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Framework 7 VS Xamarin

Compare Framework 7 VS Xamarin and see what are their differences

Framework 7 logo Framework 7

Full Featured HTML Framework For Building iOS Apps

Xamarin logo Xamarin

Create iOS, Android and Mac apps in C#
  • Framework 7 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24
  • Xamarin Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17

Framework 7 features and specs

  • Comprehensive UI Components
    Framework7 provides a complete set of UI components like modals, pop-ups, action sheets, side panels, list views, etc., which help in rapid development.
  • Customizable
    It is highly customizable with both themes and custom styles, enabling developers to tailor the application to their specific needs.
  • Multi-Platform Support
    Framework7 supports iOS and Android design guidelines, allowing for the creation of hybrid apps that look and feel native.
  • Flexibility
    It offers flexibility as it can be used with multiple frontend frameworks like React, Vue.js, and Svelte, or even without any framework.
  • Performance
    Optimized for high performance with features like virtual lists and smart DOM updates.
  • Documentation
    Framework7 has extensive documentation, which provides detailed guides and examples, making it easier for developers to get started.
  • Community Support
    There is a growing community and active forum, which is helpful for troubleshooting and finding best practices.

Possible disadvantages of Framework 7

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Despite extensive documentation, beginners may find it difficult to initially get accustomed to the framework's structure and conventions.
  • Size
    Framework7 is relatively large in size compared to other frameworks, which might affect load times for web apps.
  • Limited Third-Party Plugins
    Although the core library is comprehensive, the ecosystem of third-party plugins and extensions is smaller compared to other frameworks like React or Vue.js.
  • Dependency on HTML Layout
    It relies heavily on HTML structure, which can make the code harder to manage and less flexible in more complex applications.
  • iOS-Centric Design
    While it supports both iOS and Android, the default design leans heavily towards iOS, which might require extra customization for Android-centric apps.
  • Performance Overhead
    The extensive feature set can sometimes introduce performance overhead in less optimized use cases.

Xamarin features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Development
    Xamarin allows developers to write code once and deploy it across multiple platforms (iOS, Android, and Windows), which can significantly reduce development time and effort.
  • Native Performance
    Apps built with Xamarin perform as well as native apps because they leverage platform-specific hardware acceleration and compile directly to native ARM assembly code.
  • Shared Codebase
    With Xamarin, developers can use a single codebase for different platforms, making it easier to maintain and update apps across multiple operating systems.
  • Large Ecosystem
    As part of the broader .NET ecosystem, Xamarin benefits from a large collection of libraries, tools, and developer resources provided by Microsoft.
  • Strong Community Support
    Xamarin has a strong developer community and comprehensive documentation, making it easier for developers to find support and resources.
  • Integration with Visual Studio
    Xamarin integrates seamlessly with Visual Studio, providing a robust development environment complete with debugging, profiling, and unit testing tools.

Possible disadvantages of Xamarin

  • App Size
    Xamarin apps tend to have larger file sizes compared to native apps because of the additional overhead of the Mono runtime.
  • Limited Third-Party Library Support
    While Xamarin supports a wide range of libraries, not all third-party libraries and SDKs are compatible, which might require custom bindings or workarounds.
  • Performance Overhead
    Some performance overhead might still exist compared to fully native applications, especially in complex and resource-intensive apps.
  • Learning Curve
    Developers coming from purely native development backgrounds might face a learning curve when adopting Xamarin, particularly in understanding the shared codebase approach and platform-specific nuances.
  • Platform Limitations
    Certain platform-specific features and UI elements might not be fully supported or might require additional custom code to implement.
  • Licensing Costs
    Although Xamarin itself is open source, enterprise-level features or more advanced tools might require a Visual Studio Enterprise subscription, which can be costly.

Framework 7 videos

Geometry Framework 7 - Review part 1

Xamarin videos

Pros and Cons of Xamarin Development

More videos:

  • Review - Is Xamarin Forms Any Good?
  • Review - Why Xamarin Is Awesome

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Framework 7 and Xamarin)
Development Tools
51 51%
49% 49
Developer Tools
23 23%
77% 77
JavaScript Framework
100 100%
0% 0
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Framework 7 and Xamarin

Framework 7 Reviews

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Xamarin Reviews

Explore 9 Top Eclipse Alternatives for 2024
Xamarin.Forms An open-source UI framework that enables developers to conjure up applications for Xamarin.iOS, Xamarin.Android, and Windows from a singular shared codebase. Offers rich features like XAML user-interface language, databinding, gestures, effects, styling.
Source: aircada.com
Top 10 Flutter Alternatives for Cross-Platform App Development
Developed and launched by Microsoft, Xamarin facilitates developers to build apps for iOS and Android by using C# and .NET. It ensures a seamless integration with Visual Studio and lets developers experience a fully familiar environment. The framework provides a single codebase and allows developers to perform app development rapidly.
Exploring 15 Powerful Flutter Alternatives
Xamarin is a Microsoft-created framework for building native iOS, Android, and Windows apps in C#/.NET. On the complexity front, Xamarin apps generally require more focus on memory management and garbage collection tuning relative to alternatives like Flutter. The additional diligence pays dividends in runtime performance when done properly. However, developers with...
THE BEST 34 APP DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE IN 2022 LIST
Xamarin is a Microsoft-owned tool to write native code for apps. Free. Cross-platform. Open-source. An app platform for building Android and iOS apps with .NET and C#.
9 Of The Best Android Studio Alternatives To Try Out
You can also access the required resources at the Xamarin Universal project. You can stay up to date with the latest updates by subscribing to their YouTube channel or blogs. The Xamarin community is most active, and you can get answers to your questions swiftly.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Xamarin should be more popular than Framework 7. It has been mentiond 28 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Framework 7 mentions (15)

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Xamarin mentions (28)

  • Wine Releases Framework Mono 6.14 in Taking over the Mono Project
    I haven't been following .NET lately, but AFAIK .NET works on Linux now and "Mono" is basically .NET for Linux... What even are the differences? Sounds like Microsoft just doesn't want to maintain 2 different versions so they're dumping it. Also, > Microsoft became the steward of the Mono Project when it acquired Xamarin in 2016 They probably never even wanted Mono, they just inherited it because they wanted... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • C# Fundamentals
    Mobile Applications: With Xamarin, a cross-platform mobile development framework, developers can write C# code to build native Android, iOS, and Windows mobile applications. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Making an android app with c#
    Xamarin - Basically an older version of MAUI. I would advise against creating new projects on Xamarin since MAUI is supposed to render it obsolete. Source: over 2 years ago
  • App developer
    Microsoft Xamarin: For this you'll need to know C# and .net. Source: over 2 years ago
  • I own a web development company in San Antonio and I'm looking for ideas to support the UTSA students with some sort of free courses or classes
    At my internship, we moved to Microsoft's Visual Studio for C# development from Java, and for application development we use Xamarin which can be used on Windows and Mac. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Framework 7 and Xamarin, you can also consider the following products

Ionic - Ionic is a cross-platform mobile development stack for building performant apps on all platforms with open web technologies.

Android Studio - Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

OutSystems - Build Enterprise-Grade Apps Fast.

PhoneGap - Easily create apps using the web technologies you know and love: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Xcode - Xcode is Apple’s powerful integrated development environment for creating great apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Xcode 4 includes the Xcode IDE, instruments, iOS Simulator, and the latest Mac OS X and iOS SDKs.