Avalonia vs MAUI

Avalonia apps gain performance, reach and design consistency beyond MAUI's abstraction layer

Fundamentally different

Fundamentally different

.NET MAUI isn't a UI framework. It's a wrapper around platform-specific toolkits, creating a lowest-common-denominator API that abstracts away native controls. When platform APIs change or break, MAUI breaks with them.

Avalonia is a complete UI toolkit like Qt or Flutter. We own the entire stack from XAML to pixels.

This isn't philosophical, it's architectural, with profound performance and reliability implications. MAUI wraps unstable platform UIs, inheriting their bugs and limitations.

Avalonia renders directly to native graphics APIs, delivering consistent, high-performance experiences across desktop, mobile, and embedded platforms with complete visual control.

.NET MAUI isn't a UI framework. It's a wrapper around platform-specific toolkits, creating a lowest-common-denominator API that abstracts away native controls. When platform APIs change or break, MAUI breaks with them.

Avalonia is a complete UI toolkit like Qt or Flutter. We own the entire stack from XAML to pixels.

This isn't philosophical, it's architectural, with profound performance and reliability implications. MAUI wraps unstable platform UIs, inheriting their bugs and limitations.

Avalonia renders directly to native graphics APIs, delivering consistent, high-performance experiences across desktop, mobile, and embedded platforms with complete visual control.

Avalonia iOS
Avalonia HMI app

Truly cross-platform

Truly cross-platform

Avalonia runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, embedded devices, and the browser via WebAssembly.

MAUI barely scrapes by with mobile and makes poor bets on desktop, depending on Mac Catalyst (a sandboxed iOS port) and WinUI (underfunded, with an uncertain future).

If you care about reach and stability, there’s only one real choice.

Performance that actually performs

Avalonia is up to 3–6x faster on real-world workloads.

With optimised rendering paths, Avalonia reached over 1.8 million LOLs/sec on macOS, blowing MAUI out of the water, which managed just 212.

On Windows, Avalonia uses half the memory and better throughput. MAUI slows under the weight of its abstractions and indirection.

Our drive for performance
Our drive for performance

.NET Android's slow startup times have frustrated developers for years. Cold app launches often take 3-5 seconds, creating poor user experiences that hurt adoption and retention.

We built a proof-of-concept that eliminates this problem entirely.

This isn't theoretical, we have working approach that solves a fundamental .NET mobile limitation. We're currently evaluating Microsoft's commitment to .NET Android performance improvements. If they don't prioritise this critical issue, we're prepared to ship our solution for the Avalonia ecosystem.

.NET developers shouldn't have to accept subpar mobile performance because of platform limitations.

.NET Android's slow startup times have frustrated developers for years. Cold app launches often take 3-5 seconds, creating poor user experiences that hurt adoption and retention.

We built a proof-of-concept that eliminates this problem entirely.

This isn't theoretical, we have working approach that solves a fundamental .NET mobile limitation. We're currently evaluating Microsoft's commitment to .NET Android performance improvements. If they don't prioritise this critical issue, we're prepared to ship our solution for the Avalonia ecosystem.

.NET developers shouldn't have to accept subpar mobile performance because of platform limitations.

3D GPU
Platform stability as a feature
Platform stability as a feature

Why invest in Microsoft's UI when they're focused on Cloud & AI? Microsoft has repeatedly abandoned developers while chasing new revenue streams.

  • WinForms → WPF → UWP → WinUI on desktop.

  • Xamarin.Forms → MAUI on mobile.

Each transition forced complete rewrites, leaving hundreds of thousands of teams stranded with legacy codebases and impossible migration decisions.

Enterprise applications need decade-long stability. Avalonia provides longevity with commercial backing. We recognise platform stability as a core feature, not an afterthought.

Why invest in Microsoft's UI when they're focused on Cloud & AI? Microsoft has repeatedly abandoned developers while chasing new revenue streams.

  • WinForms → WPF → UWP → WinUI on desktop.

  • Xamarin.Forms → MAUI on mobile.

Each transition forced complete rewrites, leaving hundreds of thousands of teams stranded with legacy codebases and impossible migration decisions.

Enterprise applications need decade-long stability. Avalonia provides longevity with commercial backing. We recognise platform stability as a core feature, not an afterthought.

Bring your MAUI components
Bring your MAUI components

Already invested in MAUI development?

Don't throw away your work. Avalonia.MAUI Hybrid lets you seamlessly integrate existing MAUI components directly into Avalonia applications on iOS and Android platforms.

This hybrid approach bridges the gap between your current MAUI investments and Avalonia's superior platform. Drop MAUI-compatible packages into Avalonia views and they behave as if they were built natively for Avalonia.

No rewriting, no performance penalties.

Already invested in MAUI development?

Don't throw away your work. Avalonia.MAUI Hybrid lets you seamlessly integrate existing MAUI components directly into Avalonia applications on iOS and Android platforms.

This hybrid approach bridges the gap between your current MAUI investments and Avalonia's superior platform. Drop MAUI-compatible packages into Avalonia views and they behave as if they were built natively for Avalonia.

No rewriting, no performance penalties.

Explore Avalonia.MAUI Hybrid

3D GPU

Avalonia

.NET MAUI

MAUI

Supported Platforms

Windows

macOS

Linux

iOS

Android

WebAssembly

WASM

Features

Rendering

Skia or DirectX

Native Widgets

UI Consistency

Styling Control

Full

Limited

WPF Migration Friendly

Tooling

Visual Studio Support

VSCode Support

Rider Support

Misc

First Release

2013

2022

Paid support

License

MIT

MIT

FAQ

Still have unanswered questions and need to get in touch?

Contact Us

Is Avalonia truly cross-platform for Desktop, Mobile, and Web?

How does Avalonia achieve better performance and consistency than MAUI?

We're an enterprise. Why choose Avalonia over a Microsoft-backed solution?

Can I leverage my existing .NET, C#, and XAML skills with Avalonia?

What about UI component vendors and third-party controls?

Isn't Avalonia too desktop focused?

What if Microsoft improves MAUI?

How does Avalonia handle accessibility?