Best Cross Platform App Development Frameworks [in 2025]

An Overview of Cross Platform Mobile App Development

A Statista report shows that over 3.5 million apps are available in the Google Play Store and over 1.6 million in the Apple App Store. Failing to be present on one platform means not being visible to millions of potential customers. The challenge lies in developing and maintaining two separate codebases for different mobile platforms. Plus, businesses often worry about the costs, performance, and development time associated with creating cross-platform applications. Despite these concerns, it is an excellent middle ground between developing separate applications for multiple platforms. In essence, this is the whole point of using cross-platform technology. Cross platform app development allows you to speed up the development process, reduce costs significantly, and build native-like applications without the complexity that comes with full native app development. All you need is the right mobile app development framework.

It is possible that performance concerns might be a major factor holding you back from exploring cross platform mobile development options, right?

Did you know that Google Pay, eBay, Netflix, various small modules in Facebook and Instagram, Alibaba, ByteDance, Skype, Bloomberg, Shopify, Philips, Baidu, and many others are developed using cross-platform development frameworks. [Source]

Ultimately, the performance of an app relies on the chosen tech stack during development. The above-mentioned app demonstrates that cross-platform solutions can perform similarly to native apps. What matters most is optimization and, furthermore, selecting the appropriate framework. Now, let's start by defining cross-platform.

What is Cross Platform App Development?

Cross-platform development lets you create an app that runs on a variety of operating systems. This means you can use the same language to write the majority of the app, as opposed to a specific language for each platform. Instead of juggling separate codebases in Java/Kotlin for Android and Swift for iOS, you can use something like C# or web development technologies like JavaScript to handle most of the app for all platforms.

But here's the catch: cross-platform tools sometimes can't tap directly into a phone's hardware features. For example, if your app needs super-smooth camera controls or super-fast graphics, performance hiccups could arise. For that, you'd still need native coding (Android/iOS-specific languages). Native apps are just faster and more deeplyf integrated with the device. This is especially crucial for mobile platforms, where optimal hardware integration and performance are paramount.

Still, if you want one app that works everywhere and looks/behaves the same across devices, cross-platform is the move. You'll write code once and update it in one place, and users get a consistent experience. Just weigh if the trade-off in performance or hardware access matters for your app.

Programming Languages Used in Cross-Platform Development

Languages like JavaScript, C#, Dart, etc., are primarily used for developing cross-platform applications. Let's briefly understand how it works. 

The Role of Framework in Cross-Platform App Development

Each operating system has distinct sets of rules, application programming interfaces (APIs), and user interface components.

Frameworks act as a bridge, taking care of the process of translating and making the developer's code compatible with the underlying system.

Frameworks enable developers to write code without having to know the native language of the operating system (OS) they target. Plus, they offer a layer of abstraction that hides the technical details of the underlying language or technology. Using this abstraction, developers can write code in non-native languages. However, you cannot eliminate native languages entirely. It is possible that native languages will be necessary for some of your coding.

The frameworks offer pre-built tools and libraries that assist in achieving maximum with less achieving maximum with less effort. 

The following section highlights a few of the best frameworks for cross-platform development in 2025 that are worth knowing.

Best Frameworks for Mobile Development in 2025

Cross platform mobile development has become popular due to the ability to build an application that works on both Android and iOS operating systems. Many frameworks have emerged with the growing trend to meet diverse needs. The best one for your project depends on the type of application you are building. In this blog, we'll highlight the most popular cross-platform app development frameworks to help you make an informed decision.

1. React Native

It is an open-source, cross-platform app development framework by Meta (formerly Facebook). It was first released in 2015, and since then, it has remained a popular choice for mobile app development. In 2018, React Native ranked 2nd in terms of the highest number of contributors for any repository in GitHub.

React Native allows developers to build applications using React library, which is widely praised for developing dynamic UI components. It enables developers to create native-like applications in terms of performance and feel. 

React Native, backed by Facebook, has consistently grown to a new level of success and benefits from a robust community. This framework is designed to work seamlessly across multiple mobile platforms.

Top Features:

1. React Native empowers developers to create high-performance applications using JavaScript.
2. The React Native community is vast and well-supported by Facebook.
3. Apps built with React Native can deliver native-like performance.
4. React Native is renowned for its focus on UI, enabling the easy development of modern and visually appealing user interfaces.
5. The Fast Refresh or hot reload feature allows changes in code to be instantly reflected in the app, ensuring rapid development.
6. Reusable components significantly reduce development time by enabling the reuse of components that are used multiple times throughout the app.

2. Flutter

Flutter is an open-source multi-platform development framework by Google. It allows developers to rapidly build apps by using Dart. Dart is a client-optimized programming language that enables developers to achieve native-like performance.  Google views it as a potential substitute for JavaScript, and in terms of speed, it is much faster than JavaScript.

With 46% of developers using it, Flutter is the most popular framework for nearly half of the software developer community.

Top Features:

1. It uses Dart programming language, specifically designed for multi-platform app development, which is incredibly fast.
2. Developers can target six platforms from a single codebase developed on Flutter.  
3. Flutter also provides a hot reload feature, enabling developers to instantly see changes in the app by making code modifications.
4. The framework offers a widget library that simplifies the creation of complex widgets, which can be further customized to meet specific requirements.
5. Flutter is an open-source framework, backed and supported by Google.

3. Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile

Kotlin Multi-platform, developed by JetBrains, is an open-source SDK.

While Kotlin is a programming language, Kotlin Multi-platform is an application development tool. It aids developers to build cross-platform applications using Kotlin langauge, a successor to Java. An additional benefit is that Kotlin is the native language for Android. This further enhances its utility.

Top Features:

1. Kotlin, being Android's native language, provides an added advantage when developing Android apps.
2. Kotlin is widely recognized for its concise coding style, allowing developers to leverage the benefits of the language's simplicity.
3. Kotlin's features, such as null safety, robust IDE support, and seamless Java interoperability, contribute to its efficiency and speed.
4. With Kotlin, developers can utilize native components for both iOS and Android, which may not be available in other frameworks.

4. .Net MAUI(Xamarin)

.NET MAUI, previously referred to as Xamarin, is an open-source framework that allows for the development of cross-platform applications. It is an ideal framework for writing applications in XAML and C# in Visual Studio.

Top Features: 

1. It allows for multi-platform app development that can run on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. 
2. Xamarin has a layout engine for creating pages.
3. It features APIs for accessing native device components.
4. It has a hot reload feature for rapid development.

5. Cordova

Cordova is an open-source mobile app development framework allowing developers to create applications using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. 

It allows developers to blend web-based functionality within an application while maintaining the app's native look and feel.

Top Features: 

1. Cordova allows for the development of cross-platform Mobile apps with HTML, CSS & JS.
2. It has a range of APIs to access native components, allowing native-like application development. 
3. Cordova allows developers to write programs that can run without a network connection. This feature is handy when users don't have an internet connection. They can still access cached content.

6. Ionic

This framework, built on Angular as its foundation, is highly beneficial for individuals or teams aiming to create cross-platform applications. Its effectiveness is demonstrated in developing apps for prominent entities like T-Mobile, BBC (Children's & Education apps), and EA Games. Furthermore, it currently powers a substantial 15% of apps in the app store.

Top Features: 

1. It has an Ionic capacitor, a package to run web applications as a native app.  
2. The framework offers a comprehensive collection of mobile-optimized UI components, along with mobile routing, navigation, gestures, and animations.
3. Developers can leverage web technologies to create mobile applications.
4. It provides a convenient CLI for application testing.
5. It seamlessly integrates with React, Angular, and Vue.

Comparison Between Popular Cross-platform Frameworks

Benefits of cross-platform mobile app development frameworks

When you're trying to reach a large audience with your mobile app, cross-platform frameworks can be a huge help. They offer many benefits, such as cutting costs, streamlining workflows, and generally making things a lot easier.

One of the main pros is how much it saves you on money. You only have to code once to get your app running on multiple platforms. This alone saves hours and tons of resources. You can update everything at once, with no more doing the same thing over and over.

Another really important benefit is that the experience is consistent across all platforms. Thanks to cross-platform frameworks, your app looks and feels the same whether it’s on an iPhone or an Android phone. This makes users happy and confident that your app will perform reliably, no matter which device they’re using.

These frameworks often come with tons of prebuilt components and libraries. This makes development much faster and boosts your apps’ functionality. They usually have plenty of community support and documentation available, so you won’t be left in the dark when you get stuck. By using these, you can focus on making your app the best it can be without having to reinvent the wheel for each different platform.

Conclusion

To summarize, building a native app for different platforms means using the native language of each platform. This can be a heavy burden for businesses. Frameworks help developers avoid the need to learn the details of each operating system and its language.

Keeping a single code base is very easy, while managing two code bases is very challenging. In the end, your development choice depends on what matters most to you: a unified maintenance approach with one team or the use of native apps. With cross-platform frameworks, your app looks and feels the same on both iPhone and Android, giving a consistent experience across mobile platforms.

If you are looking for a React Native development company, your search ends here. At Brilworks, we offer cross-platform app development services. We can help you build a cost-effective cross-platform app that delivers a native-like experience. Our services include a free consultation, detailed planning, and fast app deployment.