Material Design In XAML Toolkit vs Materialize
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.
Open source · MIT
Material Design styles and controls for building Windows desktop apps (WPF) in C# or VB.Net.
Open source · MIT
A CSS framework that gives web pages ready-made styled parts based on Google's Material Design.
The short answer
Choose Material Design In XAML Toolkit if you need…
- Developers building Windows desktop apps with WPF
- Teams that want a Material Design look without writing styles from scratch
- Projects that already use Dragablz or MahApps, which the README says are compatible
Choose Materialize if you need…
- Developers building a web page or app who want a Material Design look quickly
- Teams that want a ready-made component set instead of custom styling
- Developers who need broad older-browser support, since the README lists IE 11+
Side-by-side
| Material Design In XAML Toolkit | Materialize | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 16.3k | 38.8k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | C# | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 5 days ago | 3 months ago |
What each one is
Material Design In XAML Toolkit
This is a library of ready-made visual styles and controls that make Windows desktop apps built with WPF look like Google's Material Design. It adds themed buttons, cards, dialogs, and an icon pack, and lets you change the color palette at design time or while the app runs. Developers add it to a WPF project through NuGet.
Materialize
Materialize is a free, open-source CSS framework built on Material Design, Google's visual design system. It provides pre-styled components and layout tools so you can build web pages that look consistent without writing all the styling yourself. It is installed by download, npm, or a CDN link and is documented on its website.
Best for
Material Design In XAML Toolkit
- Developers building Windows desktop apps with WPF
- Teams that want a Material Design look without writing styles from scratch
- Projects that already use Dragablz or MahApps, which the README says are compatible
Materialize
- Developers building a web page or app who want a Material Design look quickly
- Teams that want a ready-made component set instead of custom styling
- Developers who need broad older-browser support, since the README lists IE 11+
Strengths
Material Design In XAML Toolkit
- Covers the standard WPF controls with Material Design styles, according to the README
- Includes a full Material Design Icons pack and demo applications in the source
- Installs through NuGet and is released under the MIT license
Materialize
- Free and MIT-licensed, so it can be used in commercial work
- Documented on an official site with a getting-started guide
- Available through several channels: direct download, npm, cdnjs, and Git clone
Not ideal for
Material Design In XAML Toolkit
- Web or mobile developers, since it only targets Windows desktop (WPF) according to the README
- Anyone who needs to stay on older Visual Studio versions, because the guide assumes Visual Studio 2022
- Projects that depend on the internal namespace staying stable, because the README warns those types may change between versions
Materialize
- Projects that need a distinctive custom look, because the framework imposes Material Design styling
- Anyone wanting a non-coding design tool; this is a code library
- Projects needing the newest browser features only, since the README lists older browser minimums that may not match modern needs
Trade-offs
Material Design In XAML Toolkit
- Windows desktop only; it does not apply to web or mobile apps
- The README says the Material Design 3 demo is still under development
- Types in the internal namespace are not guaranteed to stay compatible between versions
Materialize
- The README marks the Bower install method as deprecated
- The README mentions a beta branch alongside the stable 1.0.0 release, so users must choose a version carefully
- The README does not describe the full list of components in detail, so fit should be checked in the docs
Getting started
Material Design In XAML Toolkit
Install the NuGet package from the Package Manager Console
Install-Package MaterialDesignThemesMaterialize
Install with npm
npm install materialize-cssClone the repo
git clone https://github.com/Dogfalo/materialize.gitFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Material Design In XAML Toolkit and Materialize?
Material Design In XAML Toolkit: Material Design styles and controls for building Windows desktop apps (WPF) in C# or VB.Net. Materialize: A CSS framework that gives web pages ready-made styled parts based on Google's Material Design. Material Design In XAML Toolkit suits developers building windows desktop apps with wpf, while Materialize suits developers building a web page or app who want a material design look quickly.
Are Material Design In XAML Toolkit and Materialize free?
Material Design In XAML Toolkit: Free and open source. Materialize: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, Material Design In XAML Toolkit or Materialize?
Materialize is easier to get started with (rated beginner); Material Design In XAML Toolkit is rated intermediate and usually needs more setup.
Is Material Design In XAML Toolkit or Materialize more popular?
Materialize has more GitHub stars (38.8k) than Material Design In XAML Toolkit (16.3k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Material Design In XAML Toolkit and Materialize?
Other options people compare them with include Material, Angular Material, Bootstrap, Bulma, Material UI.
Keep comparing
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.