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IBM MobileFirst vs Mendix 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

IBM MobileFirst
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Mobile App Platforms (6th)
Mendix
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (5th), Low-Code Development Platforms (3rd), Agentic Automation (5th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (10th), AI Software Development (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM MobileFirst is 3.7%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Mendix is 10.4%, down from 22.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mobile Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Mendix10.4%
IBM MobileFirst3.7%
Other85.9%
Mobile Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

MT
Senior Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Streamlines development of hybrid applications, and has ability to integrate device-native code
It was a cakewalk for us to develop mobile apps for three different platforms using IBM MobileFirst. Since it was a consumer application built for large-scale events, it was very crucial for us to manage application compatibility with all sort of devices. With MobielFirst, we could actually achieve this with very little trouble. With help of this product, we have been able to develop mobile applications without having complete knowledge of each mobile OS's native programming. App development, delivery, and code management have been very efficient using this product.
Mitchel Mol BGS - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at Blue Green Solutions
Has improved development quality and speed but has introduced persistent IDE slowdowns
In recent years, the IDE has been more buggy and slower, and although there have been more features added, I would like to see more stability, as some areas that used to work for a fairly long time are now slower in my development, which feels like a step back. I choose a seven mainly due to the issues we've faced with slowdowns and bugs during development, while runtime has been very stable, and the overall output on Mendix platform is still good; there is definitely some room for improvement, and I would probably have given it an eight or even a nine if those issues weren't hurting my developer output for the past few years. Overall, Mendix platform is stable, but the IDE could be better.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM MobileFirst has one of the most feature-rich admin panels."
"I like Its capability for developing hybrid applications, with an ability to integrate device-native code as well"
"With help of this product, we have been able to develop mobile applications without having complete knowledge of each mobile OS's native programming technology. App development, delivery, and code management have been very efficient using this product."
"I highly regard Mendix because of its proper support, troubleshooting options, extensive learning path, and the availability of different types of exams."
"The pricing is very clear, with no hidden fees."
"The most valuable features of Mendix are the drag and drop functions, the data entities, domain models, and all the related features."
"It is low code, where the developers can still develop in Java. That to us is very appealing."
"Since using Mendix, I can say that mostly the development time would be a year, but we can complete it within three months with Mendix, which is very time-saving; in my career, I have completed around 9 to 10 projects."
"The features that I have found most valuable with Mendix are its business process management and its minimal low code, both from an interface perspective and from a process perspective."
"Mendix isn't just an IDE or a coding language; it's a whole platform where you don't have to worry about hosting or monitoring your application, tracking project progress or user stories, as everything is essentially provided by the platform, and it has a very active community helping you out if you have any questions at all."
"When I often want to pitch Mendix, if there is something out of the box that is not available, I can always extend Mendix. Whether it's the front end or the back end, It can be extended with Java. I've also built many widgets using Mendix."
 

Cons

"I would like to see improved support for native device functions."
"There are issues with push notifications, especially for Windows mobile apps. JSONStore also crashes abruptly at times."
"One area for improvement is its integration capabilities. Creating a pluggable widget or integrating it with other systems is challenging. In terms of features, it would be great to see advancements such as AI services and the integration of third-party services. Additionally, connecting external devices to the application requires multiple steps. Improving this will make it easier for the developers."
"We'd like to be able to write in C Sharp to develop code for Mendix."
"You need experienced programmers and developers to understand this solution."
"It needs to provide an overview of model versioning control for the sake of the review process; better SCRUM board; an overview of model changes from the repository through Sprintr (SCRUM board). Also, a choice between versioning control system would be nice."
"Overall, integration with the enterprise ecosystem needs improvement."
"The vendor should focus more on the opinion of the users and make improvements"
"Mendix is quite expensive, and its pricing model makes it inaccessible for startups. The app license costs between $13,000 to $14,000, which is prohibitive for startups."
"While the community is great, they need to work on making their direct technical support services better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cost depends upon various factors. Size of the overall application and product usage matter a lot. For an enterprise-grade application, this certainly comes out as an economical solution. However, for small-scale applications, it can turn out to be on the higher side."
"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."
"Mendix is not open source, but its license cost is cheap, particularly when compared to the Appian license. The license model would depend on how many users you have and how many applications you are creating. If you are creating a single app, you just need to have a single app license, so it's free. If you want a multiple app license to cover two thousand or three thousand users, for example, internal users or external users, then you need to pay for the license. There's also a license model for above three thousand or four thousand, or five thousand internal and external users."
"Pricing used to be complex, but Mendix has improved that quite a bit."
"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"
"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."
"I would not recommend the solution to small and medium-sized businesses because it’s expensive. It’s great for big organizations. I rate the pricing as a three out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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 the Mendix Cloud.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mendix?
I do not have much experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing because the sales or business team usually handles that, and as a developer, I don't have a clear idea.
What needs improvement with Mendix?
Improvements for Mendix include that sometimes it gets hung while loading.
 

Also Known As

MobileFirst, Worklight
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions, Gruppo Unipol, Raymond James Financial, Toshiba GCS, CST, ABK-Systeme GmbH, BNP Paribas
Genzyme, TNT, Yahoo, Capgemini, Roche, D&B, Aegon, kpn, AZL, Sky, Arch, Penn State Univeristy, BancABC
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM MobileFirst vs. Mendix and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.