Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GTK VS Xamarin.Forms

Compare GTK VS Xamarin.Forms and see what are their differences

GTK logo GTK

GTK+ is a multi-platform toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces.

Xamarin.Forms logo Xamarin.Forms

Xamarin.Forms is an open source cross-platform framework for building native UIs for iOS, Android, and Windows from a single, shared C# codebase.
  • GTK Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17
  • Xamarin.Forms Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24

GTK features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    GTK supports multiple platforms including Linux, Windows, and macOS, making it versatile for developing applications across different operating systems.
  • Rich Widget Set
    GTK provides a comprehensive set of widgets for GUIs, allowing developers to create complex and highly functional user interfaces.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, GTK offers developers the ability to inspect, modify, and distribute their modifications, fostering a community of collaboration and innovation.
  • Language Bindings
    GTK supports multiple programming languages through various bindings, including C, Python, and JavaScript, thereby offering flexibility to developers.
  • Consistent Look and Feel
    GTK strives to maintain a consistent look and feel across applications and platforms, providing a unified user experience.

Possible disadvantages of GTK

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For beginners, GTK can present a steep learning curve due to its comprehensive nature and the depth of its APIs.
  • Performance Overhead
    GTK applications can sometimes exhibit performance issues, especially on less powerful hardware, due to the extensive features and capabilities it includes.
  • Limited Native Support on macOS
    Although GTK is cross-platform, native support and integration on macOS can be limited compared to its support on Linux and Windows.
  • Heavy Dependencies
    GTK applications often require a significant amount of dependencies, which can lead to larger application sizes and more complex installation processes.
  • Documentation Quality
    While GTK has extensive documentation, the quality and depth can sometimes be inconsistent, which may hinder learning and troubleshooting for developers.

Xamarin.Forms features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

GTK videos

GTK4 Is Here: Why You Should Even Care

Xamarin.Forms videos

6 IMPORTANT THINGS DIFFERENT ABOUT XAMARIN.FORMS VS XAMARIN NATIVE

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GTK and Xamarin.Forms)
Development Tools
92 92%
8% 8
Cross-Platform Development
Rapid Application Development
Developer Tools
76 76%
24% 24

User comments

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Reviews

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

GTK Reviews

Best GUI frameworks for Go
The go-gtk package is a Go binding for the GTK toolkit. The package enables Go developers to use the GTK library in Go with similar features as the GTK library. The package is performant, well-documented, and actively maintained. The go-gtk package depends on the GTK library to function, and you’ll need to have GTK installed on your machine to build GUI applications in Go....

Xamarin.Forms Reviews

12 Best Frameworks and Toolkits to Build Desktop Applications
Xamarin.Forms is an open-source framework for developing applications for different operating systems such as Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, etc.
Source: geekflare.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GTK seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 6 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.

GTK mentions (6)

  • What GNOME needs to progress faster? (More contributors, money, better docs etc.)
    Wha? An example of a barebones GTK JavaScript app is right there on the front page. One click on the bindings link, will send you to the official GNOME-hosted GitLab repo for gjs, which in-turn, has links to official API documentation. Source: over 2 years ago
  • GTK 4 & JavaScript - how to start?
    I think what is lacking is a kind of introduction similar to what you have written in your post now. Myself, I am totally new to GTK. I come as a user of Gnome. All I knew until today was that to develop applications for Gnome, preferably I should use something called GTK. And I heard so much about the recent version that came out - GTK 4. So I started to look for a Getting Started tutorial for GTK 4, to build... Source: about 3 years ago
  • GTK 4 & JavaScript - how to start?
    BTW, I think the GTK team should really step up their game in terms of how to encourage new people into their ecosystem. Seeing that windows screenshot in the official tutorial makes me think I'm dealing with some old technology. Also, the official gtk.org has two separate tutorials that show very similar applications being built. Source: about 3 years ago
  • CTA: We need Web Developers to Contribute to GNOME!
    Faces of GNOME Faces of GNOME is an initiative to create something similar to People of Mozilla / Mozillians which is a directory of active, current or past GNOME Contributors. Faces of GNOME (Current Demo HERE) aims to give a space for every GNOME Contributor, GNOME Foundation Member and more. It is being designed to showcase the list of current Maintainers, People that spoke at GNOME Conferences/Events, GNOME... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Software Engineering student looking to get started developing apps on the pinephone
    My advice is to basically learn how to write GTK apps using Python. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

Xamarin.Forms mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Xamarin.Forms yet. Tracking of Xamarin.Forms recommendations started around Apr 2023.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GTK and Xamarin.Forms, you can also consider the following products

Qt - Powerful, flexible and easy to use, Qt will help you not only meet your tight deadline, but also reduce the maintainable code by an astonishing percentage.

OS.js - OS.js is an open-source JavaScript web desktop platform with a window manager, application APIs, GUI toolkit, filesystem abstractions and much more.

wxWidgets - wxWidgets: Cross-Platform GUI Library

EnactJS - An app development framework built atop React that’s easy to use, performant and customizable.

PyQt - Riverbank | Software | PyQt | What is PyQt?

Xojo - Real Software and Real Studio are now Xojo.