The eternal debate gets a new dimension when AR enters the picture. Here's a practical comparison based on real shipping experience.

Performance

Native AR frameworks (ARKit/ARCore) always have the performance edge. Flutter can bridge to native AR, but the overhead is measurable.

Development Speed

Flutter wins for UI development speed, especially for the non-AR portions of your app.

Platform Features

Native gives you day-one access to new AR capabilities. Flutter plugins often lag behind.

The Hybrid Approach

The best strategy often combines Flutter for the app shell with native AR views for immersive experiences.

Verdict

For AR-heavy apps, go native. For apps with occasional AR features, Flutter with platform views is a solid choice.