IBM MobileFirst vs Ionic comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM MobileFirst
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
14th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Mobile App Platforms (7th)
Ionic
Ranking in Mobile Development Platforms
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the Mobile Development Platforms category, the market share of IBM MobileFirst is 1.2% and it decreased by 63.0% compared to the previous year. The market share of Ionic is 9.1% and it increased by 17.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mobile Development Platforms
Unique Categories:
No other categories found
 

Featured Reviews

it_user631749 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 22, 2017
It provides access management for the enterprise user as well as for the consumer.
One of the most valuable features is that we are using the IBM MobileFirst, which is actually providing a gateway to all the mobile resources either for the employees or for the consumers. So, that is very important for us It is very beneficial as without this solution, we have to go out for…
Nakul Kundaliya - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 7, 2022
The best cross-platform solution of its kind, with good performance and live reloading
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. You will eventually find yourself getting lots of image, video, and hardware-related work to deal with. This is the main limitation of Ionic because we still have to depend on the native Android and iOS code. However, in other ways we can achieve the same performance with Ionic as we can achieve with native Android code. One feature I would like to see added is the code post. The code post is a very good feature I encountered when using React Native. Inside the code post, you don't need to deploy your application again when you're modifying your code. You just need to run one command, and each and every server will automatically receive the latest modification. A similar feature in Ionic would be appreciated. Another drawback of Ionic has to do with the no-code service that they provide, where you just need to drag and drop your components to build your application. I feel that, coding-wise, it isn't a good feature. And, for instance, if you're making an API call, they would only provide the UI, so you would still need to take some time to modify it. Because of this, I considered simply building our UI from scratch. Apart from that, one other disadvantage is when you're using a type of plugin like AdSense for putting adverts in your application, Ionic would take a percentage of whatever profit you make.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like Its capability for developing hybrid applications, with an ability to integrate device-native code as well"
"IBM MobileFirst has one of the most feature-rich admin panels."
"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."
"It's very flexible for UI development."
"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 solution can support many languages."
"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."
"The solution is secure, reliable, and packed with features so we can easily implement apps even in the most complex situations."
"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."
 

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."
"Documentation for migrations and compatibility is insufficient."
"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."
"The documentation could be improved."
"Ionic would be improved with dynamic design features."
"There could be better support for augmented reality and other things. Geolocation and background app activity are some of the things that are a little more clumsy at the moment and could be improved."
"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."
"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."
"It would be good if the mobile version uses something other than JavaScript and HTML."
 

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."
"We pay 50,000 dinars per month."
"The starting cost for the enterprise option is around one hundred dollars per month."
"The solution's open source option is free with no licensing fees."
"Ionic is an open source solution, and there are no hidden fees."
"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, it is free."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
18%
Real Estate/Law Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
19%
Wholesaler/Distributor
9%
Insurance Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Ionic?
Being able to have one set of code is valuable. I don't have to recode for different platforms. I don't have to recode for Xcode, Angular, or Android. So, the biggest feature for me is that it's a ...
What needs improvement with Ionic?
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 plug...
What is your primary use case for Ionic?
We are using it for mobile applications that we are publishing to iOS, Huawei, and Google Play Store. It's a very nice hybrid framework for mobile applications.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

MobileFirst, Worklight
No data available
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions, Gruppo Unipol, Raymond James Financial, Toshiba GCS, CST, ABK-Systeme GmbH, BNP Paribas
MRA, Napa Group, Sworkit, Airbus, Sense Corp, Interactive Gaming Company, Pacifica, Untapp'd, Diesel, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM MobileFirst vs. Ionic and other solutions. Updated: June 2024.
787,226 professionals have used our research since 2012.