Comparison

Capacitor vs Flutter

No clear leader: Flutter (63.5) and Capacitor (59.6) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Capacitor60
Flutter64
Score
vioscaleAI score
Capacitor60 / 100medium · 65%
Flutter64 / 100high · 78%
Pricing
Free tier
Capacitor✓
Flutter✓
Model
Capacitoropen_source
Price level
Capacitorfree
Flutterfree
Integrations
Count
Capacitor21
Flutter7
Reliability
Status page
Capacitor✓
Flutter–
Adoption
Dependent repos
Capacitor24,134
Flutter9
Github stars
Capacitor16,852
Flutter179,359
Package downloads weekly
Capacitor5,395,282
Flutter–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Capacitor5
Flutter100
Release
Cadence days
Capacitor–
Flutter32
History
Capacitor20 items
Flutter7 items
License
Spdx
CapacitorMIT
Language
Primary
CapacitorTypeScript
FlutterDart
Market
Availability
Capacitor–
Content
Faq
Capacitor6 items
Flutter7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for mobile app frameworks. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
Target platforms
CapacitoriOS, Android, Progressive Web App
FlutteriOS, Android, Web, Desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux), Embedded
Approach
CapacitorWebView hybrid
FlutterMultiplatform shared logic
Primary language
CapacitorJavaScript, HTML, CSS
FlutterDart
Rendering
Renders true native UI
Capacitor✗
Flutter✓
DX
Hot reload
Capacitor✓
Flutter✓
TypeScript-first
Capacitor-
Flutter✗
Delivery
Over-the-air code push
Capacitor-
Flutter-
Portability
Single codebase, multiple platforms
Capacitor✓
Flutter✓
Desktop support
Capacitor-
Flutter✓
Builds for web
Capacitor✓
Flutter✓
Capability
Native API access
CapacitorFull native
FlutterPlugin / bridged
Ecosystem
Bundled UI component library
Capacitor✗
Flutter✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Capacitor

Capacitor is a cross-platform native runtime that enables developers to build applications for iOS, Android, and web using a single JavaScript codebase. It provides web-standard APIs while allowing access to native device features through a plugin system.

Independently observed

Flutter

An open-source framework that compiles applications to native machine code for mobile and desktop platforms, and to JavaScript for web, enabling developers to create apps for multiple platforms using a single Dart codebase.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Capacitor

Open source
as of verify ↗

Flutter

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Capacitor✓
Flutter✓
iOS
Capacitor✓
Flutter✓
Android
Capacitor✓
Flutter✓
macOS
Capacitor✗
Flutter✓
Windows
Capacitor✗
Flutter✓
Linux
Capacitor✗
Flutter✓
CLI
Capacitor✓
Flutter✓
Deployment
Self-hosted
Capacitor✓
Flutter✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (1)
  • Google Maps

Capacitor

24 total - 23 not shared
  • Action Sheet
  • App Launcher
  • App Browser
  • Camera
  • Clipboard
  • Device
  • Dialog
  • Filesystem
  • Geolocation
  • Haptics
  • Keyboard
  • Local Notifications
  • Motion
  • Network
  • Push Notifications
  • Screen Reader
  • Share
  • Splash Screen
  • Status Bar
  • Storage
  • Text Zoom
  • Toast
  • Cordova plugins
Independently observed

Flutter

10 total - 9 not shared
  • Firebase
  • Google Play
  • Google Pay
  • Google Wallet
  • Google Ads
  • Figma
  • CameraX
  • Android Studio
  • pub.dev
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Capacitor or Flutter: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.