Top Flutter Indicators: Loading, Refresh, Progress packages

Last updated: January 26, 2025

An indicator is a small animated graphical icon (called spinner), that indicates the status of a particular task or process such as status of a network request, asset or image loading, or the progress of a task. Many indicators also include a text label that provides additional information about the status of the application or process.

Often the Flutter app would be performing an asynchronous operation and it would be necessary to prevent the user from tapping or using the app while this operation is in progress. It might be a very quick operation, but sometimes can take a bit longer due to network connectivity and other reasons. To prevent users from accidently tapping the button twice, or changing inputs. To solve this problem a loading indicator can be displayed in an overlay while the operation is in progress. This overlay indicator is also known as Heads-up-display (HUD) indicator.

Based on functionality, the various types of indicators available in Flutter are:

• Loading Indicator - It is a circular or linear indicator which animates while the time consuming task is in progress. Apart from the indicator, it can also be paired up with a text such as "Loading".
• Progress Indicator - Progress indicators are similar to loading indicators, and they also inform the user about the status of ongoing process, such as task progress percentage, stage of progress, etc. They can also communicate and indicate available actions, such as whether users can navigate away from the current screen. For example, in a hyperlocal delivery app, the user can navigate away from the screen once the payment step is complete, while the progress indicator will continue updating.
• Refresh Indicator - Whenever a user performs the swipe-to-refresh action, vertical swipe to trigger a callback method that refreshes data, a distinctive progress bar is displayed. This progress indicator is also known as refresh indicator.

The complete list of Flutter packages that can help you add a Loading Indicator, Progress Indicator, Refresh Indicator or Heads-up-display (HUD) indicator to your Flutter app is provided below.