Ionic vs Xamarin

Ionic and Xamarin, at first glance, appear to be very similar beasts. They both promise the magical ability to write code once and deploy it across multiple devices, thus preventing developers from weeping uncontrollably while trying to debug separate iOS and Android versions. They both let you poke around with native features, offer UI components that try to look native and generally give the impression that cross-platform development isn’t an elaborate prank played by the universe. In theory, you could build anything from a grocery list app to a dystopian AI assistant with either of them.

But Ionic, you see, is more of a flashy web magician. It waves its hands with JavaScript, CSS and HTML, making hybrid apps appear as if by sorcery—though really, it’s just a cleverly disguised WebView. It was born in 2013 in the United States by people who thought, "Why not just use web technologies for everything?" This means that if you’ve ever made a website and wondered what it would be like as a mobile app, Ionic is your guy. It’s particularly fond of PWAs, which are essentially websites that have decided they want to be apps when they grow up.

Xamarin, on the other hand, takes itself a bit more seriously. Originally launched in 2011 by a bunch of people in the U.S. who probably drank a lot of coffee, it later got adopted by Microsoft, which meant it was destined to wear a suit and tie. Xamarin speaks C# and .NET fluently, compiles things properly instead of just pretending and is the kind of framework you choose when you need real, serious, grown-up performance. If you need deep access to platform APIs and an app that can handle itself like a professional, Xamarin is probably the better bet—though you might have to shake hands with some Microsoft documentation first.

See also: Top 10 Mobile App Builders