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Magic xpa Application Platform vs Microsoft Azure App Service comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Magic xpa Application Platform
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (8th), Application Infrastructure (16th)
Microsoft Azure App Service
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Magic xpa Application Platform is 3.5%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure App Service is 2.7%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mobile Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

IgorLastric - PeerSpot reviewer
Fast development and user-oriented functionalities, but it needs better .NET integration and a completely different pricing structure
First, in my personal opinion, being a developer myself and working with web and mobile technologies, I think they're trying to cover all the sectors, and that's the problem. They want to be one toolbox for everything, but primarily, we are using xpa to develop desktop applications, and in that area they're lacking functionalities, flexibility, and modern stuff. MSC is marketing xpa as a .NET-based solution, but their .NET integration is lousy. For example, in Visual Studio, you put a control, you right click, and you set everything. In xpa, they're using Visual Studio as a basis of the development tool, but you cannot do what I just described. There's also poor integration of third-party tools because, for example, to put something together using the very popular .NET framework and components framework, it takes me at least three times longer than it should. We started using this solution because it was fairly easy, and 10 years ago, the speed of development was incomparable to any other tools. My employees can develop and deploy something in a matter of hours. My clients buy from me because we can do everything very fast, but the applications we are currently developing with xpa are kind of outdated. Not the functionalities, because we can do almost everything, but the UI and UX and the mechanics of the application are outdated. The problem is that their grid functionalities are very bad in general. For example, in order to have the ribbon bar like the one you have in Word or Excel, we have to do all kinds of gimmicks and purchase external libraries. That's one of the problems, and that's something I would really like to change. I really don't care about the web integration with xpa. I don't need it to be a tool for the API, for the backend, for the frontend, or for mobile applications. I want xpa to be a very powerful tool for desktop applications.
Mudasser Farooq Mian - PeerSpot reviewer
It's a one-stop shop, but the pricing could be more transparent
I want more transparency in billing. It would be better if we could understand and control the billing to customize it. Also, Microsoft should provide more guidance about the widgets and subsets of various products. The Microsoft portfolio is so huge that it's sometimes difficult to choose the correct option. There's always a chance we are paying more than necessary.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Without the need to compile code, the time spent in the development cycle is greatly reduced, allowing the programmer to test modifications to a program immediately after they have been saved."
"Typically an experienced Magic developer can do the work of two to three experienced C#/.NET developers. Customers are amazed at how quickly most new features can be added and bug fixes implemented. I have worked for four employers - including myself - using Magic, and in most instances, bug fixes are addressed and deployed in under six hours."
"The best feature of Magic is the development time. The time it takes to develop something is incredibly fast if you compare Magic with, for example, Java."
"Magic is rapid, it's a tool which we use to develop, change and maintain our programs. xpa has a lot more features onboard and it gives us the opportunity to do such things so that we can easily adapt and maintain our programs. It gives certain benefits to stay with our customers and the market."
"Magic’s Database Gateway allows the logic of the program to be isolated from the underlying database. This provides the flexibility not only to move existing programs to different database environments without the need to change the logic in the program but also allows the programmer access to different databases without the need to know how to "talk" to them."
"Magic’s unique approach to development ensures that the programmer stays focused on the objective of the program (i.e. display all customers in California), instead of the repetitive tasks that surround it (i.e. connect to database, open customers table, create the query to retrieve records within the specified criteria, fetch the result of the query, connect it to a data grid, etc.)."
"The Magic xpa Application Platform is very suitable for production since it is easy to update. The program is simple to upgrade and deploy. The solution is convenient in production. You need to adjust the data, then adjust the program which is not difficult."
"Speed of development and database connectivity (MS SQL, Oracle, DB2, Btrieve/Pervasive PSQL, ODBC, MySql, and SQLite)."
"The feature I find most valuable is the 'Diagnose and Solve problem' function. This not only allows us to fix a problem, but also to generate analytics on why the issue occurred."
"We are able to do millions of things simultaneously."
"One of our reasons to use the product is its cloud service. Our usage is mainly on the cloud and we like the benefits that we can get from the cloud. You can easily do the literal shift of your application easily. You can jump into the cloud very quickly."
"The Logic Apps and Azure functions are very robust."
"I like that it's a ready-to-use, out-of-the-box solution that provides all of the necessary functions for customers, such as codes that can be quickly switched from the production version, or from test and DEV versions to production."
"The technical support from Microsoft Azure App Service is good."
"Overall, all of the features are very good."
"The primary and standout feature is ease of deployment."
 

Cons

"They want to be one toolbox for everything, but primarily, we are using xpa to develop desktop applications, and in that area they're lacking functionalities, flexibility, and modern stuff."
"Throughout my career, I've encountered difficulties when integrating new technologies with Magic xpa Application Platform. In particular, when attempting to incorporate features from other development languages into earlier versions of the solution called uniPaaS. I struggled to integrate .NET components due to the limited options available. This made the process more challenging and complicated. I find it challenging to create a more user-friendly experience for users who may be comparing the system to other systems they have used outside or within the company on different platforms."
"There is room for improvement in Magic's marketing and licensing. I would like to see more integration of web functionality."
"It is missing basic charting tools for bar/pie/series charts. It is left to the developer to acquire and deploy charting tools or the customer to purchase a third-party reporting tool to produce charts."
"Support is very bad."
"The ability to display page up, page down, top and bottom buttons along the scroll bar would make my mouse-reliant customers happy."
"The user interface could be improved to be more friendly for developers."
"The configuration of the xpa RIA mobile environment is complex and a discouragement to new developers. Also, Magic's documentation can be less than complete at times which leads to frustration for new developers. (I encourage new Magic developers to join the Magic Users Group)."
"From an IoT use case perspective, we're all good, however, we should have additional plugins."
"The configuration is slow without understanding the systematic process."
"There are no issues with the solution."
"Sometimes we face problems, but those are technical problems in Microsoft, bugs or something doesn't work as expected, but that's normal."
"The cost management of this solution could be better. We only receive estimations."
"Initially, there were some rare instances when the server went down because it was deployed on Linux."
"The setup is complex if you have no experience."
"When trying to scale up, it has a limitation, specifically an upper limitation. In general, scalability should be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost for developers is high because you have to pay for licenses as well as runtime."
"There are different licenses, we have the application and the online application. There are two different licenses for two different program sites for the Magic xpa Application Platform."
"My clients have to purchase additional licenses in order to use what I built. It's not a fair approach."
"Magic is not the cheapest IDE out there. If you are considering Magic xpa, you should do a cost-benefit analysis to feel comfortable with your decision. The Magic sales staff is very helpful in providing pricing."
"The main problem with the Magic xpa Application Platform is pricing. You have to pay a lot of money for development, and you also have to pay a lot for the deployments and runtime, while in most competitors, you have to pay a lot for one of the two and not both."
"The licensing is too costly."
"The licensing cost varies because nowadays Magic has tailor-made offerings for clients. I think the solution is worth the money."
"It's not cheap. The licenses are not cheap. Not at all. They cost much money. There are other tools with free licenses but Magic asks for a lot of money."
"Where there are different customer sizes, some customers consume $5,000 US dollars per month. I have some customers who pay and consume more than $20,000 US dollars per month, for example. It is determined by customer sizes and requirements, which vary from month to month."
"On a scale of one to five, with one being expensive and five being competitive, I would rate this solution as a four."
"The price of the solution is high overall."
"As you move up the license tiers it becomes expensive."
"The pricing for Microsoft Azure App Service is per hour, and you're billed per hour, and it depends on the plan you're using. Each plan can host up to a minimum of four to eight applications at a time, so the pricing is quite okay with how I use Microsoft Azure App Service currently, but with the little testing I've done, I saw that some other regions tend to be costlier than others. If the same SLE is delivered for all services, there should be a way to make the prices parallel across regions. Having more transparent pricing for Microsoft Azure App Service would give customers more comfort."
"The pricing and cost of this solution depends on the use and needs of a business."
"Azure doesn't cost as much as other services."
"We have no complaints about the pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
13%
Insurance Company
11%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Magic xpa Application Platform?
The Magic xpa Application Platform is very suitable for production since it is easy to update. The program is simple to upgrade and deploy. The solution is convenient in production. You need to adj...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Magic xpa Application Platform?
There are different licenses, we have the application and the online application. There are two different licenses for two different program sites for the Magic xpa Application Platform.
What needs improvement with Magic xpa Application Platform?
Throughout my career, I've encountered difficulties when integrating new technologies with Magic xpa Application Platform. In particular, when attempting to incorporate features from other developm...
Would you choose Microsoft Azure App Service or PowerApps?
Microsoft Azure App Service is helpful if you need to set up temporary servers for customers to run their programs in locations that other cloud providers do not cater to. When servers are closer t...
Do you recommend Microsoft Azure App Service?
I highly recommend Microsoft Azure. We have been using it for nearly four years. We mostly use it for creating and maintaining websites, such as content management systems like WordPress sites, whi...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure App Service?
One valuable feature of Azure App Service for us is its integration with Azure DevOps, which we heavily rely on in our development process.
 

Also Known As

uniPaaS
Azure App Service, MS Azure App Service
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ADD, Cape plc, Adecco, Kuno Kinzoku Industry Co., GE Capital, Dove Tree, CBS Outdoor, Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, Allstate Life Insurance Company, Titan Software Systems
Real Madrid, Absolut, AccuWeather, Heineken, NBC News, Paramount
Find out what your peers are saying about Magic xpa Application Platform vs. Microsoft Azure App Service and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.