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

AWS Amplify vs Appium comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Development Platforms (7th), Regression Testing Tools (6th)
AWS Amplify
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Release Automation (6th)
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Independent consultant, at OpenText
Efficient mobile testing with intuitive emulation capabilities and a user-friendly interface
Initial setup for Appium (especially for iOS) is not beginner-friendly.Consumes too much of your host machine's resources, potentially slowing down the machine.Appium Inspector often lacks deep insight or crashes with certain app builds. Improve test flakiness by intelligently selecting robust self-healing locators,simplified installers, better documentation, GUI-based config management,smart wait mechanisms and better failure logs.
Shrihari Haridas - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps Engineer at Burns & McDonnell
Amplify CLI acts as a single source of truth
The Amplify CLI acts as a single source of truth. You install the SDK from there, and using the Amplify API, you can talk to and manage AWS services directly from your code. You don't need to go to the GUI and click through menus - everything is manageable through the Amplify API at the code level. AWS Amplify integrates seamlessly with other services through AWS CloudFormation. Amplify first connects to the cloud for me. Whenever we write down the SDK, it's managed by CloudFormation. CloudFormation still happens on our cloud for your application because everything is updated with the help of cloud automation. Anything we need to change, we just add it to Amplify, and Amplify triggers the CloudFormation templates. Then it logs permission, updates the whole thing, or whatever you need it to ask.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 solution helps with test automation. We focus mostly on Java."
"Appium's best feature is that it supports multiple frameworks."
"The solution is stable."
"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."
"Appium has easy interaction with mobile."
"The library is extensive so the driver interacts with most functions or actions on mobile devices."
"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."
"The only tricky part I experienced was during the initial installation. I followed the documentation, but it wasn't working for some reason. I had to modify some local files in the CLI-generated folder to get it to work. I had to dig deep to find the issue, and it wasn't mentioned in the docs. So, some issues could be better highlighted in the AWS CLI documentation, which would help developers integrate other services more easily. AWS needs to improve its support."
"One of the things I like best about AWS Amplify is its ease of use and strong integration with other AWS services, which enhances efficiency."
"Typically, whenever we make changes and need to switch environments (e.g., dev to production), it's easy for our developers to maintain the state of each environment and make customizations as needed. They don't necessarily need to involve the cloud team for basic management."
"The link with Figma is very nice. You can create your design in Figma, and then you can import it into AWS Amplify and use it. You can link it to your data source and data bindings."
"The most valuable feature of AWS Amplify is authentication."
"The most valuable feature is user management, which includes authentication and authorization."
"I didn't host my application but have used their backend as a service. It was a complete package with authentication, AWS AppSync, DynamoDB, and GraphQL. AWS Amplify is great if you don't know backend development and don't want to struggle with other backend services like MongoDB. You don't have to worry about what backend language or database to use. If you're confused, enroll with AWS Amplify. I also recommend Google Firebase for similar purposes."
 

Cons

"If it had more facility for configuration it would be a spectacular solution."
"They should add an in-built framework."
"The deployment process and configuration are quite complex and require improvement."
"One area where I think Appium could improve is in addressing security concerns for our data. Currently, we're unable to use cloud solutions like CloudForm due to security restrictions on our servers. We also face challenges in updating packages for the same reason. It would be beneficial if the solution could provide better support for auto-reporting and easier connections to mobile device farms."
"The initial setup is straightforward if you have previous experience with the solution, but it can be complicated for a novice user."
"What needs improvement in Appium is its documentation. It needs to give more context on the libraries that Appium is using under the hood. For example, my team is using Appium for Android automation, and a lot of times, I feel that there's functionality that's available through the Appium interface, that exists within the UIAutomator, but there aren't a lot of useful or helpful resources on the internet to find that information, so it would be good to have some linkage with the underlying platform itself. Another room for improvement in Appium is that it's buggy sometimes. For example, at times, there's a bug in the inspector application that doesn't allow me to save my desired capability set, so it would be nice to get that bug fixed, but overall, Appium is a good tool. The Touch Actions functionality in Appium also needs improvement. For example, if I want to initiate a scroll on the device that I'm running Appium on, sometimes Swipe works, but in other situations, I have to explicitly use action chains, so I'm not too sure what's the better approach. What I'd like to see in the next version of Appium is a more intelligent and more intuitive AppiumLibrary, in terms of identifying menus and scroll bars, etc., because right now, I'm unsure if I have to do a lot of export reversals to get to the elements I'm looking for. It would be nice to have some functionality built in, which would allow me to easily get those exports."
"Appium could improve by enabling record and run techniques similar to what they have in other licensing tools, such as Micro Focus. We have to all write the code, and then we can proceed."
"The user interface needs improvement because there are issues when setting up environment variables."
"I don't think there are major issues, but there is room for improvement in the UI/UX of AWS Amplify. The UI still needs to be more polished and user-friendly. It's currently a bit like drag-and-drop initially, but there should be more options to customize the UI based on our needs."
"AWS Amplify can be improved in some areas, particularly in providing more robust documentation and easier customization options."
"Its capability to handle big projects needs to be improved. If you generate a user interface in Figma and import everything where all components are in one directory, currently, it is complicated. It isn't able to cope with that. For small projects, it is not an issue, but if you have big projects and you want to use AWS Amplify, then it gets more difficult. That is the most important point for me. It should be improved to cope better with bigger projects."
"AWS Amplify could improve in the deployment. It would be beneficial to have more methods, such as automation."
"AWS can implement multiple web applications, and cross-platform applications, like iOS."
"The documentation needs improvement, as it is not user-friendly and can be challenging for novices."
"I like AWS Amplify's documentation. It's comprehensive and includes many examples, so you don't need to ask for help much - you can refer to the docs. It's easy to use. I also appreciate the cost structure. You only pay for what you use. For example, if you use 100 GB, you're charged for that, but if you don't use it, you pay the maintenance cost."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I'm unsure if there's any cost associated with Appium. I got the free package which includes the server GUI application and the inspector application, and it was free to download, and that's all I need to get my work done. I'm not aware of any additional costs associated with the tool."
"The solution is free."
"The solution is open source so it is free."
"Appium is open source; we can use it for free."
"It's completely 100% free, and there are no hidden fees."
"There is no license for this solution because it is open-source."
"As far as I know, Appium is a free solution. It's not for commercial use."
"The price is good for people to be able to make a favorable decision for the value."
"When you're just starting, it is free. You have to pay only when you reach a certain amount of usage. I'm still at the early stage. So, I don't have to pay a lot. At the moment, it is not too expensive for me. It is worth the money."
"The pricing depends on what your use case is and whether you're an existing AWS customer. It's a pay-as-you-go model, so not expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Mobile Development Platforms solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Retailer
5%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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 Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
 

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 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 needs improvement with Appium?
The deployment process and configuration are quite complex and require improvement. Additionally, the wait time functionality could be enhanced as I experienced failures with longer wait times.
What do you like most about AWS Amplify?
Typically, whenever we make changes and need to switch environments (e.g., dev to production), it's easy for our developers to maintain the state of each environment and make customizations as need...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Amplify?
I find the pricing of AWS Amplify reasonable, considering the value it provides, although opinions may vary based on usage.
What needs improvement with AWS Amplify?
AWS Amplify can be improved in some areas, particularly in providing more robust documentation and easier customization options.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nuvizz, Coupa Software, Eventbrite, Evernote
Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Find out what your peers are saying about OutSystems, Mendix, Salesforce and others in Mobile Development Platforms. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.