| Flutter | Swift (native iOS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Maintainer | Apple | |
| First release | 2018 | 2014 |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache 2.0 |
| Learning curve | Moderate, dart is easy to pick up from any C-style language, but the widget tree and state management approaches take time to internalize. | Moderate, the language is friendly and SwiftUI simplified UI work dramatically, but mastering Apple's frameworks takes time. |
| Performance | Compiled to native ARM code with its own Impeller renderer. Consistently smooth animations at 60/120 fps on both platforms. | The ceiling on iOS, compiled code with direct access to every Apple API, Metal graphics and the latest hardware features. |
Flutter gives you iOS, Android and desktop with identical pixels from one Dart codebase; Swift gives you the absolute best iOS experience and nothing else. If Android is on the roadmap at all, Flutter halves your total cost. If the product lives and dies on the App Store, native Swift with SwiftUI is the premium choice.