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OutSystems vs Xamarin Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

OutSystems
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (3rd), Low-Code Development Platforms (2nd)
Xamarin Platform
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of OutSystems is 21.2%, down from 22.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Xamarin Platform is 7.5%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mobile Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Vadivelan Rajendiran - PeerSpot reviewer
The visual program provides the advantage of only requiring one skill set for both the front and backend
The solution is ground up, it follows exactly what the developer does. The product could be improved if there was a shortcut, or predefined, predictable templates provided. Infusing AI that would automate the process would be game-changing. On a logical level, if data on a form is automated, it would be great if when required, the developer can then go and look for it.
Vishal Paliwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Lets us build hybrid apps for Android and iOS, with top support from Microsoft
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Their out-of-the-box UI is quite good."
"The solution is all-encompassing and very easy to use with its drag-and-drop feature."
"Integrations with external systems with SOAP and REST are easy to implement off-the-shelf, but a developer can always implement specific libraries for other integrations."
"The OutSystems' most effective features for speeding up development cycles are the process orchestration and the drag-and-drop updating of business processes."
"We can quickly develop an application using the tool."
"The most valuable features of OutSystems are the user interface, the flexibility to quickly integrate with almost anything in the system, and the ability to connect with databases."
"It is easy to use."
"The most valuable features of OutSystems are the user-friendly platform. The drag-and-drop feature is great. I have used other rapid application development tools before, but they were not as advanced as OutSystems. With the previous tools, I had to manually build certain features, but OutSystems does it automatically."
"It brings about good code sharing strategies, which bring down cost and maintenance efforts."
"We were able to optimize the service organization for one of our clients."
"The most important impact is the reduction in product lifecycle costs."
"The ability to share a platform-agnostic common core, or business logic, enables a mobile developer to write code for all targeted mobile platforms, independent of the individual developer's specialization in iOS, Android, or Windows. This helps not only during development but also enables easier maintenance of deployed apps, since bug fixes or feature additions can be often made in the platform-agnostic layer."
"On the market, compared to everyone else, they're the top solution. They're the best solution out there that I could see."
"The cross platform ability is a great asset."
"The platform is easy to learn as many tutorials are available on YouTube."
"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."
 

Cons

"The integration points need to be increased. People have also started to adopt this solution for their regular needs. That means it's not only the big enterprises that are adopting this solution. There are also small and medium enterprises that are adopting it. I've read that where you have large deployments, OutSystems starts to crumble a bit. That is the idea that no customer would know at the beginning and would also not like to hit the wall there. When it is on the client, there are a lot of applications already on low-code, and then suddenly you realize that you want to do some big applications, and you face hurdles. This is the general feedback for all such platforms."
"There are not enough resources on the market."
"The tool needs to improve the efficiency of its widgets."
"The product's high price is an area of concern, where improvements are required."
"Mobile apps need improvement."
"Since we first started using OutSystems, they switched their language support from Java and .NET to .NET only, which was a bit of a surprise. Their language support could be better in this sense, although on our resource side it is now a bit more flexible."
"The resource availability needs to be increased."
"The tutorials for the solution should be updated."
"All Xamarin library issues need to be taken care of as a top priority."
"The monitoring of the remote devices is not good as it should be extended along. It would be useful if the log is more integrated with the central console. I am not sure it can be accessed but it would be better."
"It is common to find a problem that you would need to develop from the start since there are no third-party components to reuse."
"The solution struggles a little bit with binding libraries."
"Regarding improvements, there are still some limitations with Xamarin, particularly regarding access to core functionality in Android and iOS."
"It needs offline sync capabilities to store data on devices persistently."
"Xamarin Platform is missing the code renderer."
"The file size is a bit big, so you have to make certain layers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not an expensive product, especially if you have access to more features and deal with more projects."
"I believe they are very strict with their pricing platforms, or the pricing policies, and it changes."
"It is too expensive for small companies."
"For one developer to use, the cost is around $5,000."
"Pricing could be a concern. You have to pay yearly, even after you have completed your development."
"I would rate it five to six out of ten."
"The solution is expensive. The platform is not suitable for all of my clients. I work with labor unions and other smaller organizations that would not be able to afford the platform's current pricing model. It would be beneficial if there were a scaled-down version or a tiered pricing option that would allow me to build an app or a web app that is more cost-effective for my clients. Currently, the platform's pricing is too high for many of my clients, who would not be able to afford something in the $50,000 to $100,000 range."
"I think the pricing for OutSystems is comparable with similar solutions. I would place it somewhere in the middle. We pay for the bundle and don't pay anything extra in terms of licensing and other fees."
"For personal use, the Community Edition is free."
"You can build in Xamarin without paying any money."
"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."
"Xamarin is free, or comes with Visual Studio. Therefore, it is very profitable."
"Xamarin Platform is open-source, but there are fees for deployment, the API Store and Play Store, and using third-party libraries."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
32%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
13%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?
The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into that platform for good. The business model is to lock in and then keep pumping th...
What industries do you think OutSystems is most useful for?
I cannot really name an industry in which OutSystems cannot be beneficial. Who does not want to make top-notch applications that work in no time? And OutsyStems does exactly that. The low-code plat...
How did you decide which OutSystems edition was the best one for you?
We started using OutSystems fairly recently, so we are still on the free version of it. My company is still testing how we like the platform, but so far, we have been satisfied with it and will li...
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...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Randstad, Warner Brothers, HP, Intel, ING, Banco Popular, Thrivent Financial, Bacardi, Kent State University, Bacardi, FICO, ING, Vodafone, AbbVie, Estafeta, Siemens, Vopak
Cinemark, MixRadio, Sqor Sports, Storyo, JetBlue, The World Bank, Cr_dito Agrcola, Applied Research Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about OutSystems vs. Xamarin Platform and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.