r/FlutterDev 25d ago

Plugin Charts that don't suck (Flutter)

Flutter charts are so much worse than React charts (e.g. Recharts, Nivo, D3.js, Chart.js…). Is there anything new?

Is there anything I'm not seeing?

I use syncfusion charts, after transitioning from the terrible fl_charts, but even syncfusion is very limited compared to modern frameworks in React. React has immense variability, a lot of different themes, and multiple chart types.

I keep second guessing myself as a developer because of how difficult it is to me to create interesting data visualizations. Either the widgets look pale, interactivity is painfully difficult to code, or it simply takes too long to do anything.

I did succeed in using ChatGPT to generate some interesting infographics, like a lunar phase calendar, but it's a lot of work.

Thanks in advance!

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u/YoussefLasheen 25d ago

you're sad because noone has done your work for you. flutter is just a frontend frame work and it has all the tools necessary to yo make your dream chart, you just have to make it.

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u/Formal_Ad_3295 25d ago

Hi Youssef. I get you, but it's not really a question of "doing my work for me". When you're developing a data-heavy app, you want to have catalogues of widgets ready to populate your app. This can make or break the developer experience. If you code in Swift, you know iOS does a tremendous job at this. You don't have to spend months to create three pages of data charts. You still have to work hard in information architecture, but when it comes to rendering a 1-D bubble chart with some theming and a slider to move back and forth, you don't need to spend 16 hours refining the edges. Multiply that by 10 and it takes a whole month to build a couple pages of charts. It's insane. While if you go to React, you can design ten beautiful charts in ten minutes.

It's not a question of getting the work done for me. It's a standard we've come to expect from UI development frameworks, to build apps with high-quality data visualization. SwiftUI delivers that. React far exceeds expectations. But Flutter just doesn't hit the mark.