Compose Multiplatform vs Flutter
JetBrains Compose Multiplatform versus Google Flutter: shared UI quality, native interop, ecosystem maturity, and developer experience comparison.
One Kotlin UI codebase for Android + iOS + Desktop + Web
Apple's native, declarative UI framework — the common language across its whole platform family
If you have a strong Android/Kotlin team and want to expand to iOS at the lowest cost, Compose Multiplatform makes sense: the iOS target has been Stable since May 2025. But in a product where iOS is the showcase and you need day-0 use of innovations like Liquid Glass (iOS 26+), it's hard to beat SwiftUI — even the official documentation recommends a native SwiftUI shell for that visual language. On size, the official figure is ~9 MB, but one independent case reported a 12x difference; measure your own prototype on a real device.
| Category | Compose Multiplatform | SwiftUI |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Learning | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Ecosystem | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Community | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Job Market | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Future-Proof | 7/10 | 9/10 |
// Compose Multiplatform - commonMain: shared profile card
// (build.gradle.kts: kotlin { androidTarget(); iosArm64(); iosSimulatorArm64() })
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.*
import androidx.compose.foundation.shape.CircleShape
import androidx.compose.material3.*
import androidx.compose.runtime.*
import androidx.compose.ui.*
import androidx.compose.ui.draw.clip
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.dp
import coil3.compose.AsyncImage
@Composable
fun ProfileCard(user: User, modifier: Modifier = Modifier) {
var isFollowing by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
Row(
modifier = modifier.fillMaxWidth().padding(16.dp),
verticalAlignment = Alignment.CenterVertically
) {
AsyncImage(
model = user.avatarUrl,
contentDescription = user.name,
modifier = Modifier.size(64.dp).clip(CircleShape)
)
Spacer(Modifier.width(12.dp))
Column(modifier = Modifier.weight(1f)) {
Text(user.name, style = MaterialTheme.typography.titleMedium)
Text(user.title, style = MaterialTheme.typography.bodySmall)
}
OutlinedButton(onClick = { isFollowing = !isFollowing }) {
Text(if (isFollowing) "Unfollow" else "Follow")
}
}
}
// iosMain: expose the CMP view as a UIViewController
fun MainViewController() = ComposeUIViewController { ProfileCard(user = sampleUser) }// SwiftUI - profile card
import SwiftUI
struct ProfileCard: View {
let user: User
@State private var isFollowing = false
var body: some View {
HStack(spacing: 12) {
AsyncImage(url: user.avatarURL) { image in
image.resizable().scaledToFill()
} placeholder: {
ProgressView()
}
.frame(width: 64, height: 64)
.clipShape(Circle())
VStack(alignment: .leading) {
Text(user.name)
.font(.headline)
Text(user.title)
.font(.subheadline)
.foregroundStyle(.secondary)
}
Spacer()
Button(isFollowing ? "Unfollow" : "Follow") {
withAnimation(.spring(response: 0.3)) {
isFollowing.toggle()
}
}
.buttonStyle(.bordered)
}
.padding()
}
}
#Preview {
ProfileCard(user: .sample)
}If you have a strong Android/Kotlin team and want to expand to iOS at the lowest cost, Compose Multiplatform makes sense: the iOS target has been Stable since May 2025. But in a product where iOS is the showcase and you need day-0 use of innovations like Liquid Glass (iOS 26+), it's hard to beat SwiftUI — even the official documentation recommends a native SwiftUI shell for that visual language. On size, the official figure is ~9 MB, but one independent case reported a 12x difference; measure your own prototype on a real device.
Get Free ConsultationYes — JetBrains officially declared the iOS target Stable and production-ready with CMP 1.8.0 in May 2025; type-safe navigation, first-class VoiceOver support, and SwiftUI/UIKit interop all landed in that release. But 'ready' doesn't mean it's the right choice for every project: an independent developer case study published on August 2, 2026 reports serious trade-offs on size and native feel in a shipped CMP app (one developer's experience). Don't decide without measuring your own build.