IBM MobileFirst vs Ionic comparison

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IBM MobileFirst

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM MobileFirst and Ionic 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 IBM MobileFirst vs. Ionic Report (Updated: December 2024).

IBM MobileFirst vs. Ionic

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Helped 824,067 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

IBM MobileFirst

Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms

13th

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Mobile App Platforms (6th)

Ionic

Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms

8th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM MobileFirst is 1.6%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ionic is 7.8%, down from 8.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Mobile Development Platforms

Featured Reviews

it_user631749

Mobile Architect at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees

It provides access management for the enterprise user as well as for the consumer.

We were actually using different components. However, this product provides all the components in one platform, so that is why we switched to this. But earlier we were using Crittercism Solutions and also other different products. However, this product provides all the solutions in one platform. We usually go with the Garnett Business Solution's recommendations. We went through almost 17 recommended providers and eventually, chose IBM as our mobile provider.

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Nakul Kundaliya

Technical Lead Developer at Mayora Infotech

The best cross-platform solution of its kind, with good performance and live reloading

Ionic is a cross-platform framework, so when we compare Ionic with native Android and iOS, we can see the drawbacks. For example, if you need to work on very high-level aspects of an application such as animation, even if everything else is not putting load on the app, you will still see high load from the server side. You will eventually find yourself getting lots of image, video, and hardware-related work to deal with. This is the main limitation of Ionic because we still have to depend on the native Android and iOS code. However, in other ways we can achieve the same performance with Ionic as we can achieve with native Android code. One feature I would like to see added is the code post. The code post is a very good feature I encountered when using React Native. Inside the code post, you don't need to deploy your application again when you're modifying your code. You just need to run one command, and each and every server will automatically receive the latest modification. A similar feature in Ionic would be appreciated. Another drawback of Ionic has to do with the no-code service that they provide, where you just need to drag and drop your components to build your application. I feel that, coding-wise, it isn't a good feature. And, for instance, if you're making an API call, they would only provide the UI, so you would still need to take some time to modify it. Because of this, I considered simply building our UI from scratch. Apart from that, one other disadvantage is when you're using a type of plugin like AdSense for putting adverts in your application, Ionic would take a percentage of whatever profit you make.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like Its capability for developing hybrid applications, with an ability to integrate device-native code as well"

"IBM MobileFirst has one of the most feature-rich admin panels."

"With help of this product, we have been able to develop mobile applications without having complete knowledge of each mobile OS's native programming technology. App development, delivery, and code management have been very efficient using this product."

"What I like the most about Ionic is live reloading, which enables us to develop new features without having to build the application again and re-check the functionality."

"The most valuable feature of Ionic is the ease of use and the simple connection of the applications. Additionally, the documentation is good in the Ionic application, and beginners can easily learn and download their own application using Ionic. Everyone can easily switch out, their domain, from native applications to hybrid applications."

"Ionic is easy to upgrade and is helpful for design purposes. It also is quite common and easy to use. It is a very reliable application. It's easy to write on and print. The UI is easy to use as well. My organization chose to go with Ionic because we can access both Android and iOS applications."

"Because it's a hybrid mobile app framework, it is easy for us to develop iOS as well as Android apps for our customers with the same resource skills. We didn't have to have separate iOS teams and Android teams to build the apps. We still have to use the Apple Xcode for iOS, but the main development happens with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. We don't have to write separate code bases in scripts for iOS and Android. We create apps using web-based technology."

"It's very flexible for UI development."

"Ionic's best features are its hybrid app development, design, and tags."

"Being able to have one set of code is valuable. I don't have to recode for different platforms. I don't have to recode for Xcode, Angular, or Android. So, the biggest feature for me is that it's a hybrid system, and I can have one set of code, and then the tool sets that are in there convert my code for Xcode or Play Store. It makes work a lot easier."

"The main value of this solution for our business, is that it is a hybrid product that allows us to write code that is compatible with IOS, Android, and web documents."

More Ionic pros

Cons

"There are issues with push notifications, especially for Windows mobile apps. JSONStore also crashes abruptly at times."

"I would like to see improved support for native device functions."

"Ionic's UI component doesn't always look like the native mobile app."

"In a future release, we would like to have a little more support for the desktop environment. Currently it is still focused on mobile devices."

"There could be better support for augmented reality and other things. Geolocation and background app activity are some of the things that are a little more clumsy at the moment and could be improved."

"Documentation for migrations and compatibility is insufficient."

"They started writing Capacitor to get rid of PhoneGap and Cordova, but they haven't yet got all the libraries and all the functionalities. They want you to start using Capacitor, but they don't have all the libraries there. They're developing them as they go. So, currently, you have to mix and match the three. When it comes to mobile applications, I would only like to use Capacitor. I don't want to jump between Cordova and Capacitor or have both of them. That's the main thing for me, but they have been working on it."

"Ionic could improve in the Native mode because while we do testing it is difficult to find the root cause of problems. It could be more user-friendly."

"Ionic would be improved with dynamic design features."

"There is a lack of a community environment."

More Ionic cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cost depends upon various factors. Size of the overall application and product usage matter a lot. For an enterprise-grade application, this certainly comes out as an economical solution. However, for small-scale applications, it can turn out to be on the higher side."

"The solution's open source option is free with no licensing fees."

"The starting cost for the enterprise option is around one hundred dollars per month."

"You don't have to pay anything except for certain projects. For example, Appflow has some costs related to it but you don't have to use it. You can also pay for extra support."

"Ionic is an open source solution, and there are no hidden fees."

"We pay 50,000 dinars per month."

"Ionic is an open-source solution, it is free."

"You can use the free version, but if you still want to buy it, the price starts from $499/month."

"I think most of the plugins for Ionic are open source, and you can do a lot with many of the basic features. However, if you need to use a premium plugin for something like extra scroll list functionality, Ionic will ask for a certain sum of money."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

24%

Computer Software Company

19%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

19%

Educational Organization

Insurance Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Ionic?

Being able to have one set of code is valuable. I don't have to recode for different platforms. I don't have to recode for Xcode, Angular, or Android. So, the biggest feature for me is that it's a ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Ionic?

When they jumped from version 3 to version 4, 5, and 6, they introduced something called Capacitor, which is basically the tool that you use to convert your code to Xcode, etc. They have a few plug...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Ionic?

We are using it for mobile applications that we are publishing to iOS, Huawei, and Google Play Store. It's a very nice hybrid framework for mobile applications.

See all answers

Comparisons

OutSystems vs IBM MobileFirst

Compared 50% of the time

More IBM MobileFirst Competitors

Xamarin Platform vs Ionic

Compared 40% of the time

OutSystems vs Ionic

Compared 11% of the time

Appium vs Ionic

Compared 10% of the time

Mendix vs Ionic

Compared 8% of the time

GeneXus vs Ionic

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Mobile App Platforms

Download IBM MobileFirst product report

Download Ionic product report

Also Known As

MobileFirst, Worklight

No data available

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IBM

Video not available

Overview

IBM Worklight helps organizations extend their business to mobile devices.

Ionic is an open-source UI toolkit for developing high-quality mobile and desktop apps with web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Ionic focuses on the frontend UX and UI interaction of an app – UI controls, interactions, gestures, and animations. It is simple to learn and can be used without any frontend framework by utilizing a simple script inclusion.

While previous versions of Ionic were strongly connected to Angular, version 4.x of the framework was re-engineered to serve as an independent Web Component library, with integrations for the newest JavaScript frameworks, such as Angular. Ionic works well in most frontend frameworks, including React and Vue, however some frontend frameworks require a shim to enable full Web Component support.

The official Ionic CLI, or Command Line Interface, is a tool that enables developers to easily construct Ionic apps and offers a number of useful commands. The CLI installs and updates Ionic and also includes a built-in development server, build and debugging tools, and much more. If you are an Appflow member, you may manage your account and carry out cloud builds and deployments via the CLI.

Ionic Features

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

One codebase: Ionic is the first mobile app stack that allows web developers to use a single codebase to create apps for all major app stores and the mobile web. Ionic apps look and feel natural on every device thanks to Adaptive Styling.
High performance: Ionic is designed to run and behave well on the latest mobile devices, using best practices such as efficient hardware accelerated transitions and touch-optimized gestures.
Simple, clean design: Ionic is built to function and display well across all popular mobile platforms and devices. You'll be building in style thanks to pre-made components, typography, and an attractive (but flexible) base theme that adjusts to each platform.
Native and web-friendly: Ionic uses native SDKs and emulates native app UI guidelines to combine native app device features and UI standards with the full flexibility and power of the open web. Ionic operates as a Progressive Web App in the browser or deploys natively via Capacitor (or Cordova).

Ionic Benefits

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

Cross-platform: Create and distribute apps with a single code base. Apps run natively on iOS, Android, desktop, and the web as Progressive Web Apps. Publish once and go anywhere.

Based on web standards: Ionic is developed using cutting-edge web APIs like Custom Elements and Shadow DOM on top of reliable, industry-standard web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Ionic components have a solid API as a result, and they aren't subject to the whims of a single platform vendor.

Good design: Ionic is made to operate and look great right out of the box across all platforms. Start with typography, interactive paradigms, pre-designed elements, and an attractive (yet extensible) base theme.

Simplicity: Ionic was created with simplicity in mind, making it fun, simple to learn, and available to almost anyone with basic web development skills.

Sample Customers

UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions, Gruppo Unipol, Raymond James Financial, Toshiba GCS, CST, ABK-Systeme GmbH, BNP Paribas

MRA, Napa Group, Sworkit, Airbus, Sense Corp, Interactive Gaming Company, Pacifica, Untapp'd, Diesel, National Museum of African American History and Culture

IBM MobileFirst vs. Ionic