Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Xamarin VS Sencha

Compare Xamarin VS Sencha and see what are their differences

Xamarin logo Xamarin

Create iOS, Android and Mac apps in C#

Sencha logo Sencha

Sencha equips developers with frameworks, tools and services to help them build amazing web application experiences using HTML5 and JavaScript.
  • Xamarin Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17
  • Sencha
    Image date //
    2024-06-10
  • Sencha
    Image date //
    2024-06-10
  • Sencha
    Image date //
    2024-06-10

Ext JS is a powerful JavaScript framework for building feature-rich, cross-platform web applications. It provides a comprehensive set of tools and components that enable developers to create interactive, high-performance, and responsive user interfaces. Top Features of Sencha Ext JS

  1. Comprehensive UI Components
  2. Robust Data Handling
  3. Advanced Charting and Data Visualization
  4. Responsive Design Capabilities
  5. Cross-Browser Compatibility
  6. Theming and Branding
  7. MVC/MVVM Architecture Support
  8. Extensive Documentation and Community Support
  9. Integrated Development Tools
  10. Security Features

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.

Sencha features and specs

  • Comprehensive Framework
    Sencha offers a full suite of tools and components, including Ext JS, Architect, and Sencha Test, which provide everything needed for building complex web applications.
  • Robust Component Library
    It features a wide array of pre-built UI components like grids, forms, charts, and more, facilitating quick and efficient development.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Sencha's technologies support multiple platforms such as desktops, tablets, and smartphones, ensuring a consistent experience across devices.
  • Performance Optimization
    It offers tools for optimizing the performance of applications, such as powerful data packages and layouts that improve the efficiency of DOM manipulation.
  • Strong Community and Support
    Sencha has a well-established community and a range of support options, including documentation, forums, and professional support services.

Possible disadvantages of Sencha

  • High Cost
    Sencha's licensing costs can be prohibitive for small businesses or individual developers, as its premium tools and components are priced quite high.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    The comprehensive nature of Sencha's tools can be daunting for new developers, requiring significant time and effort to master.
  • Heavyweight Framework
    Sencha's robust features come with the trade-off of a large payload, which can sometimes affect the performance and load time of applications.
  • Proprietary Nature
    Many of Sencha's tools are not open-source, limiting flexibility and potentially locking developers into the Sencha ecosystem.
  • Outdated Design Conventions
    Some developers criticize Sencha for not keeping pace with modern design trends and user interface standards.

Analysis of Xamarin

Overall verdict

  • Xamarin is a good choice for developers who are entrenched in the Microsoft ecosystem and are looking to create cross-platform mobile applications using a shared codebase. Its native performance, extensive library support, and community backing make it a viable option. However, it's crucial to consider the specific needs of your project, including performance requirements and platform-specific features.

Why this product is good

  • Xamarin is a popular open-source platform developed by Microsoft for building cross-platform mobile applications. It allows developers to use a single codebase written in C# to create native apps for Android, iOS, and Windows. Xamarin is known for its integration with the .NET ecosystem, enabling developers to leverage shared code, libraries, and tools across multiple platforms. It offers access to native APIs and performance optimizations, making it a solid choice for developers familiar with C# and the .NET framework.

Recommended for

  • Developers proficient in C# and .NET
  • Teams looking to build native apps with a single codebase
  • Projects where integration with Microsoft services is a priority
  • Enterprises with existing .NET infrastructure aiming to expand into mobile

Analysis of Sencha

Overall verdict

  • Sencha is a good choice for developers seeking a comprehensive, all-in-one solution for building complex and data-intensive web applications. Its rich feature set and strong support make it appealing for large-scale and enterprise-level development. However, the learning curve and licensing costs may be considerations for smaller projects or teams.

Why this product is good

  • Sencha, the framework behind Ext JS, provides developers with a robust set of tools for building modern web applications. Its strengths include a comprehensive component library, powerful data-driven features, and a responsive design system. Sencha also offers extensive documentation and support, making it a strong choice for enterprise-level projects that demand reliability and scalability.

Recommended for

  • Enterprise applications
  • Data-driven web applications
  • Teams that require comprehensive support and documentation
  • Developers experienced with JavaScript libraries seeking a powerful framework

Xamarin videos

Pros and Cons of Xamarin Development

More videos:

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

Sencha videos

Ext JS in 65 Seconds - Powerful JavaScript Framework for Web App Development

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Xamarin and Sencha)
Developer Tools
80 80%
20% 20
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Software Development
0 0%
100% 100
App Development
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 Xamarin and Sencha

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.

Sencha Reviews

10 Best Tools to Develop Cross-Platform Desktop Apps 
Sencha Ext JS is great to build desktop apps across platforms with the model-view-controller architecture (also MVVM) and modern UI. Its key features include a flexible layout manager that manages multiple screens and browsers, the functionality to pull up data from any backend, a powerful data package, and customisable user interface design. It boasts 140+ pre-built UI...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Xamarin seems to be more popular. 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.

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 / 3 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 / 12 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

Sencha mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Sencha yet. Tracking of Sencha recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

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

Android Studio - Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA

OutSystems - Build Enterprise-Grade Apps Fast.

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.

Adobe AIR - Adobe® AIR® runtime enables developers to package the same code into native apps for Windows and Mac OS desktops, iPhone, iPad, Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet & Android. Buy now.

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

Firebase - Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications for mobile and web.