Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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
6th
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 May 2025, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Appium is 4.2%, down from 7.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Apple Xcode is 2.3%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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 library is extensive so the driver interacts with most functions or actions on mobile devices."
"We get a list that shows all devices that are connected to the system."
"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."
"Appium's wide support of programming languages is valuable."
"The most valuable feature of Appium is it supports iOS and AOS and is open-source."
"The solution is easy to use."
"Appium provides a record-and-play option, and the commands are the same as those that Selenium uses. So a person who has some exposure to Selenium will be able to write a piece of code in Appium."
"Appium's best feature is that it supports multiple frameworks."
"Xcode has quite a bit of code error checking built-in, which is great. It also goes a step further and suggests fixes."
"We like the ease of access and navigation that this solution provides."
"The tool's most valuable features are debugging and code management."
"It is stable and user-friendly."
"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."
 

Cons

"The deployment process and configuration are quite complex and require improvement."
"Appium can improve when the case fails, there should be a feature where you can generate the report from Appium. Once you're on a test case, automatically the screenshot should be captured which would avoid manual intervention. These features would be beneficial to migrate to Appium."
"The user interface needs improvement because there are issues when setting up environment variables."
"Support-wise, it could be better."
"I rarely use Appium nowadays because I'm now at the managerial level, but the last time I used it, whenever I selected and clicked on an element, Appium was very slow. I tried to debug it, but I still couldn't find the problem, so this is an area for improvement in the solution. Another area for improvement lies with the connector and server. For example, the effort to get into the local machine sometimes causes the emulator to become slow, which then leads to failure in testing, and this is the usual issue I've encountered from Appium. An additional feature I'd like added to Appium in its next release is being able to do automation in iOS without using XPath and the name of the element. In Xcode, you can use previous UI tests for detecting elements, but in Appium, you have to use Xpath and the element name instead of being able to directly put the X-UiPath, which is what you can do in Xcode. In iOS as well, sometimes the element doesn't have a name or a path. Sometimes, there's also no element."
"Configuration-wise, there is a lot of room for improvement."
"One thing which can be really helpful is that there is some kind of a recorder made available rather than scripting everything."
"The setup and installation were a problem for us at first."
"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."
"There is a drag-and-drop visual system, but as soon as you do something dynamic, then you are unable to use it."
"It is a bit challenging to sign in."
"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."
"It consists of multiple components and needs a simplified process. This particular area could be more stable."
"The size of Apple Xcode could improve. It is too large."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Appium is free and open-source."
"This is an open source solution so it does not cost anything for licensing or otherwise."
"Appium is open source; we can use it for free."
"The solution is open source."
"Appian is open-source, which is not licensed."
"The solution is open source so it is free."
"It's open source, so it's completely free."
"The price is good for people to be able to make a favorable decision for the value."
"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."
"We don't have to pay for Apple Xcode's licenses."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Mobile Development Platforms solutions are best for your needs.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
University
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.