Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Xojo VS Xamarin.Forms

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

Xojo logo Xojo

Real Software and Real Studio are now Xojo.

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.
  • Xojo Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-28
  • Xamarin.Forms Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24

Xojo features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Development
    Xojo allows users to create native applications for multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and the web from a single codebase. This simplifies development and reduces the effort required to maintain different versions of the same app.
  • Rapid Application Development
    The Visual IDE (Integrated Development Environment) provided by Xojo enables rapid prototyping and development. Users can drag and drop UI elements, which makes it easy to create complex user interfaces quickly.
  • Versatile Language Support
    Xojo uses a unique language that combines elements from various programming languages. It is straightforward enough for beginners to pick up while still being powerful for more advanced tasks.
  • Active Community and Support
    Xojo has a vibrant community and offers various forms of support, including forums, documentation, and dedicated customer service. This can be very beneficial for troubleshooting and learning best practices.
  • Regular Updates
    The platform receives frequent updates, which include new features, bug fixes, and improvements. This ensures that developers have access to the latest tools and functionalities.

Possible disadvantages of Xojo

  • Performance Limitations
    While Xojo is powerful for developing various applications, it may not be the best choice for highly performance-intensive applications, particularly those requiring extensive optimization.
  • Licensing Costs
    Xojo's licensing model can be considered expensive, especially for individual developers or small teams. The cost may be a barrier for some users considering long-term use.
  • Limited Third-Party Integrations
    Compared to more widely-adopted development platforms, Xojo has fewer third-party libraries and integrations. This limitation can make it harder to extend the platform with additional functionalities.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its simplicity, there is still a learning curve associated with mastering Xojo, especially for developers accustomed to more conventional programming languages. This may require additional time and resources for training.
  • Less Popular
    Xojo is not as widely used as some other development platforms, which means there are fewer resources, tutorials, and third-party tools available. This could be a limiting factor for some developers.

Xamarin.Forms features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Xojo videos

Try Xojo

More videos:

  • Review - What is Xojo?
  • Review - Xojo 2020 with Geoff Perlman

Xamarin.Forms videos

6 IMPORTANT THINGS DIFFERENT ABOUT XAMARIN.FORMS VS XAMARIN NATIVE

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Xojo and Xamarin.Forms)
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Cross-Platform Development
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Xojo and Xamarin.Forms. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

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

Xojo Reviews

12 Best Frameworks and Toolkits to Build Desktop Applications
If you are looking for a beginner-friendly framework, Xojo can be a good option. It is a cross-platform application development framework with a simple drag-and-drop user interface. Developers with basic web development skills can easily use this platform to build desktop applications.
Source: geekflare.com
Frameworks & Tools to Develop Cross-Platform Desktop Apps – Best of
Xojo is a programming environment available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. With its Xojo IDE, it provides an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop UI builder, and its own language for coding your application. The IDE also allows testing the app immediately, and when it’s ready, it converts this app to run on multiple platforms.

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, Xojo seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 5 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.

Xojo mentions (5)

  • PysimpleGUI
    Xojo is basically VB6's spiritual successor. https://xojo.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Why did Visual Basic die?
    For anyone looking for a modern alternative to Visual Basic, you might want to take a look at Xojo. Xojo's a rapid application development platform (both a language and an IDE) that you can use to develop desktop apps (for macOS, Windows, Linux), Web apps, mobile apps (for iOS and Android), as well as console apps. It's been around for more than 20 years, and some of you might remember it from back when it was... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Small Visual Basic
    I really recommend Xojo[1] (formally RealBasic). It’s like a modern VB6 but runs on macOS, Windows and many flavours of Linux. It has very polished drag and drop UI editor. I’ve been developing with it for over 20 years and my 10 year old daughter is now learning programming with it. You can create and debug apps for free and only need a license to deploy an app as a binary so it’s ideal to learn with. Heck, it... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Do any of you code with/on steno?
    I have yet to get into actual programming, but when I do, it will probably be with the multi-platform programming environment called XoJo. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Performance Improvements in .NET 6
    I've been using Xojo (https://xojo.com) for about 15 years now to make cross-platform GUI apps. The language is similar to VB6 but it's been constantly updated. No affiliation, just a happy customer. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago

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 Xojo and Xamarin.Forms, you can also consider the following products

PureBasic - Fantaisie Software Official WebSite. PureBasic - Feel The Pure Power. PureBasic is a programming language based on established BASIC rules.

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.

B4X - Cross platform development tools for native iOS, Android, desktop and server applications.

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

FreeBASIC - FreeBASIC is a completely free, open-source, 32-bit BASIC compiler, with syntax similar to...

DataTables - DataTables is a plug-in for the jQuery Javascript library.