GeneXus vs Xamarin Platform comparison

GeneXus and Microsoft are both solutions in the Mobile Development Platforms category. GeneXus is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4, while Microsoft is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.4. GeneXus holds a 2.9% mindshare in MDP, compared to Microsoft’s 7.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of GeneXus users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

GeneXus

Read 14 GeneXus reviews

521 Views
253 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Xamarin Platform

Read 40 Xamarin Platform reviews

982 Views
700 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

GeneXus

Xamarin Platform

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between GeneXus and Xamarin Platform based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Mobile Development Platforms solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed GeneXus vs. Xamarin Platform Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GeneXus vs. Xamarin Platform

January 2025

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Helped 838,713 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

GeneXus

Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Low-Code Development Platforms (12th)

Xamarin Platform

Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of GeneXus is 2.9%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Xamarin Platform is 7.2%, down from 8.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Mobile Development Platforms

Featured Reviews

XavierEspinoza

Internal System Coordinator at Red CEDIA

Offers a simplified architecture with outstanding integration capabilities

The integration capabilities of GeneXus are highly valuable for our organization. The metadata obtained within the logic of different systems is also vital. Due to the solution, our company team doesn't have to work with multiple languages and integrations can be made with C Sharp. JavaScript can also be used with GeneXus, the tool takes charge of all the rest and has a simple architecture. The solution can be used out of the box without facing any issues and nothing much needs to be done with frameworks. In our case we need to use Python with GeneXus, we use Ironpython to embed python code in C# .

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Prince Tiwari

Senior Software Engineer at AAPC

Facilitates UI development with XAML, enabling shared UI code across platforms and reducing platform-specific work

I like its simplicity. As someone who didn't start my career as a dedicated developer, I was used to building websites or Windows applications. Transitioning to mobile app development meant learning new languages like Swift or Java. With C# and Xamarin, though, I could leverage my existing skillset. Xamarin, and specifically Xamarin.Forms, let me write my code once and deploy it natively to both Android and iOS. Xamarin.Forms are very useful. Essentially, it's a framework that allows me to create the UI mostly in XAML. This XAML code is then translated into the native UI elements for each respective platform. The advantage is that roughly 90% of my UI code can be shared. This significantly reduces the amount of platform-specific UI work compared to having to write separate UIs for each platform. For the most part, Xamarin's integration with Visual Studio improved the workflow, whether I'm on Windows or Mac. Since I'm familiar with Visual Studio, it provides a comfortable development environment. Additionally, features like Hot Reload and the integration of tools like Copilot help streamline the development process. Overall, it offers a positive development experience.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"With the solution, I can work a normal day. I can plan my work and any other activities for days ahead."

"In Knowledge Base, being able to model the workflow before developing the screens is great. We first work with the tables or the transactions using GeneXus and then we work on the screens."

"I like the testing models, which allow me to create unit or interface tests of my programs. It helps us avoid missed deadlines because we can detect all the errors before deploying the new versions of the solution. And I also like the integration with coding managers like DevOps or Jenkins. It enables us to do versioning."

"It is fast in creating systems and connects to the database quickly."

"The integration capabilities of GeneXus are highly valuable for our organization"

"With GeneXus, we can create logical representations of transactions in the form of objects."

"I like that it's very compatible with other tools. The most important feature is getting the developer to focus on the project's business case. It's not about focusing on how I can command this or how I can develop a front end, or how I can work with the advantages. The developer should focus on the business case of the project. No need to focus on connecting the database to the server or connecting the server and the front end. The developer can concentrate on the views."

"The solution provides ease of programming and the speed of delivery of demands."

More GeneXus pros

"Xamarin Platform's best features are its single codebase, the support from Microsoft, and the free libraries."

"The native features and Xamarin Essentials package are highly valuable to us."

"The solution's most valuable asset is its shared code base in C# that is better for large apps."

"Their leadership is exceptional at both listening to the customer base and delivering innovative, best-in-class products."

"It significantly reduces development and test costs, and ensures that there is synergy between the platforms on product features and user experience."

"You can just write one XM channel core and it'll be used for both iOS and Android."

"For me, developing apps for iOS and Android is a dream came true, without migrating to Objective-C or Java. Xamarin enables me to do so."

"The most valuable features of the Xamarin Platform are that it has cross-platform development, one code base serves a purpose on both, and the grid layout is a lifesaver."

More Xamarin Platform pros

Cons

"The front-end with GeneXus is not as good as the back-end."

"GeneXus is a wonderful tool for the backend. It's the best in the world, but for the frontend, GeneXus needs to improve. There should be easier steps for managing various aspects, such as alerts and messages to show to the end-users."

"The tool needs to be tuned before being used. You need some experience to get the best out of the tool."

"The graphical interface could be improved. I also notice some performance problems on hardware that should be more than adequate. GeneXus uses a lot of RAM and other computer resources."

"It's expensive for a company."

"It would be better if GeneXus had a wiki. The developer needs some experience to work with the tools. It would be better if they could improve the community. If we have some problem, I open a ticket that takes us to a board, and I have to describe my issue in detail. If the tools have a general community for us to explore with some videos or some articles, I think that that may help the developer."

"GeneXus's user interface has room for improvement."

"It would be helpful to have additional assisted processing with training."

More GeneXus cons

"The solution struggles a little bit with binding libraries."

"The application platform could be improved."

"The primary area for improvement is the support for third-party libraries, especially for major providers like Microsoft and Google."

"I would like to see hot reload, similar to what Flutter has out-of-the-box. There is "Live Reload" but it’s still in preview and was only recently announced."

"They need to improve performance, especially for the Android platform. Also, some controls are missing in the Xamarin framework when compared to native controls; for example, the checkbox control."

"We'd like to have some chat support functionality."

"The architecture in the Xamarin Platform has to improve, there are some features missing."

"Xamarin's profiling tools are only available for the highest tier of MSDN subscription and compatibility with platform-native profiling tools is rather lacking. This causes friction when working on performance-related issues."

More Xamarin Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is very expensive."

"I give the cost of the solution a four out of ten."

"This solution offers multi-plan licenses, depending on the size of the company and the features required, as opposed to being priced per user/device."

"I know that its licenses are generally per year, and in the past, the license for GeneXus was around $5,000, but I don't know what's the current price of the GeneXus license."

"People tend to work with GeneXus if it's cheap, but GeneXus does have licensing policies...Moreover, the cost of resourcing work in GeneXus may make it more expensive than other programming languages."

"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten"

"The tool's price is good."

"The cost of a GeneXus license is extremely high. At the same time, one person using the solution can do the work of three Java or data developers. I think that's why they charge so much. It's too expensive, which is one reason it isn't widely used."

More GeneXus pricing and cost advice

"This is an open-source solution, but there is a subscription charge to use the App Center of around $100."

"Xamarin Platform is a free open-source solution."

"For personal use, the Community Edition is free."

"There is no requirement for a license. It is available for free as an open-source product."

"There is no license fee because the solution is open-source."

"There's no licensing cost for Xamarin."

"The price of the Xamarin Platform is not expensive. However, the price of the solution depends on the application that is made. For example, if you have small applications, it's different from large or enterprise applications."

"The product is inexpensive."

More Xamarin Platform pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Construction Company

Legal Firm

Educational Organization

17%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about GeneXus?

GeneXus evolves with technology.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GeneXus?

GeneXus needs to be more consistent in functionality without any errors. Code generation is highly time-consuming for GeneXus, but in some cases, it saves time as well. Some errors will take too lo...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for GeneXus?

Our company uses the latest version of GeneXus. The solution is used in our company to develop various enterprise systems, and GeneXus is used as an integrator, which further facilitates low-cost d...

See all answers

What do you like most about Xamarin Platform?

Xamarin.Forms are very useful. Essentially, it's a framework that allows me to create the UI mostly in XAML. This XAML code is then translated into the native UI elements for each respective platform.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Xamarin Platform?

Xamarin Platform is free, and we use an Azure subscription at a relatively low cost for our builds. It offers a good value for money, although it requires time to make it work effectively.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Xamarin Platform?

The primary area for improvement is the support for third-party libraries, especially for major providers like Microsoft and Google. The lack of robust documentation and support for third-party bin...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 21% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

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Compared 61% of the time

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Compared 28% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GeneXus

February 2025

Download GeneXus product report

Buyer's Guide

Xamarin Platform

January 2025

Download Xamarin Platform product report

Overview

What is GeneXus? GeneXus™ is the best Low-Code Platform that you don't know yet.

It's a Software Development Platform that simplifies and automates the tasks of creating and evolving enterprise applications and multi-channel user-experiences. Great Advantages:

- Higher productivity, with automatic maintenance & evolution
- Multi-Experience, we continuously create new code generators
- Agile, incremental approach, with fully functional prototypes
- Easier to learn, one single language to cover all technologies
- Future-proof, we've been around for 30 years, evolving for you

Key Differentiators against the competition:

- No runtime fees, we charge by developer
- Best theoretical framework, which allows us to evolve
- Best coverage in the market: Most technologies, most languages, most markets and industries
- We run on-premise or on the cloud
- Multiple starting points depending on the type of company you work in, with products for Students, Startups, ISVs, Corporate Development, and SAP technologies

GeneXus uses Artificial Intelligence techniques to create software, enabling truly incremental development of apps, providing a low-code, future-proof development platform for the leading execution platforms and languages, and the most popular DBMS.

GeneXus

Xamarin is an open-source platform for developing modern and performant applications for iOS, Android, and Windows using.NET. Xamarin is an abstraction layer that manages how shared code is communicated to the platform's underlying code. Xamarin is for developers with the two following goals:

Cross-platform sharing of code, tests, and business logic.
Writing cross-platform apps in C# with Visual Studio.

Xamarin allows developers to share an average of 90% of their program across platforms. This enables programmers to achieve native performance, look, and feel on each platform while writing all of their business logic in a single language (or reusing existing application code).

Xamarin applications can be created on a PC or a Mac and compiled into native application packages, such as an .apk file for Android or an .ipa file for iOS.

Xamarin Platform Features

Xamarin Platform has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Complete binding for the supporting SDKs: Xamarin includes bindings for almost all of the underlying platform SDKs in iOS and Android.
Java, C, Objective-C, C, C++ Interop: Xamarin gives you the ability to use a variety of third-party code by providing tools for directly invoking Objective-C, Java, C, and C++ libraries.
Modern language constructs: Xamarin applications are written in C#, a modern language with many capabilities that Objective-C and Java do not have, like lambdas, LINQ, parallel programming, generics, and more.
Strong base class library (BCL): Xamarin apps use the .NET BCL, a large collection of classes with streamlined features, like powerful XML, database, serialization, IO, string, and networking support, among others.

Xamarin Platform Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing the Xamarin Platform. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Native UIs and APIs: Xamarin delivers comprehensive access to each platform's native SDK and UI controls, projecting the entire native API of each device into C#. Therefore, the apps you develop are native instead of write-once/run-anywhere programs that look alien on every platform. Xamarin provides you access to all of the capabilities that distinguish each platform.

Share code between platforms: With Xamarin, you can share all code across platforms while providing a native user interface tailored to each individual device. With Xamarin, you can execute the same C# code on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. With Xamarin, your software is compiled to a native binary rather than being interpreted, in contrast to other cross-platform frameworks. Even in the most demanding situations, native compilation provides users with excellent app performance. Xamarin provides responsive, multi-user input and feedback, fluid scrolling, sophisticated graphics and animations, complicated data visualization, and realistic high frame rates for games.

Code with C#: Write shorter, more concise, and more maintainable code by leveraging advanced language features, such as Language Integrated Query (LINQ), delegates, lambdas, events, garbage collection, and many other features. With Xamarin's fully extensible platform, you can include libraries written in C, Objective-C, C++, or Java. In C#, you have access to the entire native ecosystem of components and libraries.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Canal de Panamá, Gerdau, Coca-Cola, Mercado Libre, DHL, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, TECNISA, Mexican Polak Group, Ferrovalle, Canon, Azteca, KPMG, TURBUS, Santander, BBVA

Cinemark, MixRadio, Sqor Sports, Storyo, JetBlue, The World Bank, Cr_dito Agrcola, Applied Research Associates

Buyer's Guide

GeneXus vs. Xamarin Platform

January 2025

Free Report: GeneXus vs. Xamarin Platform

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