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Xamarin Platform pros and cons

Vendor: Microsoft
4.1 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Xamarin Platform allows developers to share a platform-agnostic common core, enabling code for all targeted mobile platforms while simplifying maintenance and updates.
Developers can leverage their existing knowledge of C# to easily transition to Xamarin, significantly reducing the skill barrier for development and testing.
The integration with Visual Studio makes Xamarin Platform familiar for those already using .NET framework tools, facilitating a smoother development experience.
Cross-platform development saves time by using one code base that works for both Android and iOS, reducing overhead and team size for projects.
Xamarin Essentials package and Microsoft support enhance the platform's appeal by providing a robust set of tools and reliable technical support.

CONS

Xamarin needs improvement in performance, especially on the Android platform, and the overall development tools.
There is a lack of support and integration for third-party libraries, particularly from major providers like Microsoft and Google.
Xamarin's application size is large, necessitating optimization to reduce file size and improve efficiency.
The transition to .NET MAUI is affecting several features and may require adaptation to new changes.
Documentation for enterprise-level solutions in Xamarin could be enhanced to support developers more effectively.
 

Xamarin Platform Pros review quotes

BS
System Analyst at Intersoft Data Labs
May 21, 2018
For me, developing apps for iOS and Android is a dream came true, without migrating to Objective-C or Java. Xamarin enables me to do so.
it_user877128 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
May 23, 2018
Xamarin.Forms exposes a complete cross-platform UI toolkit for .NET developers. The advantage is that a single team can target multiple platforms (Android, iOS, and Windows) on a shared C# codebase.
it_user877149 - PeerSpot reviewer
C#/Xamarin/Mobile Technical Lead at a tech vendor with 1-10 employees
May 23, 2018
The most valuable features are: One language for all platforms: C#; XAML for UI in Xamarin.Forms; provides 100 percent coverage of APIs on each platform.
Learn what your peers think about Xamarin Platform. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user877152 - PeerSpot reviewer
Xamarin Forms Sr. / Team Leader
May 23, 2018
Xamarin makes it easy to create white label applications for all platforms.
JZ
Mobile Apps Team Lead, Scrum Master, Senior App Developer (Xamarin, Android) at a music company with 51-200 employees
May 23, 2018
Cross-platform development saves time and provides consistencies.
it_user879252 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
May 28, 2018
Recently, Xamarin has added a lot of features such as Effects, Behaviors, Triggers, etc. This has made the UI user-friendly, lively, and attractive.
KS
Xamarin Developer
Mar 29, 2019
It usually saves time for application development. We write once and the code works everywhere.
NC
Technical Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
May 28, 2018
We very much like the XAML design techniques, multiple layout and pages, MVVMCross support, and portability across different platforms.
MH
Manager Mobile Software Development at SEAMGEN, LLC
May 28, 2018
The Xamarin platform can reduce overhead significantly through code-share and reuse. The typical team size for a Xamarin project is significantly reduced compared to purely native projects.
it_user879264 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mobile Practice Director
May 28, 2018
It has significantly reduced the skill barrier for development and testers.
 

Xamarin Platform Cons review quotes

BS
System Analyst at Intersoft Data Labs
May 21, 2018
All Xamarin library issues need to be taken care of as a top priority.
it_user877128 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
May 23, 2018
For those who use only XAML to design the UI, it would be better if there was a better XAML previewer or designer.
it_user877149 - PeerSpot reviewer
C#/Xamarin/Mobile Technical Lead at a tech vendor with 1-10 employees
May 23, 2018
I would like to see hot reload, similar to what Flutter has out-of-the-box. There is "Live Reload" but it’s still in preview and was only recently announced.
Learn what your peers think about Xamarin Platform. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user877152 - PeerSpot reviewer
Xamarin Forms Sr. / Team Leader
May 23, 2018
Needs to improve the customization of its screens.
JZ
Mobile Apps Team Lead, Scrum Master, Senior App Developer (Xamarin, Android) at a music company with 51-200 employees
May 23, 2018
The performance needs improvement, especially the dev tools, and also the ultimate output of the mobile applications.
it_user879252 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
May 28, 2018
I feel that the Android AppCompat library creates a lot of issues. A lot of development time is often wasted solving these issues.
KS
Xamarin Developer
Mar 29, 2019
They need to take a step towards independence from the UI platform. It takes a lot of time to adapt the native controls.
NC
Technical Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
May 28, 2018
It needs offline sync capabilities to store data on devices persistently.
MH
Manager Mobile Software Development at SEAMGEN, LLC
May 28, 2018
Xamarin's profiling tools are only available for the highest tier of MSDN subscription and compatibility with platform-native profiling tools is rather lacking. This causes friction when working on performance-related issues.
it_user879264 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mobile Practice Director
May 28, 2018
The worst build issue concerns are the caching process MSBuild uses to reduce the build time.