Best Android Frameworks For App Development in 2025

An astounding $36.2 billion was spent by consumers on mobile apps in Q2 2024, a 12% increase over Q2 2023. In the first quarter of 2025, Android maintains its stronghold as the leading mobile operating system globally, holding a market share of approximately 71.88%.

With such a massive user base and growing demand for innovative apps, developers are increasingly relying on robust Android frameworks to build scalable, efficient, and feature-rich applications. In this blog, we’ll dive into the top Android frameworks you must use in 2025 to stay ahead in the competitive app development space. Let’s dive in!

Current data highlights Flutter as the preferred choice for Android app development frameworks, capturing about 42% of the market share. React Native follows with 38%, and both Ionic and Cordova each take around 16%. Xamarin and Unity make up the rest of the list, and each of these takes about 11% share. This marketplace competition is an indication that companies must critically look at which framework in Android will meet their current demand but also is capable of handling future technology shifts.

An Android application framework is a collection of pre-coded code and components that aim to simplify the development of mobile applications. A framework serves as a foundation for the application development process, much like a structure. You can save yourself the trouble of starting from scratch by using a framework. Frameworks offer a collection of components and technologies that facilitate a rapid development process. It serves as a template that may be used and even altered to fit the needs of the project.

 1. Flutter

Flutter is an open-source Android framework built by Google. This groundbreaking cross-platform SDK offers a native-like look and feel, significantly speeding up development while providing reliable performance. This framework in Android enables developers to build native apps for Android and iOS from a single codebase.  

Key Features: 

• Built-in Material Design: Provides various pre-designed tools and widgets to impart a clean and integrated look.  
• Developer-Friendly: Written in the simple and easy-to-use language Dart.  
• AOT Compiled: It is assured that code compiled using AOT will start up quickly, execute consistently, and have no delay in its initial runs.  
• Hot-Reloading: The hot reload functionality of Flutter makes it simple and quick to experiment, create user interfaces, add features, and address errors.  
• Amazing UI Kit: Offers an extensive library of custom widgets to facilitate the creation of beautiful-looking user interfaces.

Popular Apps Built with Flutter: 

• Alibaba enhances the purchasing experience with a smooth and eye-catching UI.  
• Cryptograph uses Flutter to provide secure and efficient user interactions.  
• Reflectly, a mindfulness app with a highly customizable and interesting UI uses Flutter to create original digital experiences.  
• Google Ads displays advertisements in Flutter apps using Flutter.  
• Coach Yourself: Provides a responsive and visually stimulating experience for personal development.

2. React Native

React Native is an open-source, cross-platform application development framework owned and operated by Facebook. It has become a hit among developers in a short while for developing mobile applications for iOS and Android. React Native's widespread appeal is primarily due to its faster development and deployment times.

Key Features: 

• Native-Like Integration: Uses native components to create an experience that closely resembles fully native applications.  
• JavaScript and TypeScript: These languages are easier to learn because they are used by many developers.  
• Code Reusability: This feature saves time by enabling code reuse on both iOS and Android.  
• Vast Plugin Ecosystem: Provides a wide range of third-party tools and modules using npm.  
• Strong Community Support: Developers enjoy a huge, vibrant community that continuously improves its capabilities.

Popular Apps Built with React Native: 

• Facebook built its mobile app using React Native  
• Instagram leverages React Native to significantly enhance developer efficiency  
• Uber Eats powers the app's efficient order management capabilities and enhances the dynamic user interface. 

3. Kotlin

Kotlin is an open-source programming language that is used in the development of server-side applications, Android applications, and other forms of software. With official support from Google for Kotlin in Android development, it is of primary concern in the design of Android documentation and tools.

Key Features: 

• Shared Codebase: Eliminates redundancy and makes maintenance easier by enabling business logic to be written once and deployed on multiple platforms.  
• Clear and Concise Syntax: Write less code to perform the same things more efficiently and clearly.  
• Lazy loading: Minimizes startup time and optimizes resource usage by loading variables on demand.  
• Smart Casts: Improves runtime efficiency and application performance by automatically determining and optimizing variable types.

Popular Apps Developed with Kotlin Multiplatform: 

• Zomato, one of the popular meal delivery applications, codes safer and more concise using the Kotlin programming language. Kotlin helped the organization use a fail-fast approach in their application and significantly decreased the lines of code in their application.  
• Pinterest, an image-sharing app, made the official switch from Java to Kotlin in 2016. 

4. Xamarin

Microsoft-supported Xamarin is well-known for using C#. It delivers native and reliable performance across all platforms.

Key Features: 

• Full Native Performance: Using native APIs, it provides a true native look and feel.  
• .NET Integration: Smoothly integrates with the .NET platform, thus best suited for large business enterprises.  
• Code Sharing: Enables developers to reuse up to 90% of their code on Android, iOS, and Windows platforms.  
• Visual Studio Integration: Provides a strong development environment with top-notch debugging and testing features.  
• Enterprise Support: Perfect for long-term projects, this platform is incredibly stable and has robust Microsoft support.  

Most Popular Apps Developed with Xamarin: 

• Just Giving, a fundraising app, uses Xamarin because it allows a lot of code to be reused for both iOS and Android platforms, thus saving on development time and resources.  
• FreshDirect is an online grocery delivery app that leverages Xamarin's capabilities.

5. Ionic

For companies that already have experience in web development, Ionic is a widely used hybrid framework that uses web technologies to develop stable mobile applications.

Key Features 

• Web-Based Technologies: Developers can make use of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, along with other web technologies.  
• Rapid Prototyping: Quick development and iteration, making it ideal for MVPs and proof-of-concept projects.  
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Applications operate consistently across iOS, Android, and web browsers.

Popular apps built with Ionic: 

• MarketWatch uses Ionic since it supports cross-platform mobile apps with a shared codebase for Android and iOS.  
• JustWatch required a rapid and effective means of delivering an easy-to-use search engine for streaming media on multiple devices. Therefore, it uses this framework in Android.

6. NativeScript

NativeScript provides an edge to developers by offering direct access to native APIs in JavaScript or TypeScript, enabling seamless integration with platform-specific features and delivering true native performance.

Key Features:

• Flexible UI Design: Offers total freedom to design custom, high-performance user interfaces.  
• Angular and Vue.js Support: Allows web developers to transition easily into mobile development.  
• High Performance: Fits well with applications that require a great amount of resources and complex features with lots of room for customization.  
• Open-Source: Backed by a robust community and continuous improvements.

Popular Apps Built with NativeScript: 

• Daily Nanny is developed using NativeScript 

7. Apache Cordova

Developers can use their expertise and knowledge in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create native applications using this framework. This open-source hybrid framework simplifies the app development process.

Key Features: 

• Web-to-Mobile: Build applications using familiar web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.  
• Plugin Library: Offers a wide range of plugins to access various functionalities.  
• Rapid Development: Because of its speed, this framework is ideal for MVPs and prototypes.  
• Cost-Effective: Provides an affordable solution for businesses that require basic features.

Popular Apps Built with Apache Cordova:

• Wikipedia uses Apache Cordova as it uses a single codebase with web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.  
• Adobe Acrobat Reader uses Apache Cordova to develop its mobile application.

8. Jetpack Compose

Google's new framework, Jetpack Compose, greatly shortens development time. It allows for the declarative creation of native Android user interfaces.

Key Features: 

• Declarative UI: You specify the desired UI state in your code, and Jetpack Compose handles updating the screen automatically when the data changes. It does not require manual view updates.  
• State management: The state management system built into the framework enables you to manage UI changes efficiently by updating the state variables of composable functions.  
• Material Design integration: Material Design integration is a feature in Jetpack Compose that enables you to make visually appealing and clean Android apps easily.  
• Kotlin-first approach: Jetpack Compose is Kotlin-optimized, offering a more natural and expressive way to create UIs.

Popular Apps Developed Using Jetpack Compose: 

• Reddit makes use of Jetpack Compose to greatly enhance the UI development experience of their app.  
• Square uses Jetpack Compose because of its declarative and modern UI framework, which significantly speeds up development.

There are several factors to take into account while selecting an Android development framework. Examine your team's experience and level of expertise first. For instance, frameworks like React Native or Ionic can be wise selections if the developers are skilled in JavaScript. Additionally, the businesses must consider the maturity level of each framework. This is essential because development time can be reduced with the utilization of most-used and popular frameworks. React Native, for example, is a more mature framework with well-established libraries and more community support. Then, opting for a framework that has solid, ongoing security upgrades is also critical. Moreover, one should consider vendor support and dependability as well before finalizing any framework in Android. This is essential because frameworks backed by well-known businesses, such as Microsoft's Xamarin or Google's Flutter, offer good support and regular updates. Lastly, before finalizing any framework, consider its overall performance.

When it comes to the Android development framework ecosystem, there are plenty of options, each having its unique strengths. If you want to share code efficiently, Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile is an excellent option. For a native appearance and a variety of plugins, React Native is a great fit. However, if you need a consistent user interface and high-quality graphics, Flutter is the framework to consider. Other alternatives that cater to specific development needs include Jetpack Compose, Xamarin, Ionic, NativeScript, and Apache Cordova. 

To provide high-quality, scalable mobile solutions, WAC offers Android app development services to assist you in selecting and implementing the ideal framework for your project, ensuring your software stands out in today's competitive landscape. Let's work together to create your next innovative application!