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Ionic vs OutSystems 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

Ionic
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
OutSystems
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (4th), Low-Code Development Platforms (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Ionic is 7.5%, down from 7.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OutSystems is 20.0%, down from 22.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mobile Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Roche De Kock - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows us to create cross-platform mobile apps from a single code base, but should have a complete set of libraries for Capacitor
When they jumped from version 3 to version 4, 5, and 6, they introduced something called Capacitor, which is basically the tool that you use to convert your code to Xcode, etc. They have a few plugins that are still using, for instance, PhoneGap. So, you have to jump between Capacitor and PhoneGap. Their documentation is good, but there are some versioning control issues. For example, if you want to bring up a phone dial-up or a map, you have to decide whether to use Capacitor, PhoneGap, or Cordova. They started writing Capacitor to get rid of PhoneGap and Cordova, but they haven't yet got all the libraries and all the functionalities. They want you to start using Capacitor, but they don't have all the libraries there. They're developing them as they go. So, currently, you have to mix and match the three. When it comes to mobile applications, I would only like to use Capacitor. I don't want to jump between Cordova and Capacitor or have both of them. That's the main thing for me, but they have been working on it. They have started to bring them closer and closer so that you don't have to use two different sets of libraries. They're close to where you don't have to use Cordova or PhoneGap, and you can only use Capacitor. In versions 5 and 6, they have improved it a lot. They can also improve it in terms of publishing to different stores. For instance, I'm using Firebase to make my Ionic app web compatible. If I don't have a Node.js server to host on, I have to host it on Firebase or something like that. Currently, if I need to publish to different stores, such as the Microsoft store or the Huawei store, the only way I can publish to, for instance, the Huawei store is by creating the APK and uploading it. If they can start adding a little bit more integration to publish to different stores, such as the Samsung store, Huawei store, or Microsoft store, it would be good. Currently, there are no problems with iOS and Google Play Store, but for the other stores, you have to do a little bit of a workaround to get things done. Its stability could be better. For me, jumping between versions 3, 4, and 5 was a big problem because it wasn't seamless. Jumping from version 5 to 6 is more seamless. Jumping from version 3 to 5 has been a nightmare because I had to recode quite a lot to be compatible with version 5. I totally skipped version 4 because it was just too quick. Jumping between versions has definitely been a problem for me. If I have to do a lot of plugins and redo a lot of my coding because they're jumping versions, I'm going to look for something else.
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 solution is secure, reliable, and packed with features so we can easily implement apps even in the most complex situations."
"It's very flexible for UI development."
"The main value of this solution for our business, is that it is a hybrid product that allows us to write code that is compatible with IOS, Android, and web documents."
"Because it's a hybrid mobile app framework, it is easy for us to develop iOS as well as Android apps for our customers with the same resource skills. We didn't have to have separate iOS teams and Android teams to build the apps. We still have to use the Apple Xcode for iOS, but the main development happens with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. We don't have to write separate code bases in scripts for iOS and Android. We create apps using web-based technology."
"The most valuable feature is the one code deployed to all solutions, which means you do not need to have multiple teams."
"Ionic's best feature is that it's not necessary to write your own custom codes as all the hybrid is provided by Angular."
"With the Capacitor feature, you have access to the native attributes of your phone such as your camera. This makes work a lot easier."
"The most valuable feature of Ionic is the ease of use and the simple connection of the applications. Additionally, the documentation is good in the Ionic application, and beginners can easily learn and download their own application using Ionic. Everyone can easily switch out, their domain, from native applications to hybrid applications."
"The product is mostly stable."
"In terms of user support and community engagement, I rate the tool a ten out of ten."
"The scalability of OutSystems is very good, it scales automatically very useful for us."
"Scalability proved to be an exceptionally beneficial feature."
"We can do the validation before calling the API."
"I find it to be a genuinely cool and effective platform for my development needs."
"OutSystems is a robust and rapid application development platform with a less steep learning curve."
"The solution helps to build mobile and web applications on SOAP and REST. You can integrate it with backend systems by submitting a code."
 

Cons

"Ionic would be improved with dynamic design features."
"Ionic is a cross-platform framework, so when we compare Ionic with native Android and iOS, we can see the drawbacks. For example, if you need to work on very high-level aspects of an application such as animation, even if everything else is not putting load on the app, you will still see high load from the server side."
"Ionic could improve in the Native mode because while we do testing it is difficult to find the root cause of problems. It could be more user-friendly."
"They started writing Capacitor to get rid of PhoneGap and Cordova, but they haven't yet got all the libraries and all the functionalities. They want you to start using Capacitor, but they don't have all the libraries there. They're developing them as they go. So, currently, you have to mix and match the three. When it comes to mobile applications, I would only like to use Capacitor. I don't want to jump between Cordova and Capacitor or have both of them. That's the main thing for me, but they have been working on it."
"It would be better if it had a speed niche system. There are a lot of things we need that weren't in the latest version. But I think they will be adding something."
"The documentation could be improved."
"In a future release, we would like to have a little more support for the desktop environment. Currently it is still focused on mobile devices."
"Documentation for migrations and compatibility is insufficient."
"The solution's testing framework needs to be improved, and the workflow should be slightly more mature."
"I'd like to see AI features integrated into the solution."
"In OutSystems, cloud management is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"I think OutSystems needs to improve in many areas. First, sometimes Service Studio becomes really slow and even hangs for long periods. Also, if I have not published my module in some time, and some kind of Service Studio exception occurs, I lose my work."
"The asynchronous processing and multithreading tasks for which the current resources of the platform are very generic and not built for the end-user. Any asynchronous jobs have to be constructed with an end-user dashboard to allow inspection of the status of the activities."
"We had some lagging issues under high data loads, and the solution needed to be customized to improve this."
"Currently, in mobile applications, we don't have push notifications."
"I like the OutSystems platform. I am working on integrating it with another platform using APIs, however, it has proven to be difficult. The main issue I am facing is obtaining authorization tokens as well as access and refresh tokens. It may be due to my lack of knowledge of APIs as it is new to me."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's open source option is free with no licensing fees."
"You don't have to pay anything except for certain projects. For example, Appflow has some costs related to it but you don't have to use it. You can also pay for extra support."
"I think most of the plugins for Ionic are open source, and you can do a lot with many of the basic features. However, if you need to use a premium plugin for something like extra scroll list functionality, Ionic will ask for a certain sum of money."
"We pay 50,000 dinars per month."
"Ionic is an open-source solution, it is free."
"The starting cost for the enterprise option is around one hundred dollars per month."
"You can use the free version, but if you still want to buy it, the price starts from $499/month."
"Ionic is an open source solution, and there are no hidden fees."
"Pricing could be a concern. You have to pay yearly, even after you have completed your development."
"It is still very expensive, so small companies can’t generally afford it... Still, the time saving on development and delivery is worth the value."
"OutSystems was open to a deal that worked for both sides."
"It is very high price."
"For a single application, it's too expensive."
"OutSystems is an expensive product. My company has to make monthly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"It's not cheap. It's pretty expensive."
"The tool’s licensing is based on the user’s usage."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Educational Organization
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
Educational Organization
19%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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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 that platform for good. The business model is to lock in and then keep pumping th...
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 applications that work in no time? And OutsyStems does exactly that. The low-code plat...
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 how we like the platform, but so far, we have been satisfied with it and will li...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MRA, Napa Group, Sworkit, Airbus, Sense Corp, Interactive Gaming Company, Pacifica, Untapp'd, Diesel, National Museum of African American History and Culture
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 Ionic vs. OutSystems and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.