Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Xamarin VS Wallaby.js

Compare Xamarin VS Wallaby.js and see what are their differences

Xamarin logo Xamarin

Create iOS, Android and Mac apps in C#

Wallaby.js logo Wallaby.js

Wallaby.js runs your JavaScript tests immediately as you type and displays execution results in your code editor.
  • Xamarin Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17
  • Wallaby.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-26

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.

Wallaby.js features and specs

  • Fast Feedback
    Wallaby.js provides immediate feedback by running tests as you type, allowing developers to identify and fix issues quickly.
  • Inline Code Coverage
    It displays code coverage information directly in the editor, helping developers see which lines of code are covered by tests and which are not.
  • Productivity Boost
    By automating testing processes and providing real-time results, Wallaby.js enhances productivity, allowing developers to focus more on writing code rather than managing tests.
  • Integration
    Wallaby.js integrates with popular IDEs like Visual Studio Code, JetBrains IDEs, and more, offering flexibility in various development environments.
  • Advanced Configuration
    The tool provides advanced configuration options, allowing developers to tailor the testing environment to suit their specific project needs.

Possible disadvantages of Wallaby.js

  • Cost
    Wallaby.js is a commercial product with a price tag, which might not be suitable for all developers or projects, especially open-source or hobby projects.
  • Complexity
    With its advanced features and options, there might be a learning curve for some developers, especially those who are new to such tools.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running continuous tests can be resource intensive, potentially slowing down the development environment on less powerful machines.
  • Limited Language Support
    Wallaby.js primarily supports JavaScript, TypeScript, and related frameworks, which may not be suitable for projects using other programming languages.
  • Environment Dependence
    Its full benefits are best experienced with supported IDEs, potentially limiting its utility in environments outside of those IDEs.

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

Xamarin videos

Pros and Cons of Xamarin Development

More videos:

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

Wallaby.js videos

introduction to wallaby.js STEP1(make library as jQuery plugin)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Xamarin and Wallaby.js)
Developer Tools
90 90%
10% 10
Development Tools
88 88%
12% 12
App Development
100 100%
0% 0
Rapid Application Development

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 Wallaby.js

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.

Wallaby.js Reviews

We have no reviews of Wallaby.js yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Xamarin should be more popular than Wallaby.js. 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 / about 1 year 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
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Wallaby.js mentions (7)

  • Are there any continuous testing tools with real-time line-by-line IDE feedback for Rust?
    Basically I'm looking for https://wallabyjs.com/ for Rust. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Testing in ReScript
    Besides bindings for JavaScript libraries, there is rescript-test - a lightweight test framework written in ReScript for ReScript. I have heard that some people like it, but for me, it lacks coverage output and Wallaby support. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • I'd like to use a REPL in my workflow for getting feedback on my code. Is this a reasonable ask? If not, how do you check your code as you go?
    I’m a Clojure(script) dev learning TS. My Clojure REPL flow is Cursive + IntelliJ. The closest equivalent I’ve found is https://quokkajs.com for inline evaluation and https://wallabyjs.com for test evaluation. Both are paid products but have free 30 day evaluation periods. Both work in IntelliJ and VsCode. Source: over 2 years ago
  • [AskJS] Current Issues with Jest Output and Workflow
    Https://wallabyjs.com/ covers pretty much every testing related needs for me. Source: about 3 years ago
  • jest package with highlighting results in window
    I recently switched from webstorm to emacs ( I'm super noob in emacs and lisp :) ) and one tool which I need was wallaby but unfortunately I didn't find anything like that for emacs. Source: about 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Xamarin and Wallaby.js, you can also consider the following products

Android Studio - Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA

WompMobile - WompMobile offers tow kind of functions – first creating new mobile apps and secondly converting the websites into mobile applications.

OutSystems - Build Enterprise-Grade Apps Fast.

Oracle Mobile Application - Oracle Mobile Application framework or Oracle Mobile Application development platform is a hybrid mobile framework for rapidly developing single source applications for many platforms and devices.

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.

AppGyver Composer - Visual enterprise-grade low code mobile app builder