Flutter is the immensely used cross-platform framework by developers to develop cross-platform applications. It produces efficient cross-platform apps that can work on both Apple’s iOS and Android platforms seamlessly. Other than that, many things are there that should be taken into consideration at the time of Flutter application development.
The use of Hot Reload, widget catalogs, etc., features of the Flutter framework, add ease to developing effective and efficient applications. The features further help to make Flutter a useful and ethical framework for cross-platform app development. Flutter lets you choose from numerous IDEs to develop an app. Each of them has the potential to make coding easy and faster for developers. Flutter IDEs and tools are an unparalleled ally in terms of visual assistance, code completion, and debugging the code.
Flutter has become one of the most popular frameworks for building cross-platform mobile applications.
Its ability to create beautiful, high-performance apps with a single codebase makes it a favorite among developers.
However, choosing the right tools and Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) is crucial to fully harness Flutter’s potential.
Flutter is one of the most versatile, powerful, and highly preferred cross-platform mobile app development frameworks worldwide.
Since its inception, it has carved a niche for itself by offering a wide range of benefits to mobile app developers and businesses.
Flutter is a Google-owned open-source mobile app development framework. It is used widely to develop highly functional and feature-rich cross-platform mobile applications.
You can build highly flexible, natively compiled applications from a single codebase with Flutter. It was released by Google in 2017 and since then, it has become a favorite mobile app development framework among the global developer community. Research by Stack Overflow Survey 2022 showed that Flutter has crossed React Native in terms of popularity.
If you want to use the Flutter framework for mobile app development, you should know what Flutter IDEs you can use for Flutter development.
In fact, the selection of the Flutter IDE will determine how your project runs. However, addressing the elephant in the room is quite a difficult task as we are spoiled for choices.
There are many impressive and highly useful Flutter IDEs available and choosing one will be a complex task for you.
However, we are here to help you choose the best Flutter IDE for your project. Go through this post and you will have a clear idea of which Flutter IDE to choose.
What is Flutter?
Flutter is a free, open-source software development kit (SDK) created and released by Google in 2017. It allows developers to build visually appealing applications for multiple platforms — and it does all of that by using a single codebase, which is quite convenient.
Initially focused on mobile app development for iOS and Android, Flutter has evolved to support not only web and desktop — Windows, macOS, Linux — but also embedded devices. Its key advantage is the “write once, run anywhere” capability which enables developers to maintain a single codebase for multiple platforms.
An IDE or Integrated Development Environment is a perfect environment suitable for developers with all the tools and technologies on a single page.
It helps developers to perform various app or software development tasks and activities on a single page such as editing source code, executable building, debugging, and others. It has tools such as a text editor, debugger, compilers, etc.
An ideal IDE allows developers to write code simultaneously while debugging, compiling, and executing.
When we talk about Flutter IDE, it simply means a development environment where all Flutter tools for code writing and debugging are available for developers.
So, developers can develop a scalable app without much time and effort. It is all about creating a convenient environment.
What is an IDE?
If you’re a developer, you can just skip this part. On the other hand, if you’re a client interested in learning about different technologies, feel free to stay tuned.
Now, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development — to put it simply, imagine software like Word or Google Docs — but made specifically for developers.
IDE typically includes:
- A source code editor
- Build automation tools
- A debugger
IDEs are designed to maximize productivity by providing tightly-knit components with similar user interfaces.
Some of the benefits of IDEs are
1. IDEs allow developers to develop software or applications in any programming language without spending much time on language syntax.
2. Also, IDEs allow developers to code faster and more efficiently and without more effort.
3. IDEs and their features help developers to reduce errors and mistakes and organize resources.
4. A group of programmers can collaborate more easily with IDEs in place.
5. IDEs offer easy programming resources.
6. IDEs manage resources such as library files, header files, and others during the software development process.
7. A platform-specific IDE has pre-installed libraries for that specific platform.
These days, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to what IDE we can use. There’s a lot of high-quality competition in this space, so no matter what IDE you choose, you’ll probably have a good experience.
But there are still differences between these IDEs that can affect your development workflow, so in this article, we’ll compare some of the leading IDEs for Flutter that exist today, and hopefully help you make the best decision on what IDE you should use.
In this article, we’ll compare the IDEs based on:
- Ease of use
- Extensibility
- Performance
- Debugging ability
The IDEs we’ll look at are:
- Visual Studio Code
- Android Studio
- IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition
- Emacs
Visual Studio Code
Anecdotally, I would say that Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is the most popular IDE in use in the Flutter landscape today. I can’t back that up with any statistics, but every time I read a tutorial or watch a video on how to do something in Flutter, the IDE used is usually VS Code.
There’s little reason to be surprised by this; VS Code is a free, easy-to-use, and lightweight code editor that provides excellent support for Flutter; this support for Flutter is provided via an extension for VS Code.
Files within your project are laid out on the left, and the main window shows you the contents of your files. VS Code also lets you open multiple files in tabs up at the top of the Window.
When working with widgets, VS Code shows the layout of your widgets on the left, which helps to lay out your app from a visual standpoint.
Launching simulators can be done by clicking on the device list down the bottom right, and then choosing what device you want to launch from the information bar.\
When you have a simulator running, you can deploy and troubleshoot your code. VS Code’s support for Flutter means that all the standard functionality (such as breakpoints) are supported.
The first one on the list is Visual Studio Code. Flutter developers widely use it to develop highly versatile and feature-rich Flutter apps.
The IDE has some amazing features and extensions that can shorten the development process and make it more dynamic and quick.
Also, developers can easily streamline the whole development process with ease. Some of the features that Visual Studio Code has are syntax highlighting, code completion, amazing debugging features, and GIT integration.
In addition to that, Visual Studio Code also supports Hot Reload. This feature allows developers to quickly see the results of their code changes.
Also, if a Flutter developer is confused or finds any issue during the development process, the IDE has a large community support that offers highly useful resources and support.
It is highly customized and has Flutter-specific extensions and plugins. Also, it can be easily integrated with Git and other development tools. Hire Flutter developers who are well-versed in using this IDE.
VS Code’s debugging and development
As previously mentioned, VS Code lets you set breakpoints, and when encountering them, it will show you the current call stack. It also gives you the ability to step into code, step over code, or open the Flutter DevTools via the top debugging bar.
You can’t globally mute exceptions at this point, so if you encounter a lot of exceptions because you are working on the your application’s UI, these aren’t easily muted.
VS Code offers a lighter debugging experience out of the box, but it’s quite possible that this would suit most developers.
VS Code’s extensibility
At the time of writing, there are 235 plugins relating to Flutter for VS Code. These are likely of varying quality, but the point is that there is considerable support for Flutter within VS Code.
Popular state management tools like flutter_bloc ship extensions for VS Code, which means you can create BLoCs automatically without writing them yourself every time.
VS Code’s performance
VS Code is very lightweight, which means it installs and runs well on a variety of devices. The only caveat to this is that the performance can be influenced substantially by how many extensions you install and the quality of those extensions.
Poorly written extensions can quickly slow down how responsive VS Code can be, but as long as you are careful in what you install, you should be okay. Plus, even if you install an extension that does slow down your editor, you can get the extension bisect functionality to find the problem’s cause.
Should you use Visual Studio Code with Flutter?
VS Code is a lightweight editor that has great Flutter support, good extensibility and sees widespread use across the developer community. So, what’s not to love?
Well, one personal bugbear of mine (and the reason why I don’t use VS Code) is because unlike every other editor that I’ve ever used, you can’t tear tabs off into new windows; you are limited to only one window.
You can do a lot within that window: you can split your workspace vertically or horizontally and get something that is similar to breaking out your code in a new window. But, you can’t tear off new tabs into separate windows.
When working on larger projects or chasing a bug through multiple files, being able to visualize the entire call stack within your app by having each window open for the files you are interested in is very appealing.
Otherwise, you must open each file in a new tab and rapidly switch between tabs to try to understand what is happening. I find not being able to tear off tabs into separate windows to be a pretty major impact to my productivity.
The issue tracking this was opened in 2016 and shows no sign of changing, so you should use VS Code knowing that it’s probably not going to come any time soon.
Of course, you may feel differently, and if you do, VS Code will likely give you everything that you need to debug and create Flutter apps.
In summary, the pros for using VS Code as your Flutter IDE are that it:
- Runs almost anywhere
- Has great performance (as long as you don’t install too many or poorly performing extensions)
- Features a huge user base, so help should be easy to come by if you hit problems
But, you should also know some of the downsides, which are:
- It can’t tear off tabs into separate windows, and this isn’t changing anytime soon
- Extensions can cause performance problems
The next one on the list is another familiar name — Visual Studio Code, commonly referred to as VS Code. Visual Studio Code is a top-tier choice for Flutter development. This IDE, developed by Microsoft, has gained a reputation for a huge number of its lightweight and powerful features.
Many developers favor VS Code due to both its extensive customization options and fast performance. Let’s see what VS Code has to offer.
Key features
- VS Code is both lightweight and fast
- It offers an extensive range of extensions
- It’s an IDE with an integrated terminal and Git support
- Visual Studio Code has hot reload and Flutter-specific plugins
Pros
- Highly customizable
- Fast performance
- Excellent community support
Cons
- Requires additional extensions for full functionality
- Might need supplementary tools for native code development
Android Studio
Next up, we have the IDE heavyweight that is Google’s recommended IDE for Android development. But how does Android Studio hold up to Flutter development? Let’s find out.
Straight away, we’re dealing with something that is visually more complex than Visual Studio Code. But, just because it looks more complex, does that make it harder to use? Not necessarily.
Android Studio became stable in December 2014, so it’s had a lot of time to mature and improve in quality as the years have gone on.
It also features broad compatibility, running on macOS, Windows, and Linux. But it’s a totally different story when it comes to system requirements.
Whereas VS Code can survive on a meager 1GB of RAM and a processor made in the last decade or two, Android Studio lists its requirements as 8GB of RAM. It’s true, Android Studio is a much heavier and more resource-intensive IDE than VS Code.
But, this heaviness has its benefits. For example, Android Studio has a lot of excellent functionality built-in. It’s easy to create emulators for the devices you’re likely to use by way of Android Studio’s Virtual Device Manager.
Also, Android Studio is a result of Google licensing the IntelliJ platform. IntelliJ produces a wide range of tools for developers, many of which require payment. However, you can use Android Studio for Flutter development without licensing or paying for IntelliJ, which is pretty neat.
We also gain a few Flutter-specific bits here, as the right of IDE gives us the performance, outline, and inspector, all from within the IDE.
These panels show valuable insight into our Flutter app. For example, we can see how our app is performing, and how much memory is used by our app in the Flutter Performance tab.
The other tabs give us a tree view of the widgets within our app, and the inspector gives us a more in-depth view of our app.
Another IDE that snatches the number two rank is Android Studio. As the name suggests, it is backed by Google with an aim to make Android and Flutter app development quick and without any hurdles.
The learning curve to develop an Android Studio is simple and you can easily apply its systems to develop highly dynamic and versatile mobile applications. It is the official Google IDE for all Android app development types for Android OS.
You will find IntelliJ IDEA software that is perfectly optimized for Android app development. However, if you wish, you can install Android Studio on any operating system such as macOS, Linux, or Windows PC.
It has an intuitive user interface and is easy to use. Furthermore, it is specifically optimized to develop Flutter apps. It has expert-level code compilation tools and a vast widget catalog to use for app development.
It also has its own handy Visual editor and APK analyzer. It also has some useful app development tricks such as syntax highlighting, widget editing assists, and others.
Android Studio’s debugging and development
So, what’s it like to use Android Studio to create Flutter apps? For debugging, you get all the standard features you would expect from a debugger, like setting breakpoints or stepping forward and over certain code.
When your code encounters a breakpoint, Android Studio switches to the Debug tab, showing the current execution stack, the current variable values, and the options to step over/step into the code.
The stack reads from the bottom up, so we can easily see the execution path of code when it hits the breakpoint. Another particularly handy feature of this Debug tab is the ability to mute breakpoints (it’s the button on the left with the red circle and line through it).
This might sound like a strange feature, but occasionally within Flutter, if you try to lay out your app in a certain way, it’s possible you can get many exceptions thrown because Flutter’s layout engine struggles to lay out your widget tree.
At times like this, you can wind up playing around with the widget tree to see if you can get it to work, and every time you save, Flutter reloads the widget and all the exceptions are thrown again.
Being able to mute the breakpoints also mutes the debugger, stopping when encountering an exception in the layout component of Flutter, which can come in handy when designing your UI.
The Dart Analysis tab also shows the issues you currently have with our app. The little red refresh icon button on the top left lets you restart the Dart analysis server, which can come in handy if you recently loaded a large library (or the analysis server is acting up).
I use this particular button a lot when I regenerate libraries that my Flutter app depends on, and I want the typing information to be refreshed; it’s quite handy having it there.
Android Studio also offers great integration with Git and source control.
The final point worth mentioning in this section is that Android Studio lets you tear off tabs of your project, so you can view multiple parts of your project at the same time. This is incredibly convenient when tracing a bug through many different files and lines of code.
Android Studio extensibility
Android Studio has significantly less Flutter-related plugins than VS Code. Searching for “Flutter” on the Android Studio marketplace only yields 61 results.
However, all of the critical tools, like packages to help with popular state management frameworks or converting JSON into Dart code are readily available.
On paper, Android Studio has significantly less plugins than VS Code, but in practicality, this doesn’t seem to matter much. Plus, as much functionality is baked in to Android Studio as possible and doesn’t require a third party extension, which can actually be a good thing.
Android Studio performance
Android Studio is a much heavier IDE than VS Code, consuming closer to a solid gigabyte of memory, while VS Code consumes substantially less. It also participates in fairly resource-intensive operations, like indexing your code when you load your project.
Once your code is indexed, however, you can search anywhere within your app by simply double-tapping the Shift key.
However, if you’re a developer, it’s likely you already have a fairly good computer to work on your development. So, Android Studio is unlikely to stress it more than the tools you already use.
Should you use Android Studio?
Android Studio is certainly a heavier and more complex proposition than VS Code. But, it’s not complexity for the sake of it.
The added functionality and feature set can make it more straightforward to work on your apps. Plus, being able to tear off the tabs of the IDE into separate windows makes a better development experience.
However, if you are just scraping by on the minimum requirements, Android Studio will likely be slow to use and at times unresponsive. In that case, you would probably be better off with a lighter IDE like VS Code.
But, as a more comprehensive offering than VS Code, Android Studio is the IDE that I personally use for my Flutter development. The debugging performance and functionality makes it win over VS Code in every scenario.
In summary, consider Android Studio if:
- You have a powerful enough workstation to run it
- You are okay with a more complicated-looking IDE
- You want to be able to tear tabs off into separate windows while debugging
But, you might want to skip it if your computer struggles to run Android Studio or only scrapes in on the minimum requirements.
The other Flutter IDE options
Of course, because we live in the future, we have more than just two IDEs to choose between. There are at least two other options that are also involved in Flutter development that are worth considering.
Key features
- Built-in support for Flutter development
- Advanced code completion and debugging tools
- Hot reload for faster iteration
- Integration with Firebase and Gradle
Pros
- Comprehensive toolset for Android development
- Powerful debugging features
- Fairly intuitive UI
Cons
- Resource-intensive — may slow down lower-end machines
- Can be complex for beginners
IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition
IntelliJ IDEA is another good option for Flutter development. However, because it shares the same foundation as Android Studio (IntelliJ IDEA), you’re probably just better off using Android Studio.
Sometimes, particular fixes or problems are resolved in IntelliJ IDEA before they are resolved in Android Studio, so you might consider using it if you are experiencing a certain problem that isn’t fixed in Android Studio yet.
Another reason you could consider this option is if you already have this IDE installed to work on projects in other languages.
In that case, it’s not really worth installing Android Studio separately because installing Flutter support within IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition would essentially give you the same experience.
As for performance, IntelliJ Community Edition is largely the same as Android Studio.
Emacs
You can also use Emacs to edit your Flutter code, but this will be a very minimal experience.
Some developers are extremely productive in Emacs, and they can continue this productivity within Emacs because they will likely be comfortable creating their own emulators and managing more of the development tooling themselves.
Emacs is also going to win the competition for resource usage. Originally released in 1985, it has the most minimal requirements of any possible Flutter development IDE available today.
So, if you are already very familiar with Emacs, and are trying to develop for Flutter on an old computer (or maybe, perhaps, something like a Raspberry Pi?), it’s possible that Emacs could be for you.
But, if you’re new to Flutter development and have a computer from the last ten years, it’s hard to imagine why you would choose Emacs as your IDE of choice.
Emacs is one of the most powerful and popular Flutter IDEs, which is actually a text editor. It is also one of the most preferred choices for Flutter developers.
The best thing about Emacs is its flexibility, versatility, and customization options. There are multiple plugins for developers to customize the whole editing experience.
Also, it has plugins for Flutter-specific development such as the Dart mode plugin. Its advanced navigation tools can quicken the development process to a great extent.
Some of the features of Emacs are an in-built terminal to execute commands, the ability to run apps directly from the code editor, built-in support for Git, Syntax highlighting, code completion, and navigational tools.
The third one on this list is an IDE with a quite intelligent name — IntelliJ IDEA. This IDE was developed by JetBrains and is a powerful tool known for not only its advanced code editing but also its refactoring capabilities.
IntelliJ IDEA offers built-in support for Flutter which makes it a strong candidate for developers looking for a feature-rich environment. Keep in mind that despite its comprehensive toolset, there are pros and cons to using IntelliJ IDEA — particularly if you are already using Android Studio.
Let’s explore what IntelliJ IDEA has to offer and what makes it slightly different from other IDEs on this list.
Key features
- Advanced code editing and refactoring features
- Built-in support for Flutter
- Integration with other JetBrains tools
- Hot reload and UI debugging tools
Pros
- Powerful code analysis and refactoring tools
- Rich set of features
Cons
- Can be redundant if already using Android Studio
Dartpad
Dartpad is quite handy and can be accessed simply through a web browser. Just one click and you can start using it. There is no need to install it on your system. Though it does not have all the advanced tools and features that you might expect from a full-fledged IDE, it is a decent tool to start your Flutter app development project. It is like a beginner’s tool that Flutter developers can try as an online notepad to become more creative and experimental.
Dartpad allows you to create tailor-made user interfaces with ease. In addition to that, you can also track your performance through this IDE and offer a scoring system. Further, it allows you to export and import code written in it to any other IDEs.
While using it, you should note that it does not have all the features and also lacks native support.
Codemagic
Codemagic is another Flutter app development tool that is used widely by developers. The best thing about this tool is that it allows developers to use your preferred framework and automate the entire development process, testing, and release with Codemagic.yaml.
It perfectly integrates the technology stack whichever you have.
Also, Codemagic offers fast feedback for coding and it quickens the development process.
Here, you don’t have to develop, test, and release different app features manually.
Codemagic also allows you to integrate third-party services to automate your CI/CD pipelines and helps you equip with the latest tools and mobile app development technologies.
Panache
Panache is actually a Flutter Material Theme editor to develop highly impressive and beautiful material themes for your Flutter app.
Here, you have a wide range of customization possibilities such as colors, shapes, and others. You can expert these properties easily as a . Dart file to your Google drive.
Appetize
Appetize is a web-based Flutter IDE. It works as an Android Emulator and iOS Simulator. It has the ability to run native apps on your web browser for your target audience. It also can be embedded into any HTML with a feature called iFrame.
It is a fully managed tool and is highly configurable and customizable to cater to any of your business or enterprise needs. It can run Android and iOS apps on any browser and allow users to choose any device, OS, and app version.
Furthermore, it is easy to manage and maintain and can access network traffic and video recordings as well. It also allows developers to view the remote device to identify any issues.
Supernova
Supernova is another Flutter IDE that allows developers to sync the design and code of the app easily. All your app components, themes, and patterns can be synced effortlessly.
It allows developers to generate UI code for Flutter and designers can easily work across multiple design environments. Developers can easily convert app components, styles, and screens into customizable front-end code for various platforms.
Supernova allows developers to convert design elements into front-end code. Also, you can customize its themes as per your business needs. It also allows multiple designers to collaborate efficiently and productively.
Adobe Plugins
Various Adobe plugins for Flutter app development are used by developers to simplify designer-to-developer workflows. These plugins allow developers to convert XD designs into working code for native app development.
This XD designs then generates code for app building with Flutter. These plugins make switching from design to code writing easy in just a few minutes.
TestMagic
When it comes to Flutter app development, TestMagic can be used effortlessly. It is an open-source application just like Codemagic and can be used by Flutter app developers.
TestMagic allows developers to distribute the tested application and the developed application on two different platforms and to gain feedback from users.
What is the difference between IDE and Text Editor?
While a regular text editor is a tool for writing and editing plain text, an IDE offers additional functionalities. Functionalities like:
- Code completion
- Debugging
- Version control
IDEs integrate various tools into one application, which then streamlines the development process and enhances both productivity and software quality. Imagine writing something in a Google Doc file, but instead of only seeing errors that come up when you misspell a word, you also get various indicators that pinpoint an exact issue in your code. Quite convenient.
The benefits of using an IDE
Using an IDE for Flutter development offers several benefits — some of which we briefly mentioned above:
- Code Completion and Syntax Highlighting — This benefit helps reduce errors and ultimately speeds up the coding process which is quite convenient for those who are working on a tight schedule.
- Debugging Tools — Various debugging tools allow developers to go through the code, inspect variables, identify, and ultimately resolve issues quickly.
- Integrated Version Control — Facilitates collaboration and code management.
- Performance Analysis — By analyzing performance, an IDE helps optimize the code and improve the application in general.
- Project Management — An IDE organizes files and components which makes the development process more efficient. This is yet another bonus for those who need to complete a project within a strict deadline.
Factors to consider when choosing an IDE for Flutter
Now that IDE is not an abstract concept, let’s focus on different factors that a developer needs to have in mind when selecting an IDE for Flutter development:
- Features — Just like when you’re looking to buy a new phone. The more features, the better. Even if you’re not going to use some of them on a daily basis, it’s still good to know that your phone, or in this case, IDE, can perform efficiently. Look for features like code completion, debugging tools, and version control integration, just to name a few.
- Ease of use — Choose an IDE with an intuitive interface that is easy to navigate. You don’t really want to commit to a tool that not only has a steep learning curve but is also quite complicated to use.
- Cost — Some IDEs are free, while others require a subscription. Consider your budget. Free versions usually come with a different kind of price. They may lack some of the features we mentioned above. At the end of the day, it really matters how often you’re going to use that IDE.
- Community support — A strong community can provide valuable resources and support. This means that you really want to use an IDE which has, for example, a large Reddit community in which people could answer your questions right away. As a developer, you’re probably already used to constantly googling your issues and finding solutions on platforms like and similar to Reddit.
- Integrations — Check if the IDE supports the tools and plugins you need. This one is pretty much straightforward. No support for the tools and plugins — no reason for you to commit to that IDE.
- Platform compatibility — Another quite obvious factor — ensure the IDE works on your operating system. If you’re a, let’s say, a Linux user, you don’t want to change your OS solely because you found one IDE that would really help on one project. Think long-term and focus on what’s the most convenient for you.
- Performance — Choose an IDE that performs well on your hardware. Similarly to the integrations and platform compatibility factors, the idea is to be aware of your working environment. Some IDEs tend to be problematic and quite “cluttered” on certain hardware, while others might just be the perfect fit for your machine.
