Skip to content
Get packs

Avalonia vs MAUI

Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.

Avalonia

Open source · MIT

A C# and XAML framework for building desktop, mobile and web-assembly UI apps.

Full review Website
MAUI

Open source · MIT

A C# and XAML framework for building one app that runs on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.

Full review Website

The short answer

Choose Avalonia if you need…

  • C# developers who already know XAML or WPF
  • Teams that want one UI codebase across desktop and mobile
  • Developers building internal or commercial desktop tools on .NET
  • Projects that need to run in a browser via WebAssembly

Choose MAUI if you need…

  • C# developers who want to target phones and desktops from one codebase
  • Teams already using Visual Studio and the .NET ecosystem
  • Developers migrating existing Xamarin.Forms apps
  • Students learning cross-platform app development in C#

Side-by-side

AvaloniaMAUI
TypeFrameworkFramework
PriceFree and open sourceFree and open source
LicenceMITMIT
GitHub stars31.7k23.3k
Setup difficultyIntermediateIntermediate
How you get itInstall with a package managerInstall with a package manager
Main languageC#C#
Last code update4 days ago4 days ago

What each one is

Avalonia

Avalonia is a cross-platform UI framework for .NET. You describe screens in XAML and write logic in C#, and the same app can run on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and WebAssembly. The README says it is similar to WPF, so developers familiar with that model should find it familiar.

MAUI

Dotnet MAUI is a cross-platform framework from Microsoft for building mobile and desktop apps with C# and XAML. You write one shared codebase and it can run on Android, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Windows. It is the successor to Xamarin.Forms, extended to desktop.

Best for

Avalonia

  • C# developers who already know XAML or WPF
  • Teams that want one UI codebase across desktop and mobile
  • Developers building internal or commercial desktop tools on .NET
  • Projects that need to run in a browser via WebAssembly

MAUI

  • C# developers who want to target phones and desktops from one codebase
  • Teams already using Visual Studio and the .NET ecosystem
  • Developers migrating existing Xamarin.Forms apps
  • Students learning cross-platform app development in C#

Strengths

Avalonia

  • Runs on many platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, WebAssembly) from one .NET codebase
  • Familiar model for XAML and WPF developers, per the README
  • MIT licensed with an active repository and documented tutorials and samples

MAUI

  • One shared codebase targets five platforms listed in the README
  • Backed by Microsoft and the .NET team, with official documentation and samples
  • Works with Visual Studio tooling and emulators

Not ideal for

Avalonia

  • People who want a no-code or visual-only builder, since the README centres on writing C# and XAML
  • Developers committed to a non-.NET language stack, since the framework is built for C#
  • Anyone needing a WPF app to run unchanged on macOS or Linux, since the README points to a separate commercial product, Avalonia XPF, for that

MAUI

  • Developers who need only web apps, since this targets native device apps (the README does not cover web output)
  • People who prefer JavaScript or Dart, because the framework uses C# and XAML
  • Projects needing a platform outside the listed Android, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Windows targets

Trade-offs

Avalonia

  • Not a 1:1 copy of WPF, so existing WPF code may need changes
  • Some features (such as WPF-app porting to macOS and Linux) are in a separate commercial product
  • Tooling for live XAML preview varies by IDE; JetBrains Rider needs a third-party community plugin

MAUI

  • The README is truncated and gives little detail on platform-specific limits or performance
  • Depends on the .NET workload and Visual Studio setup, which can be heavy for beginners
  • Some features and controls come from third-party toolkits rather than the core framework

Getting started

Avalonia

Install core Avalonia packages via NuGet Package Manager console

Install-Package Avalonia

Install the desktop package

Install-Package Avalonia.Desktop
Step-by-step guide: how to use Avalonia

MAUI

Install the MAUI workload (if the maui template is missing)

dotnet workload install maui

Create a new app from the template

dotnet new maui -n NewApp
Step-by-step guide: how to use MAUI

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Avalonia and MAUI?

Avalonia: A C# and XAML framework for building desktop, mobile and web-assembly UI apps. MAUI: A C# and XAML framework for building one app that runs on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. Avalonia suits c# developers who already know xaml or wpf, while MAUI suits c# developers who want to target phones and desktops from one codebase.

Are Avalonia and MAUI free?

Avalonia: Free and open source. MAUI: Free and open source.

Is Avalonia or MAUI more popular?

Avalonia has more GitHub stars (31.7k) than MAUI (23.3k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.

What are other alternatives to Avalonia and MAUI?

Other options people compare them with include React Native, Expo.

Keep comparing

Avalonia alternativesAvalonia vs ExpoAvalonia vs React NativeMAUI vs React Native

Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.