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Microsoft Azure App Service 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

Microsoft Azure App Service
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (7th)
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 November 2025, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure App Service is 4.7%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Xamarin Platform is 6.6%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mobile Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure App Service4.7%
Xamarin Platform6.6%
Other88.7%
Mobile Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

AntonioNascimento - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integration and application hosting enabled through versatile service
When using a Linux App Service or containerized App Services, the logging is not as good as when using the Windows version. The Linux App Service should be more user-friendly, focusing on logging, troubleshooting, and similar features. With Microsoft Azure App Service, it is more difficult with Linux or other container solutions because there are many options. When creating an App Service, you can create it as Linux or Windows. After that, you can choose some stack or use Docker to container. When using Linux with container, the logging functionality is not as robust.
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

"I've used Microsoft Azure App Service quite a lot, and what I like best about it is that it's a serverless HAM, which is a feature that can run a function, a single function, but faster and more frequently without needing any other assistance. This has been what I found most valuable in Microsoft Azure App Service, the serverless option that's very easy to utilize, and you only need a minimal setup to use this and to enjoy the functionalities required, so the solution gives me a lot of comfort whenever I'm using it."
"Scalability is straightforward, and you can quickly adjust the resources to meet demand."
"The product's initial setup phase is fast, and creating a new component and starting is easy."
"My organization has significantly improved operations using Azure App Service."
"I would rate the product ten out of ten."
"It is the best because it's easy to use, and there's a plan for every type of workload."
"My organization has significantly improved operations using Azure App Service."
"The best feature is scalability, which allows you to target potential clients worldwide by connecting the application to a local server. This makes the application readily accessible, and the response time will be much better."
"It is a true native solution, and we can use the cross-platform framework."
"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 platform is easy to learn as many tutorials are available on YouTube."
"My favorite feature of Xamarin platform is the Xamarin.Essentials package. I also like the changes seen in Xamarin's upgrade from Xamarin.Forms to .NET MAUI, because in the older Xamarin Platform, Xamarin.Forms gave you multiple libraries of a particular level for a single platform, whereas .NET MAUI comprises a single, organized library that contains everything needed for both Android and iOS."
"It allows us to reuse our knowledge of C# and .NET Framework."
"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."
"Recently, Xamarin has added a lot of features such as Effects, Behaviors, Triggers, etc. This has made the UI user-friendly, lively, and attractive."
"Xamarin.Forms exposes a complete cross-platform UI toolkit for .NET developers. The advantage is that a single team can target multiple platforms (Android, iOS, and Windows) on a shared C# codebase."
 

Cons

"Sometimes customer service and support can be challenging."
"Documentation is not well-organized, making it difficult to find current and relevant information."
"Microsoft Azure App Service could improve by having better integration with on-premise solutions."
"In terms of improvement, the technical support could be better."
"Having a surplus of tutorials from Microsoft, rather than relying solely on documentation or features from other sources like YouTube, can be beneficial."
"The main area that requires improvement is the function apps and logic apps, specifically from a VNet integration standpoint."
"The tool's UI is an area of concern that needs improvements."
"The main area that requires improvement is the function apps and logic apps, specifically from a VNet integration standpoint."
"We need to think about partnering with IBM because there is a need for a big data partner; someone who has machine learning and can help us connect the app to big data."
"There are compatibility issues between versions of various Xamarin components."
"Xamarin Platform lacks in app size."
"I feel that the Android AppCompat library creates a lot of issues. A lot of development time is often wasted solving these issues."
"They need to take a step towards independence from the UI platform. It takes a lot of time to adapt the native controls."
"The solution struggles a little bit with binding libraries."
"The worst build issue concerns are the caching process MSBuild uses to reduce the build time."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is not expensive. The tool's price is okay for all of the benefits you get from the solution."
"I would rate the product's pricing a five out of ten and is subscription based."
"Azure doesn't cost as much as other services."
"The cost depends on the App Service plan that you choose. There are a number of tiers available."
"As you move up the license tiers it becomes expensive."
"The pricing and cost of this solution depends on the use and needs of a business."
"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 cost is reasonable."
"Xamarin is free. There is no license unless you go for some high-end enterprise features. Other than that, everything's free."
"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."
"This is a free product, so there is zero investment on licenses and IDE."
"You can build in Xamarin without paying any money."
"I think the solution is free."
"Xamarin Platform is open-source, but there are fees for deployment, the API Store and Play Store, and using third-party libraries."
"There is no requirement for a license. It is available for free as an open-source product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
32%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Performing Arts
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise33
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

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.
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...
 

Also Known As

Azure App Service, MS Azure App Service
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Real Madrid, Absolut, AccuWeather, Heineken, NBC News, Paramount
Cinemark, MixRadio, Sqor Sports, Storyo, JetBlue, The World Bank, Cr_dito Agrcola, Applied Research Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure App Service vs. Xamarin Platform and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
873,085 professionals have used our research since 2012.