React Native vs. Flutter: What NZ Startups Need to Know

The Kiwi Startup Dilemma

New Zealand has a vibrant startup ecosystem, from Wellington's Xero to Auckland's Vend. But Kiwi founders face a unique constraint: Capital Efficiency. Raising a Series A in NZ is harder than in SF. You cannot afford to burn cash building two separate apps (iOS and Android).

This leads to the inevitable question: React Native or Flutter? Both are backed by tech giants (Meta vs Google). Both offer 'Write Once, Run Anywhere'. But for a NZ startup launching in 2025, the choice is clear.

The Talent Constraint

The biggest bottleneck for NZ startups is not technology; it's people. New Zealand is a small market. If you pick a niche technology, you will struggle to hire.

React Native: The Abundance Strategy

React Native is built on React.js (JavaScript). There are thousands of React developers in NZ. Bootcamps like Dev Academy teach React. If you choose React Native, you can hire a web developer and have them contributing to your mobile app in week one.

Flutter: The Niche Trap

Flutter uses Dart. Dart is a fine language, but almost nobody learns it as their first language. Hiring a 'Senior Flutter Developer' in Auckland often means importing talent or retraining. This slows you down.

Performance: The Gap Has Closed

In 2018, Flutter was faster. In 2025, that is no longer true. With React Native's new 'Bridgeless' architecture (Fabric), the performance delta is negligible for 99% of apps.

Unless you are building a complex 3D game (in which case, use Unity), React Native can hit 60fps easily. We have built apps for Adventure Tourism companies in Queenstown that handle complex GPS mapping and offline data syncing without a stutter.

Read about React Native's New Architecture

Ecosystem & Libraries

This is where React Native wins hands down. Because it is JavaScript, you have access to the largest package repository in the world (NPM).

• Need a library for payment (Stripe)? It exists.
• Need a library for maps (Mapbox)? It exists.
• Need a library for analytics (Segment)? It exists.

With Flutter, you are often reliant on packages maintained by Google or a smaller community. If a package is abandoned, you are stuck rewriting native code.

Case Study: Agritech App

We worked with a Hamilton-based Agritech startup. They needed an app to connect to IoT sensors on dairy farms via Bluetooth. They started with Flutter but hit a wall with Bluetooth compatibility on older Android devices.

We rewrote the app in React Native using `react-native-ble-plx`. Because the library was mature and battle-tested, we solved the connectivity issues in 2 weeks.

Conclusion

Flutter is great technology, but successful startups are built on logistics, not just code. The logistics of hiring, scaling, and maintaining an app in New Zealand heavily favor React Native.

Don't bet against the JavaScript ecosystem.

Launch your React Native App in NZ.