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Magic xpa Application Platform vs Microsoft .NET Framework comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 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

Magic xpa Application Platform
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
15th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (9th), Mobile Development Platforms (11th)
Microsoft .NET Framework
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Magic xpa Application Platform is 3.4%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft .NET Framework is 3.9%, down from 5.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft .NET Framework3.9%
Magic xpa Application Platform3.4%
Other92.7%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Mylsamy T. - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Associate - IT at Himalaya Wellness Company
Enables us to develop more than 90 applications in-house, which are used across our organization
It's a bit difficult to work with purely web-based applications to get the data and display it. There have been a few times when the connection was disconnected between the server and your browser. The connectivity on browser-built applications needs to be improved. The mobile application development could be easier. They could include different external applications, like finger sensors. I'm not sure whether it's in version 3.8 or not.
PavanKumar18 - PeerSpot reviewer
QA Analyst at iSpace Inc
Improved security and streamlined cloud deployments have reduced maintenance and simplified troubleshooting
The Visual Studio ID that we are using requires more RAM and IP. Sometimes it goes high on this phone exchange, and it crashes sometimes. We have to review this with Microsoft itself. That is something we do not understand. The breakage goes up, and I think it was the process that decreased, but still partitions are there somehow in Cloudera Selami. We do not even understand what the issue is. I think six more RAM would help.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Typically an experienced Magic developer can do the work of two to three experienced C#/.NET developers."
"Speed of development and database connectivity (MS SQL, Oracle, DB2, Btrieve/Pervasive PSQL, ODBC, MySql, and SQLite)."
"Magic’s unique approach to development ensures that the programmer stays focused on the objective of the program (i.e. display all customers in California), instead of the repetitive tasks that surround it (i.e. connect to database, open customers table, create the query to retrieve records within the specified criteria, fetch the result of the query, connect it to a data grid, etc.)."
"I think this is a good tool for making some nice applications independent of the operating system, database, and environment."
"Without the need to compile code, the time spent in the development cycle is greatly reduced, allowing the programmer to test modifications to a program immediately after they have been saved."
"Magic’s Database Gateway allows the logic of the program to be isolated from the underlying database. This provides the flexibility not only to move existing programs to different database environments without the need to change the logic in the program but also allows the programmer access to different databases without the need to know how to "talk" to them."
"xpa gives us a fast development speed."
"In spite of the solution's high cost, we see a very large return on our investment."
"The most valuable features for us are web frameworks like MVC, Web API, and WCS."
"The solution is easy to use if the user is a developer or some technical person."
"The good thing with the .NET framework is that it allows you to develop an application faster and in a professional way."
"The tool offers a lot of support, and there is a lot of knowledge material available, along with a lot of community groups."
"The solution is not limited in storage, is customizable and simple to use."
"The APIs are completely effective."
"This is a solution that I recommend, but the best versions to have are 3.5 and 4."
"Microsoft has tested the solution and our experience with it has shown us that, while it is not as fast as some of our other software-devoted platforms, it is very stable."
 

Cons

"Magic has a tradition, when it adds new technologies/features to the Magic development tool, to provide either no documentation or documentation that does not provide an organized approach for bringing this new technology/feature to experienced Magic programmers."
"The ability to display page up, page down, top and bottom buttons along the scroll bar would make my mouse-reliant customers happy."
"Support is very bad. The main focus is placed on their own customers, big banks and big insurance companies, so those, like us, who are independent software vendors, are ignored."
"Debugging .NET snippets is not possible, so it lacks the effects to solve problems. First you have to write and test your .NET code in VS, then you have to copy the .NET code in Magic xpa because there is almost nothing to debug it."
"It is missing basic charting tools for bar/pie/series charts. It is left to the developer to acquire and deploy charting tools or the customer to purchase a third-party reporting tool to produce charts."
"The company has now released version 4 for web development, but this new release is still pretty hard to use for mobile and web development because it was not improved as much as we expected in the areas of user-friendliness or development-friendliness."
"When you have several tasks, you open a screen in a task in developing mode, and you don't see the parent screens. Debugging lacks the effects to solve problems. You have to do it first in a kind of studio. Then you have to be sure that you can do it in Magic because there is almost nothing to debug it. It's practically impossible to debug. You have to be sure before you put your snippets."
"The user interface could be improved to be more friendly for developers."
"Lacking in auto-scaling."
"Like in C#, Microsoft .NET Framework should provide code reusability options for all kinds of development processes."
"Microsoft .NET Framework has a steep learning curve, which could be improved."
"The Visual Studio ID that we are using requires more RAM and IP."
"Improvements are needed in .NET development, particularly in a backend scenario."
"The significant challenge is that you need an enterprise-level company to maintain software in Microsoft .NET Framework with a proper structure."
"This solution should include Power BI so that we don't have to use any third-party tools."
"The initial setup is complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are different licenses, we have the application and the online application. There are two different licenses for two different program sites for the Magic xpa Application Platform."
"The licensing cost varies because nowadays Magic has tailor-made offerings for clients. I think the solution is worth the money."
"Magic is not the cheapest IDE out there. If you are considering Magic xpa, you should do a cost-benefit analysis to feel comfortable with your decision. The Magic sales staff is very helpful in providing pricing."
"My clients have to purchase additional licenses in order to use what I built. It's not a fair approach."
"The cost for developers is high because you have to pay for licenses as well as runtime."
"It's not cheap. The licenses are not cheap. Not at all. They cost much money. There are other tools with free licenses but Magic asks for a lot of money."
"The main problem with the Magic xpa Application Platform is pricing. You have to pay a lot of money for development, and you also have to pay a lot for the deployments and runtime, while in most competitors, you have to pay a lot for one of the two and not both."
"The licensing is too costly."
"The solution is free but you need to pay for a license for the hosting service."
"The solution is a bit costly when compared to open source products or open gear licenses."
"Considering the bigger picture, opting for the Microsoft ecosystem can be beneficial and it is priced well. When relying on entirely open-source solutions, you may encounter challenges associated with dealing with multiple vendors and potentially compromised security measures. However, it is important to note that Microsoft could enhance its performance when it comes to addressing critical security concerns."
"For the moment I can only give the product a rating of five out of ten since only some of the customers will be satisfied, those that have the financial resources for hosting a platform on Windows Server."
"In the interim, there's no need to purchase videos for viewing. Microsoft has made significant moves in the .NET space, starting with their response in Visual Studio Code and now providing Visual Studio entirely for free. This is a notable shift from the past when we used to pay substantial amounts for technical subscriptions. Previously, a group of ten developers could cost several thousand dollars annually for licensing. However, the current trend is to offer these tools for free to maintain their dominance in the developer market. The market dynamics have changed, and now developers can freely download Visual Studio, making it a preferred choice over other paid options."
"Microsoft .NET Framework is very cost-effective for corporate users."
"The product’s pricing is a bit high."
"The product is not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
15%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft .NET Framework?
I don't know about pricing. I'm paying for Visual Studio, even though I'm not using the new version yet. Prices can always be better, but I think for the environment provided, the prices are accept...
What needs improvement with Microsoft .NET Framework?
The Visual Studio ID that we are using requires more RAM and IP. Sometimes it goes high on this phone exchange, and it crashes sometimes. We have to review this with Microsoft itself. That is somet...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft .NET Framework?
We have been using the Viasat QoS, which is a web application platform. We are using a part of this web application. Regarding Nexity, we are not getting whatever they are offering, but it is fine ...
 

Also Known As

uniPaaS
MS .NET Framework
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ADD, Cape plc, Adecco, Kuno Kinzoku Industry Co., GE Capital, Dove Tree, CBS Outdoor, Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, Allstate Life Insurance Company, Titan Software Systems
Curtin University, Rockwell Automation, Aruba Networks, Insurity Inc., City of Barcelona, Pennsylvania DCNR, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, A1 Telekom Austria AG, Eastman Chemical Company
Find out what your peers are saying about Magic xpa Application Platform vs. Microsoft .NET Framework and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.