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Ionic vs Xamarin Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

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

Ionic
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Xamarin Platform
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Ionic is 6.8%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Xamarin Platform is 7.4%, up from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mobile Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Xamarin Platform7.4%
Ionic6.8%
Other85.8%
Mobile Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Roche De Kock - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows us to create cross-platform mobile apps from a single code base, but should have a complete set of libraries for Capacitor
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 plugins that are still using, for instance, PhoneGap. So, you have to jump between Capacitor and PhoneGap. Their documentation is good, but there are some versioning control issues. For example, if you want to bring up a phone dial-up or a map, you have to decide whether to use Capacitor, PhoneGap, or Cordova. 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. They have started to bring them closer and closer so that you don't have to use two different sets of libraries. They're close to where you don't have to use Cordova or PhoneGap, and you can only use Capacitor. In versions 5 and 6, they have improved it a lot. They can also improve it in terms of publishing to different stores. For instance, I'm using Firebase to make my Ionic app web compatible. If I don't have a Node.js server to host on, I have to host it on Firebase or something like that. Currently, if I need to publish to different stores, such as the Microsoft store or the Huawei store, the only way I can publish to, for instance, the Huawei store is by creating the APK and uploading it. If they can start adding a little bit more integration to publish to different stores, such as the Samsung store, Huawei store, or Microsoft store, it would be good. Currently, there are no problems with iOS and Google Play Store, but for the other stores, you have to do a little bit of a workaround to get things done. Its stability could be better. For me, jumping between versions 3, 4, and 5 was a big problem because it wasn't seamless. Jumping from version 5 to 6 is more seamless. Jumping from version 3 to 5 has been a nightmare because I had to recode quite a lot to be compatible with version 5. I totally skipped version 4 because it was just too quick. Jumping between versions has definitely been a problem for me. If I have to do a lot of plugins and redo a lot of my coding because they're jumping versions, I'm going to look for something else.
Prince Tiwari - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's very flexible for UI development."
"The most valuable feature is the one code deployed to all solutions, which means you do not need to have multiple teams."
"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."
"Ionic's best features are its hybrid app development, design, and tags."
"Ionic's best feature is that it's not necessary to write your own custom codes as all the hybrid is provided by Angular."
"The solution is secure, reliable, and packed with features so we can easily implement apps even in the most complex situations."
"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."
"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."
"I think the best part about Xamarin is that you can create apps for both platforms using one source code. That's the most powerful feature. When you develop something for Android, it also builds for iVerse as well. The cross-platform aspect of Xamarin is unique. The ability to develop both apps with a single code base is something very unique."
"The technical support is very good and it's close to native."
"The combination of forms for cross-platform UI and C-Sharp for the programming language are my two favorite features."
"It allows us to reuse our knowledge of C# and .NET Framework."
"The Xamarin platform can reduce overhead significantly through code-share and reuse. The typical team size for a Xamarin project is significantly reduced compared to purely native projects."
"The solution is easy to understand and has banking integrated. The shorter development time, the bugging and as well as availability of a lot of documentation on the web. Also the native integration is easy."
"Recently, Xamarin has added a lot of features such as Effects, Behaviors, Triggers, etc. This has made the UI user-friendly, lively, and attractive."
"The most important impact is the reduction in product lifecycle costs."
 

Cons

"Ionic's UI component doesn't always look like the native mobile app."
"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."
"The documentation could be improved."
"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."
"It would be good if the mobile version uses something other than JavaScript and HTML."
"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 would be improved with dynamic design features."
"As a developer, I would say one of the improvements is more plugins."
"For beginners, the entire setup can be overwhelming because it involves setting up development environments for iOS, Android, and Windows at the same time if you want to target all three."
"The solution struggles a little bit with binding libraries."
"Xamarin Platform lacks in app size."
"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."
"The debugging functionality could be improved in Xamarin Platform because sometimes it takes very long to move through the stages of setting up the application build to the final deployment on a mobile app that resides in a physical device."
"For those who use only XAML to design the UI, it would be better if there was a better XAML previewer or designer."
"All Xamarin library issues need to be taken care of as a top priority."
"The problem that I faced was that the communication, the roles, and the responsibilities, weren't defined between Microsoft and Xamarin."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay 50,000 dinars per month."
"The starting cost for the enterprise option is around one hundred dollars per 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."
"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."
"You can use the free version, but if you still want to buy it, the price starts from $499/month."
"Ionic is an open-source solution, it is free."
"The solution's open source option is free with no licensing fees."
"This is an open-source solution, but there is a subscription charge to use the App Center of around $100."
"In most cases, it is sufficient to have free/community license. But if you plan to seriously develop production-level, highly polished apps, you need to use Xamarin.Profiler and the professional or enterprise license."
"The product is inexpensive."
"Xamarin is free. There is no license unless you go for some high-end enterprise features. Other than that, everything's free."
"There is no license fee because the solution is open-source."
"This is a free product, so there is zero investment on licenses and IDE."
"There is no requirement for a license. It is available for free as an open-source product."
"I think the solution is free."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
15%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Insurance Company
6%
Educational Organization
27%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

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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.
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.
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...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MRA, Napa Group, Sworkit, Airbus, Sense Corp, Interactive Gaming Company, Pacifica, Untapp'd, Diesel, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Cinemark, MixRadio, Sqor Sports, Storyo, JetBlue, The World Bank, Cr_dito Agrcola, Applied Research Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about Ionic vs. Xamarin Platform and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.