The Flutter questions we hear most.
What Flutter is, how it runs, what working with a Flutter agency looks like, and how a move to Flutter starts. Each answer points at work you can read on this site.
Flutter, in plain terms.
What it is, how it runs, and when it isn’t the answer.
01 What is Flutter?
Flutter is Google’s open-source framework for building apps for iOS, Android, the web, and desktop from one Dart codebase. It draws every pixel with its own engine, so the app looks and works the same on every screen.
02 Why Flutter instead of two native apps?
A feature is built, tested, and released once for iOS, Android, and the web, so the apps stop drifting apart. Hamilton has run on one Flutter codebase since 2017, across 3.5M+ installs.
03 How does a Flutter app perform?
Flutter compiles ahead of time to native ARM and x86 code and draws every frame with its own rendering engine, so no JavaScript bridge sits between the app and the platform.
04 Is native ever the better choice?
Sometimes. If you need an operating system feature the day it ships, or your market has tight limits on app size, we’ll tell you. For most multi-platform products, one Flutter codebase wins.
05 Who uses Flutter?
Google builds Google Pay and Google Classroom with it. So do our clients: Hamilton has run on Flutter since 2017, The New York Times shipped KENKEN as the first commercial Flutter web app, and Betterment serves 775K+ accounts from one Flutter codebase.
What working with us looks like.
Who we are, what we do, and where the team sits.
01 What does a Flutter development agency do?
It designs, builds, and looks after Flutter apps, for you or alongside your own team. With us that means new products, moves from native code to Flutter, reviews of apps you already run, and training.
02 How is VGV different from other Flutter agencies?
We’ve shipped Flutter since 2017, starting with Hamilton, the first commercial Flutter app outside Google. Google calls us its top-recommended Flutter firm. Our open-source packages, such as Very Good CLI, get 5.9M+ downloads a month on pub.dev.
03 What Flutter services do you offer?
Four ways in: building a new app, moving native apps to Flutter, a code assessment of an app you already run, and training for your engineers.
04 Where is the team?
Strategy in the US, engineers across the Americas and Europe, working in overlapping hours. SOC 2 and IP terms are on Security & IP.
How we build Flutter apps.
The rules are public, so you can check them before the first call.
01 What is the Very Good approach to architecture?
Every project starts from Very Good CLI: a layered architecture, strict lint rules from very_good_analysis, and full test coverage from the first commit. We publish the rules in Very Good Engineering.
02 How do you test Flutter apps?
Test first. Features ship with unit, widget, integration, and golden tests, and every project starts from Very Good CLI at 100% coverage. Keller Williams holds 100% across 3,496 tests.
03 Can Flutter carry an enterprise app?
Yes. Betterment serves 775K+ accounts from one Flutter codebase, and the Scooter’s Coffee app runs 16 features across 88 packages in one monorepo.
04 Do you train our engineers?
Yes, alongside the work. At Betterment, engineers went from minimal Flutter to production features in one week, and 20+ developers were trained.
Moving to Flutter, and how to start.
What the first weeks look like, and where to read more.
01 Do we have to rewrite both apps at once?
No. Betterment started with an add-to-app pilot on account creation and migrated in phases.
02 How long does a migration take?
Scooter’s moved revenue-critical Swift and Kotlin apps to Flutter in 3–4 months against a 6–8 month estimate, with zero downtime and full parity.
03 How much does it cost to start?
The first step runs three weeks, at a price agreed before kickoff. Full migrations are scoped and priced after it, based on what it found.
04 How do we start?
A 30-minute call with Laura or Greg. Bring the app and the repo if you can share it, and tell us if a launch date is coming. You get a written summary of what we would do first.
05 Where can I learn more about Flutter?
flutter.dev has the official docs. Very Good Engineering shows how we build, and our blog has case studies and tutorials.
We’ll care about your success as much as you do.
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