. It is the popular framework for cross-platform app development because you can build highly efficient and responsive software solutions.
Node.js Apps:
- Uber
- Paypal
- Mozilla
- Netflix
Features:
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- Node.js is non-blocking in nature
- The code execution process is quick
- Single-threaded but highly scalable
- Fast data streaming
- Cross-platform compatibility
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Phone Gap
PhoneGap is a software development framework by Nitobi software. This open-source mobile application development framework is widely accepted by mobile app development teams in the world. Moreover, it provides a cloud solution to developers so that they can share the app in the development process.
PhoneGap Apps:
- ViziApps
- Worklight
- Convertigo
Features:
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- Cross-platform compatibility
- Effective access to native APIs
- Large community base
- Uses different technologies
- Robust back-end support
- Reduced the development cost
- Single code-base to create apps
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Sencha Touch
Sencha Touch is a user-interface library and is helpful to develop web-based cross-platform apps. You can use it for the development of hardware-intensive apps. If you are looking for cross-platform app development frameworks to develop large business apps, it can be the right choice. Moreover, Sencha Touch is now merged with Ext JS.
Features:
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- Sencha Touch supports Cordova integration for Native API access
- Provides code compatibility
- Offers built-in native-looking themes
- Provides back-end data packages to consume data from any data source
- Adaptive layouts, smooth scrolling, and animations for a better user experience
- Comes with customizable 50+ UI widgets
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Corona SDK
It is an open-source software development environment. Corona lab Inc launched the Corona SDK in 2009. It is one of the popular development frameworks for creating apps and games for mobile devices because it is 10X faster. Likewise, programmers can develop 2D applications for multiple platforms. Corona SDK supports working on MAC OS X and Windows.
Features:
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- Corona SDK is a lightweight and easily embedded language
- Allows efficient web application, image, and game development
- Offers around 1000 APIs for animation, audio, music, Box2D physics, and native elements
- Instant response for the code changes
- This app development framework depends on the Lua programming language
- Contains 200 plugins for analytics, media, in-app advertising
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Ionic
Ionic is one of the popular cross-platform app development frameworks. Max Lynch and Ben Sperry launched it in 2012. Ionic is a free open-source SDK for cross-platform app development. So, you can develop high-quality mobile and desktop applications. Likewise, with the integration of popular technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Vue, and Angular you can build a robust and scalable solution.
Ionic Apps:
- Sworkit
- Shipt
- JustWatch
- Sanvello
Features:
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- Cross-platform desktop and mobile app development
- Based on web standards
- Build a clean, simple, and functional app
- Shallow learning curve
- Engaging and beautiful UI
- Allows Cordova plugin
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Accelerator Titanium
Accelerator Titanium is an open-source SDK. TiDev, Inc developed this cross-platform framework for app development. You can develop a smooth and effective application for numerous platforms. Likewise, you have to use a single code base for the cross-platform mobile app. It gives a native app-like feel because you can use native components in JavaScript code and streamline the cross-platform app development process.
Features:
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- Reuses the 60-90% code across the numerous platforms
- SDK provides quick support
- Various tools for fast development
- Fast setup due to Arrow DB
- Integration of existing continuous delivery systems
- It has pre-built connectors for MS SQL, Salesforce, and MS Azure
These are the most popular frameworks to build the best cross-platform apps.
Cross Platform Mobile Apps Development Cost
The cost of mobile app development depends on various factors. These are as follows.
- Business model
- App building frameworks
- Development team
- Features and functions of the app
- Size of the project
- Hosting, security, and maintenance
A simple cross-platform mobile app costs around $20,000. If you want innovative features and UI and UX designs, the cost can be higher. I have divided the app cost according to the difficulty level of development.
- Simple cross-platform mobile app: $20,000
- Average cross-platform mobile app: $40,000
- Advanced cross-platform mobile app: $120,000
But, remember the cost always depends on the factors I mentioned above. So, if you are clear about the business model, your requirements, and your tech stack, you can decide on the budget.
Concluding Lines
Now you know about the best cross-platform frameworks. So, it will help you decide on the right platform for your business app. In case, you still face difficulties or can’t decide which is the right framework, you can move to the professional app developers of Technource. We discuss your app idea meticulously and understand your requirements to provide you with a solution that meets your business needs.
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