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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

Abhishek-Tiwari - PeerSpot reviewer
Has cross-platform flexibility and a record-and-play option
The challenging part with Appium is that installation can be a bit tricky. It can be challenging to set up in Android versus iOS environments. Appium has some limitations in terms of writing code using simulators and online cloud devices. I faced challenges with native based scenarios, battery turn out percentage, battery charging percentage, and memory capacity. The other challenge I faced involved codes changing from device to device. For example, the piece of code that works in iOS version 10.1 won't work in iOS version 6.0. In upcoming releases, if they can reduce some more of the dependencies like SDK, UIAutomator, etc., it would be great. That is, I'd like to see a consolidated package or bundle release that is much more user-friendly.
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 interface is user-friendly, which is beneficial for users, even for those who are new to it."
"Appium helps me to do as much as much as I want to."
"The automation part is extremely helpful in streamlining our processes."
"We develop apps using the React Native framework, and Appium integrates well for testing those apps. The Appium automation framework also has good integration with GitHub Actions and plenty of other tools and frameworks, including BrowserStack."
"The most valuable feature is that it's easy to launch applications. Appium has everything that Selenium has. So many good tools support Appium. We can take some Excel sheets and use them to fill out the text box that's in there. We can also take screenshots of failures."
"The way Appium server interacts with mobile apps is fantastic. It provides all the information about the elements inside the app, Android as well as iOS. I can interact with the element quickly, just type some text or get some text values from the element - whether it's a drop-down, or web text, or a native element."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of Appium is it supports iOS and AOS and is open-source."
"Xcode is pretty smart. It's easy to set up and works perfectly on Android."
"We like the ease of access and navigation that this solution provides."
"The most valuable feature of Apple Xcode is that it is up to date."
"It is stable and user-friendly."
"Xcode has quite a bit of code error checking built-in, which is great. It also goes a step further and suggests fixes."
"The tool's most valuable features are debugging and code management."
"It is complete and relevant to the job at hand."
 

Cons

"It needs to accommodate applications that use React.js and AngularJS."
"We need some bug fixes for nested elements."
"Configuring the project to be used in Appium is a little bit tedious."
"The challenging part with Appium is that installation can be a bit tricky. It can be challenging to set up in Android versus iOS environments."
"They should add an in-built framework."
"It breaks down."
"The user interface needs improvement because there are issues when setting up environment variables."
"The deployment process and configuration are quite complex and require improvement."
"The size of Apple Xcode could improve. It is too large."
"It is a bit challenging to sign in."
"There is a drag-and-drop visual system, but as soon as you do something dynamic, then you are unable to use it."
"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."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free."
"The solution is open-source."
"The price is good for people to be able to make a favorable decision for the value."
"Appian is open-source, which is not licensed."
"It's completely 100% free, and there are no hidden fees."
"It's open source, so it's completely free."
"We found out that we could explore features of the solution for 30 days trial. We can switch to a permanent license later if we want."
"Appium is open source; we can use it for free."
"There are no licensing costs for Xcode and no hidden charges. You just download it."
"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."
"We don't have to pay for Apple Xcode's licenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
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.
872,778 professionals have used our research since 2012.