Avalonia vs Xamarin Forms: What are the differences?

Introduction

Avalonia and Xamarin Forms are two popular frameworks used for building cross-platform applications. Although both frameworks allow developers to create applications that run on different platforms, there are key differences that set them apart. This article will outline six key differences between Avalonia and Xamarin Forms.

1. Language and Platform Support:

   • Avalonia is a cross-platform framework that supports C# and XAML for building applications that run on Windows, Linux, and macOS. It uses the .NET Core runtime.
   • Xamarin Forms, on the other hand, is a cross-platform framework that uses C# and XAML or C# and Xamarin.Forms markup language to create apps that run on iOS, Android, and Windows. It uses the Mono runtime.

2. Architecture:

   • Avalonia follows a layered architecture where the application's UI is constructed using the XAML markup language and the business logic is implemented in C#. It provides a separation of concerns and promotes code reusability.
   • Xamarin Forms follows the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) pattern, where the UI is defined using XAML or Xamarin.Forms markup language, and the business logic is implemented in a ViewModel class. It provides a clear separation between the user interface and business logic, making it easier to maintain and test.

3. Customization and Styling:

   • Avalonia provides a rich set of controls and allows for extensive customization and styling. It supports styling through CSS-like selectors and property value inheritance, making it easy to create visually appealing user interfaces.
   • Xamarin Forms also provides a range of controls and supports styling through XAML styles and dynamic resources. However, customization options are more limited compared to Avalonia.

4. Performance:

   • Avalonia uses a retained mode graphics system, which allows it to render complex user interfaces efficiently. It leverages hardware acceleration and takes advantage of the underlying platform's rendering capabilities, resulting in better performance.
   • Xamarin Forms uses a combination of retained mode and immediate mode graphics systems. It provides a native-like user interface experience but may have slight performance overhead due to the abstraction layer introduced by Xamarin.

5. Tooling and Community Support:

   • Avalonia has a growing community and is actively maintained. It is well-documented and provides a range of tools for developers, including a Visual Studio extension and support for hot reloading.
   • Xamarin Forms has a mature community and is backed by Microsoft. It has extensive documentation and a wide range of tools, including Visual Studio integration, Xamarin Designer for iOS and Android, and Xamarin.Forms Previewer.

6. Ecosystem and Integration:

   • Avalonia integrates well with the .NET ecosystem and supports various libraries and frameworks. It can leverage the vast ecosystem of NuGet packages and existing .NET tools.
   • Xamarin Forms also integrates with the .NET ecosystem and has strong support for Xamarin.Essentials, which provides a wide range of cross-platform APIs. It also has plugins for popular libraries and frameworks.

In summary, Avalonia and Xamarin Forms have key differences in language and platform support, architecture, customization and styling, performance, tooling and community support, and ecosystem integration. These differences should be considered when choosing a framework for cross-platform application development.