Framework7 vs Ionic vs Xamarin

Overview

Xamarin

Stacks1.3K

Followers1.5K

Votes785

Ionic

Stacks9.5K

Followers8.6K

Votes1.8K

Framework7

Stacks141

Followers331

Votes171

Framework7 vs Ionic vs Xamarin: What are the differences?

Introduction

In the world of mobile app development, there are several frameworks available that provide different features and capabilities. Three popular frameworks in this space are Framework7, Ionic, and Xamarin. Each of these frameworks has its own unique set of features and benefits. In this article, we will explore the key differences between Framework7 and Ionic and Xamarin.

Integration with Native Features: One major difference between Framework7, Ionic, and Xamarin is their approach to integrating with native features of mobile devices. Framework7 is primarily focused on web development and does not have direct access to native features. It provides a wide range of UI components and animations, but for native functionality, developers need to use Cordova/PhoneGap plugins. On the other hand, Ionic is built on top of AngularJS and provides a set of UI components as well as Cordova plugins for accessing native features. Xamarin, in contrast, allows developers to build truly native apps using C# and provides seamless integration with native features of iOS and Android.
Programming Language and Developer Skillset: Framework7 is based on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It is a good choice for web developers who are familiar with these technologies and want to build mobile apps with similar tools. Ionic also uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but it is built on top of AngularJS, a popular JavaScript framework, so developers need to have knowledge of AngularJS as well. In contrast, Xamarin uses C# as the primary programming language, so developers with a background in C# or .NET can easily start building cross-platform mobile apps.
Performance: Another significant difference between Framework7, Ionic, and Xamarin is the performance of the apps built with these frameworks. Framework7 uses native web technologies, which can sometimes result in slower performance compared to truly native apps. Ionic, on the other hand, uses a hybrid approach that combines web technologies with a native container, resulting in better performance than Framework7. Xamarin, being a truly native framework, delivers the best performance as apps built with Xamarin are compiled into native code.
Community and Support: The size and activity of the developer community can greatly impact the learning curve, availability of resources, and overall support for a framework. Ionic and Xamarin have larger and more active communities compared to Framework7. This larger community size ensures more readily available resources, tutorials, and forums to seek help from. Additionally, Ionic and Xamarin have official documentation and support channels, making it easier for developers to get assistance when needed.
Development and Deployment Process: Framework7 and Ionic both allow for quick prototyping and development as they are based on web technologies and provide various UI components out of the box. However, when it comes to deploying the app to different platforms, there are differences. Framework7 requires the use of Cordova/PhoneGap and its plugins for packaging and deploying the app as a hybrid app on iOS and Android. Ionic also uses Cordova for app packaging, but it provides additional tooling, such as Ionic CLI, to streamline the deployment process. Xamarin, being a fully native framework, follows the standard and platform-specific development and deployment processes.
Cost: The cost of using Framework7, Ionic, and Xamarin varies depending on the requirements and goals of the project. Framework7 is an open-source framework, so it is free to use. Ionic offers both free and paid versions, with additional features and support in the paid version. Xamarin, on the other hand, is owned by Microsoft and is part of the Visual Studio suite. It offers both free and paid versions, with the paid version providing additional features and support.

In summary, Framework7, Ionic, and Xamarin have distinct differences in terms of native feature integration, programming language, performance, community support, development and deployment process, and cost. The choice of framework depends on the specific needs and preferences of the project, as well as the expertise and skillset of the development team.

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CLI (Node.js)

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Advice on Xamarin, Ionic, Framework7

Gabor

CTO at momento.

Aug 23, 2021

Decided

As a startup, we need the maximum flexibility and the ability to reach our customers in a more suitable way. So a hybrid application approach is the best because it allows you to develop a cross-platform application in a unique codebase. The choice behind Ionic is Angular, I think that angular is the best framework to develop a complex application that needs a lot of service interaction, its modularity forces you (the developer) to write the code in the correct way, so it can be maintainable and reusable.

209k views209k

Comments

Anonymous

CEO at ME!

Jun 7, 2020

Decided

While with Ionic it is possible to make mobile applications with only web technologies, Flutter is more performant and is easy to use if you are willing to learn Dart, which is a fun language. Plus, it has awesome documentation and, while its ecosystem isn't near as big as JavaScript's is, it has a good package manager called Pub and its packages are generally high quality.

403k views403k

Comments

William

CEO at Stealth Startup

Feb 11, 2021

Needs adviceon

lambda

Amazon DynamoDB

Windows

We are developing an AWS IoT app for large boats. The IoT devices have sensors all over the boat for engine oil pressure, position, water depth, fuel level, crew location, etc. When the boat has internet, we interact with AWS cloud using lambda and Amazon DynamoDB. When the boat is offshore, the captain and crew still need normal and emergency alerts and real-time sensor information. The crew might have an Android or IoS phone or a Windows or macOS PC to receive alerts and interact with sensors. We may use the AWS GreenGrasss edge computing solution and either MQTT or HTML for that function.

Question: We want to develop a cross-platform client to run on Windows, Mac, Android, IOS, and possibly Linux. We are primarily Python programmers, so PyQt or Kivy are options for us, but we have heard good things about React Native, Flutter, Xamarin, and others. We think an AWS Greengrass core on an RPI4 could communicate to the client with MQTT or a local webserver with a client web interface.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

464k views464k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Xamarin	Ionic	Framework7
Xamarin’s Mono-based products enable .NET developers to use their existing code, libraries and tools (including Visual Studio*), as well as skills in .NET and the C# programming language, to create mobile applications for the industry’s most widely-used mobile devices, including Android-based smartphones and tablets, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.	Free and open source, Ionic offers a library of mobile and desktop-optimized HTML, CSS and JS components for building highly interactive apps. Use with Angular, React, Vue, or plain JavaScript.	It is a free and open source mobile HTML framework to develop hybrid mobile apps or web apps with iOS native look and feel. All you need to make it work is a simple HTML layout and attached framework's CSS and JS files.
Cross-platform development- Thinking about supporting iOS, Android, Mac and Windows? Xamarin allows you to write it all in C#.;Reuse existing code- Use your favorite .NET libraries in Xamarin apps. Easily use third-party native libraries and frameworks.; Discover as you type- Explore APIs as you type with code autocompletion.;Visual Studio or Xamarin Studio- Create, build, debug, and deploy apps in Visual Studio. Or use Xamarin Studio, a fully-featured IDE that is built for mobile app development.;Native UI, Native Performance- Xamarin delivers high performance compiled code with full access to all the native APIs so you can create native apps with device-specific experiences.; Point and Click UI Design- Xamarin provides a world class Android UI designer. Use Apple Xcode UI designer to create interfaces and Storyboards that automatically sync with your Xamarin.iOS project.	Performance obsessed;Utilizes Angular and React;Native focused;Beautifully designed;Based on Web Components;	iOS Specific;UI Components;Swipe Actions;Easy To Customize;Native Scrolling;Multiple Views
Statistics
Stacks 1.3K	Stacks 9.5K	Stacks 141
Followers 1.5K	Followers 8.6K	Followers 331
Votes 785	Votes 1.8K	Votes 171
Pros & Cons
Pros 121 Power of c# on mobile devices 81 Native performance 79 Native apps with native ui controls 73 No javascript - truely compiled code 67 Sharing more than 90% of code over all platforms Cons 9 Build times 5 Visual Studio 4 Price 3 Complexity 3 Scalability	Pros 248 Allows for rapid prototyping 228 Hybrid mobile 208 It's angularjs 186 Free 179 It's javascript, html, and css Cons 20 Not suitable for high performance or UI intensive apps 15 Not meant for game development 2 Not a native app	Pros 21 Free and open source 20 Well designed 17 Material design 15 Lots of ready-to-use ui elements, easy to customize 12 Best performance Cons 1 Not suitable for high performance in PWA. desktop apps
Integrations
No integrations available	No integrations available	React Vue.js Svelte

What are some alternatives to Xamarin, Ionic, Framework7?

Flutter

Flutter is a mobile app SDK to help developers and designers build modern mobile apps for iOS and Android.

React Native

React Native enables you to build world-class application experiences on native platforms using a consistent developer experience based on JavaScript and React. The focus of React Native is on developer efficiency across all the platforms you care about - learn once, write anywhere. Facebook uses React Native in multiple production apps and will continue investing in React Native.

NativeScript

NativeScript enables developers to build native apps for iOS, Android and Windows Universal while sharing the application code across the platforms. When building the application UI, developers use our libraries, which abstract the differences between the native platforms.

Apache Cordova

Apache Cordova is a set of device APIs that allow a mobile app developer to access native device function such as the camera or accelerometer from JavaScript. Combined with a UI framework such as jQuery Mobile or Dojo Mobile or Sencha Touch, this allows a smartphone app to be developed with just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Qt

Qt, a leading cross-platform application and UI framework. With Qt, you can develop applications once and deploy to leading desktop, embedded & mobile targets.

PhoneGap

PhoneGap is a web platform that exposes native mobile device apis and data to JavaScript. PhoneGap is a distribution of Apache Cordova. PhoneGap allows you to use standard web technologies such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript for cross-platform development, avoiding each mobile platforms' native development language. Applications execute within wrappers targeted to each platform, and rely on standards-compliant API bindings to access each device's sensors, data, and network status.

Expo

It is a framework and a platform for universal React applications. It is a set of tools and services built around React Native and native platforms that help you develop, build, deploy, and quickly iterate on iOS, Android, and web apps.

Vue Native

Vue Native is a mobile framework to build truly native mobile app using Vue.js. Its is designed to connect React Native and Vue.js. Vue Native is a wrapper around React Native APIs, which allows you to use Vue.js and compose rich mobile User Interface.

Shoutem UI

Shoutem UI is a set of styleable components that enables you to build beautiful React Native applications for iOS and Android. All of our components are built to be both composable and customizable.

Sencha Touch

Sencha Touch 2, a high-performance HTML5 mobile application framework, is the cornerstone of the Sencha HTML5 platform. Built for enabling world-class user experiences, Sencha Touch 2 is the only framework that enables developers to build fast and impressive apps that work on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Kindle Fire, and more.

Related Comparisons

Framework7 vs Ionic vs Xamarin: What are the differences?

Introduction

Integration with Native Features: One major difference between Framework7, Ionic, and Xamarin is their approach to integrating with native features of mobile devices. Framework7 is primarily focused on web development and does not have direct access to native features. It provides a wide range of UI components and animations, but for native functionality, developers need to use Cordova/PhoneGap plugins. On the other hand, Ionic is built on top of AngularJS and provides a set of UI components as well as Cordova plugins for accessing native features. Xamarin, in contrast, allows developers to build truly native apps using C# and provides seamless integration with native features of iOS and Android.
Programming Language and Developer Skillset: Framework7 is based on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It is a good choice for web developers who are familiar with these technologies and want to build mobile apps with similar tools. Ionic also uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but it is built on top of AngularJS, a popular JavaScript framework, so developers need to have knowledge of AngularJS as well. In contrast, Xamarin uses C# as the primary programming language, so developers with a background in C# or .NET can easily start building cross-platform mobile apps.
Performance: Another significant difference between Framework7, Ionic, and Xamarin is the performance of the apps built with these frameworks. Framework7 uses native web technologies, which can sometimes result in slower performance compared to truly native apps. Ionic, on the other hand, uses a hybrid approach that combines web technologies with a native container, resulting in better performance than Framework7. Xamarin, being a truly native framework, delivers the best performance as apps built with Xamarin are compiled into native code.
Community and Support: The size and activity of the developer community can greatly impact the learning curve, availability of resources, and overall support for a framework. Ionic and Xamarin have larger and more active communities compared to Framework7. This larger community size ensures more readily available resources, tutorials, and forums to seek help from. Additionally, Ionic and Xamarin have official documentation and support channels, making it easier for developers to get assistance when needed.
Development and Deployment Process: Framework7 and Ionic both allow for quick prototyping and development as they are based on web technologies and provide various UI components out of the box. However, when it comes to deploying the app to different platforms, there are differences. Framework7 requires the use of Cordova/PhoneGap and its plugins for packaging and deploying the app as a hybrid app on iOS and Android. Ionic also uses Cordova for app packaging, but it provides additional tooling, such as Ionic CLI, to streamline the deployment process. Xamarin, being a fully native framework, follows the standard and platform-specific development and deployment processes.
Cost: The cost of using Framework7, Ionic, and Xamarin varies depending on the requirements and goals of the project. Framework7 is an open-source framework, so it is free to use. Ionic offers both free and paid versions, with additional features and support in the paid version. Xamarin, on the other hand, is owned by Microsoft and is part of the Visual Studio suite. It offers both free and paid versions, with the paid version providing additional features and support.

Framework7 vs Ionic vs Xamarin

Overview