Frameworks Comparison with Developer Hiring Aspects
.NET MAUI
- Programming language: C#. While hiring the engineer, good C# knowledge is a must
- User interface: XAML. When searching for the candidates, you can consider engineers with the XAML know-how and previous experience with Xamarin or WPF.
- Target platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, tvOS. .NET MAUI is good suitable for internal enterprise applications, so the developer’s experience in the implementation of enterprise solutions can be beneficial.
- The complexity of hiring the .NET MAU engineers: medium. What to search for in the candidate: C#/.NET developer with .NET MAUI specific expertise and optional experience in migration from Xamarin.Forms to .NET MAUI
- Ideal candidate’s profile for .NET MAUI development project: full-stack .NET developers with an understanding of cross-platform application concepts
- Performance optimization skills: you should consider the .NET MAUI candidates who have previous experience with the native APIs and .NET optimization
- Upskills efforts/training: low
React Native
- Programming language: JavaScript (React). Highly available talent pool.
- User interface: native components
- Target platforms: Android, iOS. React Native is mobile-focused with web and desktop options.
- The complexity of hiring React Native engineers: simple.
- Ideal React Native developer profile: mobile or web developers with a JS or React background
- Performance optimization skills: You should consider candidates with previous experience with memory engagement, bridging, and native modules.
- Upskills efforts/training: low
Flutter
- Programming language: Dart. Hiring developers with Dart know-how can be challenging as this is a niche skill, limited candidate’s talent pool is available.
- User interface: custom widgets creation, so while searching, you should consider the developers with the skills to create visually appealing front-end parts
- Target platforms: Android, iOS, desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux), web. Flutter is about a mobile-first approach with the option for web and desktop, so while searching for the engineer, it is crucial for the developer to have expertise in mobile UIs and animation
- The complexity of hiring Flutter engineers: hard.
- Ideal Flutter developer profile: mobile developers with a big focus on design
- Performance optimization skills: you should consider the candidates with a clear understanding of the rendering logic and widget trees
- Upskills efforts/training: medium, some engineers need additional upskilling in UI/UX topics
Tips for Hiring by Framework Within the Limited Availability of Talents
If you are facing the problem of finding experts in the appropriate stack, then below we offer a "loophole" for hiring.
.NET MAUI
- Case: Your organization already team a .NET team, or your company is focused on the delivery of enterprise solutions
- Solution: Do the upskilling of the available developers, or hire experienced developers who are interested in cross-platform application development
React Native
- Case: You want to be able to scale fast without too much investment in learning
- Solution: Hire React.js developers, train in native bridging when needed, as well as focus on speed and flexibility.
Flutter
- Case: You need a strong design consistency across platforms with lean teams.
- Solution: Hire mobile application developers or upskill iOS/Android developers in Dart
Framework Community and Ecosystem
Community and ecosystem factors are very important due to the following:
- Faster development through the availability of pre-built solutions
- Availability of the learning resources, knowledge base, and support
- Tooling and shared developer experience
.NET MAUI
- Community and ecosystem size: Big and growing
- Community and ecosystem maturity: Strong tooling from Microsoft and fewer external libraries
React Native
- Community and ecosystem size: Big
- Community and ecosystem maturity: Rich community, but the quality of plugins varies
Flutter
- Community and ecosystem size: Big
- Community and ecosystem maturity: Rich community for mobile
Benefits of Hiring Cross-Platform Developers
Hiring .NET MAUI developers or Flutter or React Native engineers has several benefits:
- Faster solution time-to-market due to the single code base for several platforms
- Costs elimination due to avoiding hiring separate experts for each platform
- Fewer overhead costs
- Simple onboarding
- Improved developer retention rate, as the engineers often want to work with modern frameworks
- Easy team scaling and extension (especially when this is a flexible cooperation with the software development company)
Costs for Hiring and Talent Pool
.NET MAUI
- Developer availability: Moderate, but yearly, more and more engineers re-qualify to .NET MAUI
- The average salary in the USA (yearly) in Dollars: $95.000 - $150.000
- The average salary in the EU (yearly) in Euros: €62.000 - €83.000
React Native
- Developer availability: High
- The average salary in the USA (yearly) in Dollars: $86.000 - $180.000
- The average salary in the EU (yearly) in Euros: €60.000 - €80.000
Flutter
- Developer availability: Medium
- The average salary in the USA (yearly) in Dollars: $95.000 - $150.000
- The average salary in the EU (yearly) in Euros: €68.000 - €89.000
The Role of Outsourced Agencies for Hiring Developers
- The professional software development companies already have a network of available .NET MAUI, React Native, and Flutter developers. When the customer lacks professional software engineers, he can hire an external expert and benefit from the expertise
- The developer is assigned to the customer’s project in full or part-time, depending on the agreement, and has a core working time
- The customer has a predictable budget for the software developer’s work (usually, this is time and material or a fixed monthly payment)
- Flexible cooperation models: hiring cross-platform developers as an extension to the existing in-house team, hiring a dedicated development team, or delegating the implementation of the project to professionals.
Conclusion
The selection of the framework for the solution development, .NET MAUI, React Native, or Flutter, depends on the project needs, goals, and future perspectives. These frameworks differ in their structure and approaches, but they all provide extensive options for the implementation of powerful cross-platform solutions.