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Appium vs Mendix vs OutSystems 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Appium is 3.9%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Mendix is 16.7%, down from 22.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OutSystems is 17.5%, down from 22.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mobile Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OutSystems17.5%
Mendix16.7%
Appium3.9%
Other61.9%
Mobile Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Luis Gerardo Meneses Hernandez - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows for direct interaction with an application's DOM but complex configuration
What I like about Appium right now is that it's like Cypress in the sense that I can get to the new DOM of the application and select the components and create the functions to test the components in the way I want them to be tested. That's why I like it right now.
Richard Van Den Akker - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud-based, helps fill gaps and that seamlessly integrates with existing systems
Mendix provides the ability to create solutions that fill gaps that I would otherwise be unable to address with standard software. It integrates seamlessly with my existing ERP systems, enabling me to build attractive and user-specific solutions. Its cloud-based platform supports agile methods and enhances my development speed. These features enable me to better meet my organizational needs.
DhrubajyotiBiswas - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps us efficiently streamline repetitive tasks, but they could provide improved connectors to integrate with outside platforms
The OutSystems' most effective features for speeding up development cycles are the process orchestration and the drag-and-drop updating of business processes. I would recommend it to a friend or colleague, especially if they are looking for a solution that is easy to deploy and helps streamline internal processes. I rate it a six out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best feature of Appium is that it allows you to inspect the element. With the Appium Inspector, you don't have to install another application to do the inspection. I also like that Appium has Android device connectivity. Currently, most people use Appium as automation software, and I haven't found any other tool that's more powerful than Appium."
"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 solution is stable."
"Appium's wide support of programming languages is valuable."
"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."
"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."
"What I like about Appium right now is that it's like Cypress in the sense that............. to test the components in the way I want them to be tested."
"It's an open-source solution with a very large community and available documentation."
"The initial setup is easy."
"Enables us to rapidly create a complex application. We are also able to customize features that stakeholders in the corporation want to see, something that could not be done with other software. Our workflows and processes have evolved and improved. The fast iterations allow us to be nimble, get feedback from users, and do rapid updates."
"Mendix provides the ability to create solutions that fill gaps that I would otherwise be unable to address with standard software."
"It's amazing that you can build web apps and mobile (hybrid) apps with one code base in a few clicks. It's a full continuous integration environment."
"I highly regard Mendix because of its proper support, troubleshooting options, extensive learning path, and the availability of different types of exams."
"I think that the workflow and automation features are quite good."
"The development environment is model-driven. We can use the information from this for our business engineers to make the information models, and they can also execute the model."
"What I like best about Mendix is that it's leading the way for low-code, no-code platforms compared to other solutions in the market."
"The flow editor is the most valuable feature. It is simple and intuitive, and it can guide you step-by-step."
"Speed of delivery: We were able to reduce development time by 30%."
"Our previous solution had other overheads such as release management, version management, code management, monitoring, etc., all of which are built-in with OutSystems."
"One thing I like about OutSystems is that there's no lock-in. You can keep running your applications because it's on .NET and hosted centrally. That's one of the advantages I see there in terms of not having an IT strategy that has a dependency on a particular platform."
"OutSystems is easy to use."
"It is a stable solution, and the initial setup is straightforward."
"In terms of user support and community engagement, I rate the tool a ten out of ten."
"Their out-of-the-box UI is quite good."
 

Cons

"There is always a concern about the amount of code that is required to enhance the automation process. The idea of having less code or no code is what we would like to see in future updates."
"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."
"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."
"One thing which can be really helpful is that there is some kind of a recorder made available rather than scripting everything."
"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 deployment process and configuration are quite complex and require improvement."
"The user interface needs improvement because there are issues when setting up environment variables."
"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."
"Overall, integration with the enterprise ecosystem needs improvement."
"Mendix needs to think about itself offering machine learning and artificial intelligence."
"Mendix could improve by allowing the customization of different programming languages, such as Python and C++."
"It is expensive."
"Occasionally, there is downtime if an upgrade is happening in the application."
"All software applications have their hiccups, including the Mendix Studio Pro developers program."
"One thing I would like to improve is the support system offered by Mendix. It can sometimes take a while to get the help I need when I'm using Mendix."
"The code refactoring tools could be better, especially for applications running for years. It's not bad, but it could be smoother. Also, writing new widgets can be trickier than it should be for some people, but not if you're familiar with Mendix."
"One of the biggest areas for improvement is that every time an existing data element is modified, it creates a new data element. It doesn't really modify that particular data element. So, a user has to follow an extra step of removing the existing data element and bringing in the new and modified data element that is being added, which sort of goes into negative productivity."
"It needs improvement in the AI capability."
"The installation is a bit tedious."
"The initial setup is a little difficult."
"The product could be improved if there was a shortcut, or predefined, predictable templates provided."
"I would like to see improvements in versioning. It can be challenging to keep track of what changes should be committed, especially when many developers are working in one environment."
"The tool's weakness is its focus on the solution only. Other than that, it's pretty easy to use for both technical and non-technical people. However, the tool lags in automation. For instance, we've used Python for scraping and other automated tasks. So, I believe automation is an area where it could improve."
"I have difficulty in using several new features. Some of the product's features are tricky to use as well."
 

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."
"Appium is open source; we can use it for free."
"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 pricing of Appium is fine."
"The solution is open source so it is free."
"The solution is open source."
"Licensing costs are similar to those for all other IT technology, but they vary by region."
"Initially, we started with a year for approximately $25,000, and if we need to expand the number of seats then we will increase it."
"There is a license required to use Mendix. The solution's price is high, but it is best suited for enterprise companies that have the budget. It is not for small or medium-sized businesses."
"Mendix seems a bit expensive. But in terms of wanting to have less developers and higher velocity, the total cost of ownership is fine. It's not cheap, though."
"Its cost is higher than competitors. The cost mostly includes licensing. It is charged per user. The cost model could be better. When you have a big company, what does per user mean? If I have a company where I have 40,000 people who will go to access it but only 200 do, how do you license it and who do you pay for? If they hit it once, do you pay for it? The licensing is complex for a big company. It is easy for us to buy all we can eat, get an enterprise license agreement, and call it good."
"The solution is a bit expensive compared to others"
"Pricing used to be complex, but Mendix has improved that quite a bit."
"From a commercial point of view, we would like them to change that they currently sell it as a platform, but as a customer you have to decide upfront the usage of the platform. We would like to have Mendix sell it as a pay as you go model: You pay for what you use, and you don't pay for what you don't use."
"The product is expensive and I would rate its pricing a seven out of ten. You need to pay a yearly subscription to use the product."
"The solution is expensive. The platform is not suitable for all of my clients. I work with labor unions and other smaller organizations that would not be able to afford the platform's current pricing model. It would be beneficial if there were a scaled-down version or a tiered pricing option that would allow me to build an app or a web app that is more cost-effective for my clients. Currently, the platform's pricing is too high for many of my clients, who would not be able to afford something in the $50,000 to $100,000 range."
"OutSystems is expensive, and they changed the pricing model in the last couple of years. It's changing too much and it's becoming unstable. They are constantly shifting their prices based on users, courses, and other factors."
"It is not an expensive product, especially if you have access to more features and deal with more projects."
"It's not cheap. It's pretty expensive."
"OutSystems is an expensive product. My company has to make monthly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"Pricing could be a concern. You have to pay yearly, even after you have completed your development."
"For a single application, it's too expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

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 Business24
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise21
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise29
 

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 a...
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-effec...
What do you like most about Mendix?
We also use Mendix Enterprise Integration for complex business logic. It's a low-code platform, so we run Mendix in t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mendix?
I have some idea about the licensing part, and it depends on the person and the number of applications.
What needs improvement with Mendix?
Currently, I do not see any improvements needed in Mendix. However, I have not used Mendix for the last few months, s...
Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?
The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into t...
What industries do you think OutSystems is most useful for?
I cannot really name an industry in which OutSystems cannot be beneficial. Who does not want to make top-notch applic...
How did you decide which OutSystems edition was the best one for you?
We started using OutSystems fairly recently, so we are still on the free version of it. My company is still testing ...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nuvizz, Coupa Software, Eventbrite, Evernote
Genzyme, TNT, Yahoo, Capgemini, Roche, D&B, Aegon, kpn, AZL, Sky, Arch, Penn State Univeristy, BancABC
Randstad, Warner Brothers, HP, Intel, ING, Banco Popular, Thrivent Financial, Bacardi, Kent State University, Bacardi, FICO, ING, Vodafone, AbbVie, Estafeta, Siemens, Vopak
Find out what your peers are saying about OutSystems, Salesforce, Mendix and others in Mobile Development Platforms. Updated: August 2025.
867,821 professionals have used our research since 2012.