When Does the Technology Premium Stop Paying Off? Flutter Instead of a Native App in M-commerce

You receive several quotes for a mobile app project, and all of them are higher than you expected? The estimates are likely based on native technologies. They provide the highest quality, but they are also more expensive.

Fortunately, for some m-commerce apps, native technologies are not essential. The alternative is Flutter—a cross-platform solution.

Check when Flutter is the better option for an e-commerce.

What is the difference between a native app and Flutter?

If you are looking for a contractor for an m-commerce app project, you are likely reviewing various quotes. The section related to technology is usually a mystery to those outside the IT industry. What do you need to know about the differences between native technologies and Flutter?

Native apps

• We create native apps with a specific platform in mind (Android or iOS). If you want a store that works on both systems, you need two separate apps.
• Native technologies allow for a direct connection with mobile device hardware, which results in higher performance and speed.
• They enable providing the best experience (UX) because the look and feel of the user interface are tailored to the operating system, and the user is already accustomed to them.

Flutter apps

• Flutter apps are cross-platform. This means that a single app works on different systems, eliminating the need to build two separate mobile apps for iOS and Android.
• Flutter enables building an intuitive, visually appealing user interface (UI). It can be personalized to match the brand’s visual identity and maintain a consistent look across both systems.
• Now, Flutter is a sufficiently developed and stable technology that it can be recommended with full confidence for e-commerce mobile apps.

Flutter as an opportunity for budget optimization

This is just basic information, but it gives you a general idea of these technologies. Since a Flutter app works on both platforms, while native ones must be built separately for each, completing a Flutter project takes fewer hours.

Developers do not have to build two apps, which significantly reduces the time and, consequently, the project budget.

Lower maintenance cost

Building a mobile app and publishing it in stores is only the first step.

For an app to drive customer engagement and generate profit, it must be constantly developed. App maintenance involves bug fixes and technology updates on one hand, and adding new features or content on the other. This is a necessary stage that comes with ongoing costs.

Thanks to Flutter, an online store incurs these costs only once, rather than twice as with native apps. This is another financial benefit of using cross-platform technology.

Why are native apps often recommended?

Despite such significant benefits, Flutter is often only seen as an alternative to native technologies. Why is that?

In the case of complex apps with many features (especially those relying on system elements), Flutter may not implement them the way native apps do. Also, platform-specific UX is, for some stores, a vital element that sets the standard among competitors. Keep this in mind when considering different options for your project.

However, there are cases where choosing Flutter is the best decision for an online store. When should you consider a Flutter mobile app?

Building a standard e-commerce app in Flutter

If your app is meant to offer several standard m-commerce functionalities, Flutter should ensure fast and stable performance. This technology is excellent when there is no need to use many solutions that rely heavily on the operating system.

Not every store needs to offer image search or a virtual fitting room to retain customers. If your users primarily need a functional app, Flutter can deliver exactly that.

Sometimes the key to success is an aesthetically pleasing app that enables an intuitive shopping process and reflects the brand’s spirit. One that allows users to find products easily while offering various payment and delivery options.

Flutter perfectly handles the most important e-commerce features, such as the shopping cart, push notifications, the checkout process, and browsing the assortment (product listings and product pages).

Faster time-to-market: the sooner you launch the app, the better

Does your app need to reach the hands of iPhone and Samsung users as quickly as possible? Or perhaps your goal is to release new features simultaneously on both iOS and Android? Flutter is here to help.

If the need arises, you can develop selected features in native languages during later stages of the project. They can be seamlessly combined with Flutter.

Remember Building a single app for two platforms does not cut the project timeline in half. QA testing still needs to be conducted on both Android and iOS. Therefore, it is worth calculating first how many hours, more or less, the development of native versions versus a Flutter app might take.

Modernizing a legacy e-commerce app

Do you already have an app that has been running for years, and its maintenance cost is high? If its feature set is small, you can rewrite the old code in Flutter. Rewriting the entire app using this cross-platform technology will be cheaper than switching to new code in Swift and Kotlin.

It will also take less time than a native migration of all features to two platforms. Especially since, with an understanding of the business context, we will be able to leverage AI capabilities to modernize the app.

This solution is also cost-effective in terms of further app scaling – maintaining one app is cheaper than maintaining two.

However, such a decision must be consulted with a developer. It is best to perform a code audit first and, based on that, determine whether rewriting the entire app is advisable and which technology is worth choosing.

Flutter e-commerce app for mobile devices

Shopping on smartphones has already become the norm – these devices accounted for approximately 65% of activity in 2025, according to the M-Commerce Market report by Mordor Intelligence. A modern online store must provide mobile device users with the best possible UX.

An m-commerce app is a natural step in a brand’s growth, and its development costs can be optimized.

Want to find out how much you can save by implementing Flutter in your online store app? Schedule a call with us – we will analyze your needs and prepare a transparent quote.