Data & backend in Flutter using drift

Drift is an easy to use, reactive, typesafe persistence library for Dart & Flutter.

CategoryBackend/Data
Stars★ 3,240
Last update2026-07-15
PriorityHigh

drift is an open-source backend & data library for Flutter mobile app development, with 3,240★ on GitHub and last updated on 2026-07-15. This guide covers what drift does, why it matters in 2026, how to add it to your project, when to reach for it, and how it compares to the alternatives — plus a quick FAQ.

What is drift?

Drift is an easy to use, reactive, typesafe persistence library for Dart & Flutter. It focuses on talking to APIs, databases, and persistence layers. The project lives at simolus3/drift and is maintained by simolus3.

Why drift is worth knowing in 2026

drift carries 3,240 GitHub stars, 460 forks, 208 open issues. It has been around since 2019, and is actively maintained (updated within the last month). For a Backend/Data option, that combination of adoption and upkeep usually means a healthy community, production usage, and plenty of examples to learn from — the things that make a dependency safe to build on.

Installing drift

Add the package to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  drift: ^latest

Then fetch it and import it in your Dart code:

flutter pub get
import 'package:drift/drift.dart';

Check the package’s example/ directory and its pub.dev page for the exact API — drift is versioned there with full docs so you always integrate against the current release.

When should you use drift?

Reach for drift when:

  • you’re calling REST/GraphQL APIs from a Flutter app
  • you need local storage, caching, or offline sync
  • you want typed, testable data access

It’s especially relevant if your project touches dart, dart-build-system, flutter, persistence, reactive, sqlite.

drift vs. the alternatives

If you’re weighing options in the Backend/Data space, these are the other projects developers most often compare drift against:

There’s no single winner — the right pick depends on your app’s size, your team’s familiarity, and your performance budget. Browse the full Backend/Data collection to compare them side by side.

Frequently asked questions

Is drift free to use?

Yes. drift is open source and free to use in your Flutter projects. You can view the source, report issues, and contribute on GitHub.

Does drift work on both iOS and Android?

drift is built for Flutter, so it targets iOS and Android from a single codebase, and typically web and desktop too depending on the project’s platform support.

As of 2026, drift has around 3,240 stars and 460 forks on GitHub, which puts it among the more widely used options in the Backend/Data space.

What are good alternatives to drift?

Popular alternatives in the Backend/Data category include gopeed, mmkv, proxypin. The best choice depends on your app’s size, team, and performance needs.

How do I install drift?

Add drift to the dependencies section of your pubspec.yaml and run flutter pub get. Full versions and API docs are on pub.dev.

Resources & links

Part of FlutterCook — 500 hands-on guides to the best open-source Flutter libraries, UI kits, and apps. Explore the live GitHub trends or browse YouTube guides.

#dart#dart-build-system#flutter#persistence#reactive#sqlite