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Appium vs Apple Xcode comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Appium
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Regression Testing Tools (6th)
Apple Xcode
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Appium is 3.8%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Apple Xcode is 2.6%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mobile Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Appium3.8%
Apple Xcode2.6%
Other93.6%
Mobile Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Luis Gerardo Meneses Hernandez - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows for direct interaction with an application's DOM but complex configuration
What I like about Appium right now is that it's like Cypress in the sense that I can get to the new DOM of the application and select the components and create the functions to test the components in the way I want them to be tested. That's why I like it right now.
Daniel Bell - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, up-to-date, and straightforward installation
The scalability of Apple Xcode is good. It can scale to any engineer team size. I have worked at a company using this solution with 30 iOS engineers and the current company I work at has four engineers. Our numbers are growing and we will increase usage of the solution.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution is stable."
"The interface is user-friendly, which is beneficial for users, even for those who are new to it."
"The most valuable features of Appium are the in-built functionality, which we can use in our code. For example, move back, move front, navigate one page before, and navigate one page ahead. You can do this by using the in-built functions from Appium."
"The most valuable feature of Appium is it supports iOS and AOS and is open-source."
"I haven't explored other solutions in this particular area, but what I like best about Appium is the fact that it shares functions with Selenium. The extension of Selenium functions allows me to use all of the methods that exist in that domain, and it just makes it simpler for me. I've been using Selenium for some time as well, so using Appium just seems like a natural fit for me."
"We do not need to pay for the solution. It’s free."
"The latest versions of the solution are stable."
"It can be used with different programming languages."
"The tool's most valuable features are debugging and code management."
"Xcode has quite a bit of code error checking built-in, which is great. It also goes a step further and suggests fixes."
"Xcode is pretty smart. It's easy to set up and works perfectly on Android."
"It is complete and relevant to the job at hand."
"The most valuable feature of Apple Xcode is that it is up to date."
"It is stable and user-friendly."
"We like the ease of access and navigation that this solution provides."
 

Cons

"The installation part of Appium is somewhat clumsy, requiring numerous dependencies and configurations."
"The user interface needs improvement because there are issues when setting up environment variables."
"Configuring the project to be used in Appium is a little bit tedious."
"The deployment process and configuration are quite complex and require improvement."
"The tool needs to add a dependency manager."
"Configuration-wise, there is a lot of room for improvement."
"Stability is an area that needs some improvement."
"We previously worked with native applications, and there weren't any good mobile app testing tools. We started working with React Native, which works well with Appium, but it would be good to see better integration; the way elements are displayed can be messy. React Native is very popular nowadays, so it's essential to have that compatibility."
"There should be additional documentation on App Store deployment. In terms of features, they're pretty much on top of where they need to go. I've been happy with its progress so far. As things evolve, they need to evolve to match that need."
"The size of Apple Xcode could improve. It is too large."
"It is a bit challenging to sign in."
"It consists of multiple components and needs a simplified process. This particular area could be more stable."
"As Apple has introduced more and more features on top of Xcode, it sometimes, but very rarely, hangs."
"We would like a 'light' version of this solution to be developed, as it currently uses a lot of memory space."
"There is a drag-and-drop visual system, but as soon as you do something dynamic, then you are unable to use it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free."
"Appian is open-source, which is not licensed."
"The solution is open source so it is free."
"As far as I know, Appium is a free solution. It's not for commercial use."
"It's completely 100% free, and there are no hidden fees."
"This is an open source solution so it does not cost anything for licensing or otherwise."
"The solution is open-source."
"The pricing of Appium is fine."
"We don't have to pay for Apple Xcode's licenses."
"It has an annual renewal."
"You can start off using Apple Xcode for free but if you start using some more of their enhanced features, it's going to be hundreds of dollars a month. There are corporate licenses but most individual users will not be worried about the corporate license, only your CFO will or the person in charge of the software department."
"There are no licensing costs for Xcode and no hidden charges. You just download it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

Do you recommend Appium?
I do recommend Appium. It is an open-source solution and completely free of charge. We use Appium and Appium Studio as our base for any type of mobile automation for testing. It has a great interfa...
What do you like most about Appium?
Appium helps me to do as much as much as I want to.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Appium?
My experience with Appium from a pricing perspective is favorable due to it being open source, making it a cost-effective option.
What do you like most about Apple Xcode?
The tool's most valuable features are debugging and code management.
What needs improvement with Apple Xcode?
Apple Xcode's usability for developers needs enhancement. It consists of multiple components and needs a simplified process. This particular area could be more stable.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nuvizz, Coupa Software, Eventbrite, Evernote
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Appium vs. Apple Xcode and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.