Cross-Platform App Development

Cross-platform app development for one product across iOS and Android.

We help teams decide whether React Native, Flutter, or separate native apps best fit the product, then build the chosen route. A shared codebase is valuable when the core workflow and release cadence are common, not when critical platform behavior must be forced through an abstraction.

See our work

Bring the problem, the current workflow, or the existing code. We reply with a practical next step within one business day.

The brief

Start with what is not working.

Good software decisions begin with the constraint, not a list of features or a preferred technology.

01

Do you need both stores but lack a defensible framework decision for the product and the team that will own it?

02

Is a shared codebase hiding native modules, platform-specific UX, offline behavior, or store work that still needs explicit scope?

Plain answer

Cross-platform app development uses one primary codebase to ship a product on iOS and Android. RaftLabs helps teams choose React Native, Flutter, or native based on user experience, device access, performance, team skills, and ownership, then delivers both store builds. A focused shared release starts at $25,000 and usually takes 10 to 14 weeks.

One product became two roadmaps.

The iOS release moved ahead while Android waited for the same feature. Drift got expensive. A shared codebase could remove it, but only if the hardest device and interface requirements fit the framework before delivery expands. The useful decision is one maintainable product with explicit native edges across releases and teams, not the largest possible percentage of shared code.

Published cross-platform proof

in production on iOS and Android
2+ years
Legal events app case study
restaurants onboarded in month one
50+
Multi-platform food-order case study
recorded order errors across channels
Zero
Multi-platform food-order case study

The legal events app and food-order platform document these outcomes. They demonstrate shared-product delivery, not a universal saving or performance result from cross-platform technology. A new release needs its own device, native-feature, reliability, and store criteria.

Choose cross-platform when the product is shared and the native differences are bounded.

Start by proving the hardest platform-specific requirement, not by assuming every feature will be common.

A fit
01

The same core user workflow and release cadence are needed on iOS and Android.

02

Critical device, background, rendering, and offline behavior can be proven in the framework.

03

One team will own shared code plus the explicit native modules and store work.

Not a fit
01

The platforms serve materially different products or roadmaps.

02

Intensive platform-specific interaction or hardware access is the product's core.

03

Only one mobile platform is required, so shared abstraction adds no value.

React Native, Flutter, or native

RouteBest fitConstraint to prove
React NativeShared product and a React or TypeScript-aligned teamPackage health, native modules, lifecycle, and platform UI differences
FlutterShared product with controlled custom renderingPlugin support, native edges, platform conventions, and non-mobile targets
Native iOS and AndroidDeep platform behavior or separate product roadmapsTwo delivery and maintenance streams are justified

Scope

What belongs in a focused cross-platform release

  • 01

    Platform decision record

    Document user, framework, native capability, performance, package, hiring, handover, and roadmap tradeoffs before build.
  • 02

    Shared product workflow

    Implement common domain logic, state, API access, navigation, errors, analytics, and interface components once where appropriate.
  • 03

    Explicit native boundaries

    Name permissions, purchases, notifications, background work, hardware, signing, and any Swift or Kotlin module in scope.
  • 04

    Both-platform testing

    Exercise representative iOS and Android devices, lifecycle states, accessibility, offline behavior, and performance separately.
  • 05

    Store delivery and ownership

    Prepare buyer-owned accounts, metadata, privacy answers, review notes, staged rollout, monitoring, and handover for both stores.

How it works

From platform decision to both-store release

  1. Phase 1
    01

    Define product and ownership constraints

    Map users, workflows, devices, native capabilities, offline needs, performance, store model, team skills, and acceptance measures.

  2. Phase 2
    02

    Prove the framework boundary

    Test the hardest interaction, native module, rendering, background, offline, or existing-code constraint before committing.

  3. Phase 3
    03

    Build the shared product

    Implement shared domain and interface code, explicit platform adaptations, backend integration, telemetry, accessibility, and tests.

  4. Phase 4
    04

    Release both stores and hand over

    Complete platform QA and submissions, stage rollout, monitor each store build, document native edges, and establish ownership.

Risk

What the cross-platform specification must settle

False sharing
Do not force unlike platform behavior into one abstraction merely to increase a code-sharing number.
Package ownership
Review maintenance, platform support, licensing, and replacement options for every critical dependency.
Native module boundary
Name custom Swift and Kotlin work, testing, release responsibility, and the team that can maintain it.
Two-store reality
Budget separate policies, signing, metadata, review, staged rollout, monitoring, and production incidents.

Scope and price

A focused cross-platform release starts at $25,000.

Begin with one core workflow, both platform builds, standard backend integration, monitoring, and store submission.

Framework selection follows a proof of the hardest native constraint, not a house preference.

Starting investment

Starts at $25,000

A focused first release usually takes 10 to 14 weeks. Native modules, offline complexity, real-time media, or regulated evidence extend the plan.

Recommendation before implementation

The decision record explains why React Native, Flutter, or native fits the product and ownership model.

Native edges stay visible

Platform-specific code, dependencies, tests, and support responsibilities are named in scope.

Related mobile app services

Common questions

Choose cross-platform when iOS and Android need the same core workflow, the framework can support critical device behavior, and one team will own both releases. Choose native when platform-specific interaction, hardware, background behavior, or separate roadmaps are central enough to outweigh shared code.

React Native often fits teams with React and TypeScript skills or products that prefer platform-native controls. Flutter often fits products that value controlled rendering and a consistent custom interface. The decision also depends on packages, native modules, existing code, performance tests, and long-term hiring.

No. Domain logic, API clients, state, and many screens can be shared, while store configuration, permissions, native modules, lifecycle handling, and some interface details remain platform-specific. The proposal should name these edges instead of promising an arbitrary code-sharing percentage.

Often yes through maintained packages or custom Swift and Kotlin modules. The hard requirement should be proven on representative devices before framework selection. A plugin existing does not by itself prove reliability, lifecycle behavior, maintenance, or compatibility with the supported OS range.

A focused first release starts at $25,000 and usually takes 10 to 14 weeks. It covers one core workflow, both platform builds, standard backend integration, monitoring, and store submission. Deep native modules, complex offline behavior, real-time media, regulated evidence, or major platform differences increase scope.

Work with us

Bring the hardest mobile constraint, not a preferred framework.

Share the users, workflow, devices, native features, offline needs, existing team, backend, and release plan. We will recommend React Native, Flutter, or native before scoping the build.

  • Scope and cost agreed before work starts. No surprises. No obligation.
  • Working prototype within 3 weeks of kickoff.
  • Pay by milestone. You see progress before each invoice.
  • 60-day post-launch warranty. Bug fixes, UI tweaks, and deployment support. No retainer.
  • All conversations are NDA-protected.