--- title: Xcode Reviews meta_title: 'Xcode Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 1038 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Xcode works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.2 review_count: 1038 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-08-04' parent_category: name: Integrated Development Environments (IDE) url: https://www.g2.com/categories/integrated-development-environments-ide --- # Xcode Reviews **Vendor:** Apple **Category:** [Java Integrated Development Environments (IDE)](https://www.g2.com/categories/java-integrated-development-environments-ide) **Average Rating:** 4.2/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 1,038 ## About Xcode Xcode is Apple's integrated development environment (IDE) that provides a comprehensive suite of tools for developing, testing, and distributing applications across all Apple platforms, including iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Designed to streamline the app development process, Xcode offers features like predictive code completion, advanced debugging tools, and simulators for various Apple devices, enabling developers to create high-quality applications efficiently. Key Features and Functionality: - Coding Intelligence: Xcode leverages machine learning models to offer predictive code completion tailored to Swift and Apple SDKs, enhancing coding efficiency. - Previews: Developers can visualize and interact with their app's user interface in real-time using Xcode's preview feature, facilitating rapid iteration and design refinement. - Simulator: Xcode includes a simulator that allows testing of applications across different Apple devices and OS versions directly from a Mac, supporting scenarios like location changes and network conditions. - Debugging Tools: The IDE provides robust debugging capabilities, including breakpoints, memory usage inspection, and variable monitoring, aiding in the identification and resolution of issues. - Performance Analysis: With Instruments, developers can analyze app performance metrics such as CPU, memory, and GPU usage in real-time, helping to optimize app responsiveness and efficiency. - Testing Frameworks: Xcode supports unit and UI testing through frameworks like Swift Testing and XCTest, enabling comprehensive test coverage and quality assurance. - Xcode Cloud: Integrated continuous integration and delivery service that automates building, testing, and distributing apps, enhancing collaboration and development speed. Primary Value and User Solutions: Xcode serves as a unified platform that simplifies the app development lifecycle for Apple devices. By integrating coding, testing, debugging, and deployment tools within a single environment, it reduces development time and complexity. Features like real-time previews and simulators allow developers to iterate quickly and ensure their applications perform optimally across all Apple platforms. The inclusion of Xcode Cloud further streamlines workflows by automating routine tasks, enabling teams to focus on innovation and delivering high-quality apps to users efficiently. ## Xcode Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users love the **ease of use** in Xcode, highlighting its seamless integration and user-friendly interface. (43 reviews) - Users appreciate the **seamless iOS app development** experience Xcode provides, especially with easy simulation and build setup. (32 reviews) - Users love the **user-friendly interface** of Xcode, which simplifies app development with seamless integration and ease of use. (24 reviews) - Users value the **efficient debugging tools** in Xcode, which significantly enhance their app development experience. (23 reviews) - Users appreciate the **versatile functionality** of Xcode, making it easy for daily iOS app development and debugging. (19 reviews) - Users benefit from **comprehensive testing simulators** in Xcode, enabling effortless app testing across all Apple devices. (19 reviews) - Users appreciate the **seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem** , making app development smooth and efficient. (18 reviews) - Users value the **integrated tools** in Xcode, making development workflows simpler and more efficient for iOS apps. (18 reviews) - Users praise the **seamless integration** of Xcode with Apple frameworks, enhancing game development efficiency and ease. (17 reviews) - Users appreciate the **seamless code editing experience** in Xcode, enhancing app development for iOS and macOS. (12 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users experience **slow performance** during builds and indexing, significantly impacting productivity and overall usability of Xcode. (19 reviews) - Users experience **performance issues** with Xcode, including slow builds, crashes, and difficulties with the simulator. (16 reviews) - Users experience **update issues** with Xcode, including instability, slow new version support, and complex code signing management. (13 reviews) - Users find that Xcode's **high specifications** lead to slow performance and excessive disk space consumption on older Macs. (12 reviews) - Users report **high memory usage** with Xcode, leading to slow performance and difficulties on older machines. (11 reviews) - Users face frequent **software bugs** with Xcode, leading to instability and frustrating slowdowns in coding efficiency. (11 reviews) - Users find Xcode's **heavy size** problematic, consuming valuable disk space and affecting performance on lower-end systems. (10 reviews) - Large Size (9 reviews) - Users often face **system crashes** with Xcode, leading to frustrations and interruptions during development. (9 reviews) - Performance Lag (8 reviews) ## Xcode Reviews ### 1. One-Click Certificate Signing and App Store Upload Automation **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Om K. | Lead AI & Engineering, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 30, 2026 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Everything—signing certificates, uploading to the App Store, and generating profiles—can be done automatically with a single click. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** The application size is too large. My macOS device has 256GB of storage, and Xcode alone takes up more than 20GB. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helps me build iOS apps faster, especially when it comes to signing and deployment. It also supports multiple platforms like macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, so everything can be built using this. Even the new AI feature is very good. ### 2. Powerful Debugging but Needs Enhanced AI Features **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Manav J. | Security Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 02, 2026 **What do you like best about Xcode?** I like Xcode's debugging and simulator features. It's really helpful to test when I cannot test features on the simulator, as I can build the preview of the app and test it. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** I feel that Xcode could improve in its code autocomplete and AI integration, similar to what Visual Studio Code offers. Also, the initial setup was a little difficult for me. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Xcode serves as a code editor for iOS apps. I find the debugging and simulator features helpful for testing, especially when the simulator can't run certain features. ### 3. Easy to Use and Find What You Need, Though Slow on Older Machines **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Games | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 24, 2026 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Easy to use, and easy to find what you need **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Sometimes it can be a bit slow, at least in old machines **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Programming ### 4. Flutter developer using Xcode **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Zaher A. | Software Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 02, 2025 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Mainly, it provides a very user-friendly GUI layout. For example, it displays your staff visually in a way that is quite different from how the files are actually saved, which is helpful for beginners who are just starting to use Xcode to develop iOS applications. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** On the other hand, it can be a nightmare if you encounter an issue. When searching for solutions, you can't simply share the GUI; instead, you have to read through the code. As a result, you might be shocked and find yourself having to read unfamiliar code in XCode that you haven't seen before. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** It has been helpful in developing iOS applications for mobile, desktop, and all Apple devices. ### 5. Easy to use tool for IOS app development **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Pardeep D. | CEO, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 30, 2023 **What do you like best about Xcode?** The only thing i like about Xcode is its debugging capabilities. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Its way to heavy, even for the macbook pro. I have 8GB of RAM but when i will use XCode it will cosume most of my machines memory. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** XCode make IOS app development easy and designing screens for IOS apps are much easy with XCode. ### 6. Great IDE for C/C++ coding, but doesn't work for Python. **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Hongtan C. | University Undergraduate Student, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 09, 2022 **What do you like best about Xcode?** I love its compatibility to work with C/C++ code, especially with built-in libraries that make testing and implementing so much easier; windows and tabs are easy to navigate; it can automatically implement source control for any projects; syntax check is comprehensive. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** The ability to work with Python. Currently I've yet not found a way to use Xcode for any Python projects so I need to use Pycharm for it and have to thus move the python files around. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Debugging features are great, and there are tons of useful shortcuts/commands that'll make coding efficient such as selecting blocks of code or indentating lines of code and etc. ### 7. Xcode: A default IDE for macOS and iOS, but is less than stellar for everything else **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Stephen G. | Security Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 27, 2021 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Xcode is the default and best macOS and iOS IDE. It is deeply integrated into the operating system, helps to automate tasks such as code signing (that are mandatory for the platform), and makes building/deploying macOS and iOS apps easier than using the extensive command line utilities with options. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Xcode is not a great IDE. Its autocomplete features are ok (but not exemplary), its project management features are confusing, it uses an excessive amount of disk space storing APIs, the updates are very slow. It is also a closed source product, meaning the writing deeply embedded plugins is impossible. Its development for C++, Java, and basically any language other than swift continues to get worse and worse. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** For anything other than macOS or iOS, look at other, more full-featured IDEs **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Xcode is the best IDE for macOS and iOS development. It leads to projects that can be easily worked on by multiple team members and rebuilt when needed. ### 8. XCode needs to make it easier for Hybrid Development to done **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 21, 2021 **What do you like best about Xcode?** I like the easier integration with the iOS Simulators, though it does work with all hardware architecture types (sometimes with arm64) **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Deployment Steps to the APP Store for non -Swift code like Ionic, Flutter is not very clear and can be a rather strenuous step for new users **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is a bit less resource-intensive compared to other versions ### 9. You're only using it because there's no other option... **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ahmed A. | Staff Software Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 24, 2021 **What do you like best about Xcode?** XCode, like any other Apple product, has an excellent interface, is intuitive to use, and boosts productivity. It also gets frequent updates that enhance functionality and iron out bugs and quirks. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** That, like any Apple product, it only runs on Mac devices. This is very frustrating for anyone trying to develop iOS or Mac applications since you can only build applications for Apple products using XCode. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Building iOS Applications, which can only be done using XCode. ### 10. Xcode Review **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer & Network Security | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 20, 2022 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Comprehensive IDE. Debugger is also easy to use. Support for multiple languages. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Complex initial setup and the loading time. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** iOS app development ### 11. Good IDE comparatively to hybrid app IDE's **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ben S. | Software Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 15, 2021 **What do you like best about Xcode?** It's nice graphically and how it handles IB development is pretty seemless. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** There have been a lot of problems when updating Xcode where it will throws errors in an application but doesn't tell you **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Building applications for companies. ### 12. Xcode is flexible, but needs user qualty improvement. **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Education Management | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 17, 2021 **What do you like best about Xcode?** I like the range of features that I can use when I am developing iOS applications. Xcode makes it easy to identify what I need to do and where I need to do it. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** I dislike how some of the features or updates take too long to load, either for a specific project or the IDE as a whole. I think the IDE would benefit if it optimizes the speed. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Xcode is by far the best for iOS development. It has all the features needed to edit and publish a mobile app for App Store. ### 13. Xcode review **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Health, Wellness and Fitness | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 19, 2021 **What do you like best about Xcode?** The support team is usually farily responsive. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** If you do not know what you are looking at it can be a lot to digest. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** iOS and Android app development. ### 14. iOS app development with Xcode **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 27, 2020 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Once you get Xcode set up, it’s really cool seeing your application as a native app. I’ve yet to try coding in Swift but look forward to giving it a shot! **What do you dislike about Xcode?** The initial setup is quite difficult. I recently installed it on a new MacBook and the install process was a failure using both the downloaded package from the file and the App Store when this then failed. Running a project with Ionic requires additional packages and it seems to be a complete mess around. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** It’s definitely worth a shot if you want to learn something different! **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Solving problems relating to getting the app on the App Store. Xcode is required for this to register the publishing details. A benefit would is being able to get real user testing on an emulator or even better on a connected physical device. Makes a huge difference than to playing around with browser dev tools. ### 15. My experience with xcode **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mahzad K. | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 05, 2020 **What do you like best about Xcode?** I could use as an editor for developing my code and it recognizes various programming languages. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** file size is very high it occupies a lot of disk . It is a pain to work and compile code on it and the environment is really complicated. I could never get my Python code running within Xcode. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** I used to edit or develop my Python codes within Xcode. ### 16. Paintful but necessary **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sebastián V. |  iOS Senior Developer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 07, 2020 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Interface Builder is the best part of Xcode, I use other IDEs and the UI Editor is one the best for me. I hope that the rest of components of Xcode grow up according this area. The simulator is also a good part of the ecosystem, especially if we compare with the android :P. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** The IDE don't have a powerful toolset that are present in other IDEs (such visual studio), there's no decent refactor tools, or syntax helpers, plugins... I hope that the next version improve on these aspects. The compiler and the new Swift language brings the opportunity to attract more and more users, we have to take advantage of it. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Have patience, you have to know how to look around **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** I develop, test and distribute iOS apps, is the main app for every day in my work. ### 17. Framework for the IOS application development **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 24, 2020 **What do you like best about Xcode?** The Xcode framework normally used for the ios application development purpose. With this framework, we can create easily any type of IOS application that supported the macOS operating system like iPadOS, and tvOS. I developed one of the IOS applications by using the tool and I found that the tool is very robust.. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Every good thing has some minor area which needs improvement. This tool should be worked on debugging functionality simple to make it easy sometimes in case of any failure the debugger halt in the middle of the development, so it is quite hectic. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** I would recommend other tools which are using for the IOS application development. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Normally , fixed the IOS application development issues by using this tool. ### 18. Xcode requires major improvement **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Online Media | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 23, 2020 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Xcode major app to develop mobile apps for iOS and mac. I like to use other languages to develop also. Xcode also available to develop apps for TV and iPad. Sometimes it seems very complicated. I wish it was much easier. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** UI of Xcode is terrible and very slow. It is very big in size and occupies a lot of space in computer. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Major things I solve to develop apps for mobile. Build app, deploy and sign, Also check in emulator apps I developed. ### 19. Xcode: Many annoying glitches but what else can i do it's the only choice **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 03, 2019 **What do you like best about Xcode?** The debug view hierarchy is very helpful since enterprise-level app always has so many layers and can be really hard to debug. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Major aspects that need improvement: - Compiling is getting faster, but can easily take few minutes for larger apps - Simulator often crashes - Default navigation settings are not very intuitive (compared with other IDEs like IntelliJ). E.g. command + click doesn't open files in a new tab **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Well you don't really have another choice so be it. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Xcode to developing enterprise iOS apps. Having an IDE is definitely much better than developing with text editor: - It helps structuring the project so i don't get lost - It marks grammar and syntax errors - Most importantly I can run the project in simulator for functional testing ### 20. For code editor great application to use **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** ALPER K. | Senior Software Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Xcode?** * Great code editor * Easy to learn * Easy to use * You able to make developments about many programming languages **What do you dislike about Xcode?** * Could be extendible * Maybe more programming languages can be supported at future **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** * Support more programming languages **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** * Nice to make development * Great code editor ### 21. A bit of a clunker, but really your only option **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 12, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** The layout of Xcode is phenomenal. It's interfaces are, for the most part, very intuitive and easy to use. The debugging works well and can be used to solve issues very rapidly. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Apple has, in classic Apple style, told you exactly how this IDE is going to be laid out. You want the Navigator to be on the right instead of the left? Too bad. You want the Utilities at the bottom instead of the right? No, your wrong; it belongs on the right. I do miss the flexibility of Visual Studio, where I could but any tab anywhere I wanted. Not every developer has the same sized monitor and the same method of working, so it's a little frustrating that I can't customize my workspace very well. Some areas of the designer are a little slow. The real-time error identification lags far behind the lightning-fast speeds of Visual Studio, and the storyboard designer can frustratingly slow if you need to move back and forth between several storyboards quickly. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Take a look at the other options, but you should strongly consider this product that has been developed by Apple. There is a lot of support on the internet to help you through the most common of its bugs. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Xcode is the way to develop for IOS. That's all there is to it. We as a company needed an IOS app, so we used the tool that was the simplest to set up and the quickest to get running. ### 22. XCode is an essential application to develop your iOS apps **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 02, 2019 **What do you like best about Xcode?** It's the easiest way to develop and test iOS apps. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** I dislike that it is not available on Windows. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** I've realized how much easier Apple has made it to develop apps if you use Xcode ### 23. too loud **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Investment Management | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 08, 2019 **What do you like best about Xcode?** i think for ios developer, we have to use xcode. and it is completely free which is good for a small company. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** everytime i use it, it keeps screeming... my coworker’s too! i think it used too much ram. and my other app run very slowly! **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** i use xcode to write ios develop since inuse swift. the swift is very good language which i just leanred and it helps my career ### 24. You Pretty Much Have to Use it **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Douglas O. | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 18, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** For creating UI's for iOS apps, it's very good at what it does. Easy to switch between scenes and takes a lot of coding out of connecting scenes to each other. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** It's pretty terrible compared to its competition when it comes to coding things that aren't Swift/Objective C. Which I mean Swift/Objective C is what XCode is made for, I get it, but my Mac tries to use XCode for everything and Apple just needs to accept that XCode isn't that good for everything else. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** I highly recommend making peace with the fact that you're not allowed to use anything other than XCode for iOS app development. The sooner you make peace with that fact, the sooner you can reach the acceptance phase of your grief. XCode command line tools don't work on Windows anyway. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Creating iOS apps. I realized the benefit of being able to make apps with the only software which is allowed to make iOS apps. ### 25. iOS development using XCODE **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Marc C. | Senior Deployment Engineer | Full Stack Engineer, Telecommunications, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 20, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** It gets the job done creating ios apps, it is a complete ide you can use to deploy your applications **What do you dislike about Xcode?** i just wish using xcode is simpler. and deploying application be more straight forward, like adding a wizard instead of such difficult process of deploying applications in the appstore. so much research is necessary just to deploy the application and i find deploying application in Google Play is much more easier. I hope apple would do something about this so it would encourage more developers to code for Apple AppStore **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** i strongly believe that xcode can be redone to make it more simple and less more intimidating to people starting. also i find it very hard to come back after not using it for a couple of months... everything is just so complex in my honest opinion.... **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** I'm using this to code for iOS apps ### 26. Good development platform **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 08, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** The platform for Mac development par excellence. Xcode does not offer you compatibility with dozens of programming languages. The installation is as simple as always on OSX and offers us a friendly environment that encourages programming. We can program for both OSX and Windows or mobile devices. Recommended if you are an OSX user. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** It takes up too much disk space, when I say too much, I mean a lot. Partly understandable due to the number of languages it handles, but in my opinion, it's excessive. You need to be an advanced user to handle all the options we will find. User support is not very good in our personal experience. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** I believe it has improved quite a bit over time, it's been a few years since we used it, but from acquaintances, I know firsthand that it is an excellent option for development from an OSX environment. I encourage you to try it, personally it wasn't the best option for us, but in general, it is a good platform to develop and move your projects forward. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** For a while, we were programming in COBOL and some similar languages. Xcode was the best option for the tasks we developed, although at that time we had the handicap that it was only available for Mac and OSX, which limited us quite a bit as Windows users. ### 27. I think Xcode can do better **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Curtis X. | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 26, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** One thing I absolutely love is the hotkey of Ctrl + i to format my code the perfect way, super awesome. The other thing is how the look and feel of Xcode are just very smooth and not make me tired after working long periods of time. The code hinting has also been a big help for me especially when I am new to iOS development. Also, the emulator is pretty awesome to see, I am surprised by how nice they are. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Apple please don't always force me to update and take like forever. I lost a huge chunk of time trying to update Xcode and working with an entirely new version of Swift, again. Horrible experience trying to deal with iOS development is updating the new Swift and Xcode can't do it automatically itself. Then I have to waste an entire week to fix the compatibility issue because Swift is new again. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are trying to build an iOS app for iPhone and iPad. It was just a simple book app we are supposed to build, I think the only benefit is I have to struggle with some most annoying problems in my Career of development. ### 28. Code - not extremely user friendly. UX - allows more visual view **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Becky C. | Software Engineer, Computer Software, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 15, 2019 **What do you like best about Xcode?** The UX component allows the user to easily see and make changes to the screen without too much HTML/CSS **What do you dislike about Xcode?** A lot of bugs! It used to be Objective C but changing to Swift definitely introduced a lot of bugs to the software and program. XCode also requires to be run in a MacOS environment so that's a con for PC users. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Learning/Coding and creating applications. ### 29. Xcode the brainchild for Apple Apps **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jacqueline L. | Software Developer, Computer Games, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 03, 2019 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Being able to create apps for apple TV as Apple TV appeals to the masses also the smart watch. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** I dislike the fact that its only for iOS. It's not a multi platform IDE and doesn't support windows. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Be prepared to buy a mac computer or download the mac iOS to your laptop. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Able to push our applications for android over to iphone also with xcode. ### 30. Overengineered tool **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 15, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** xCode is a powerful and polished tool for Objective-C and Swift development of iOS and Mac applications. It has many features, such as drag-and-drop user interface creation, auto completion coding, integrated debugging, etc. Upgrading of xCode is easy compared to Google Android Studio as xCode tents to have a single upgrade for all parts of the product **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Despite xCode's greater sophistication and polish compared to Google Android Studio, xCode comes across as over engineered, proprietary, harder-use, less accessible, and perhaps less reliable. For example, xCode Interface Builder's proprietary XML format is practically non-editable by humans compared to Studio's easy XML format. And xCode's auto layout editor is a nightmare to use compared to the straightforward layout views, etc. on Studio. Even after 8 years, xCode continues to have caching problems during building due to its "DerivedData". **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** If you're developing native iOS applications, you'll be using xCode. But if you can, steer your career to the open Android Studio, which develops apps for an increasing marketshare. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** I've used xCode to develop iOS applications over 8 years for medical, security, gaming, and more. As the tool has become well integrated with the Apple App Store, xCode is the easiest way to develop and deploy iOS applications. ### 31. Only used when necessary **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Justin P. | Founder, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 07, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Ability to archive packages for iOS and upload to iTunes Connect. Creating icon sets for an application is useful, but is not reliable. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** That it is essentially a necessity for some parts of creating an iOS application. I particularly dislike the excessive warnings. Most of Xcode feels counterintuitive. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** As it is required for iOS development prepare yourself to use Xcode, but don't expect the features and intuitiveness of a full featured IDE. There are some things that are very difficult to achieve outside of Xcode, and some that are impossible; besides using it for these tasks I tend to use another IDE. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Xcode solely for iOS development. ### 32. xcode is ide for all Mac developers to have as a core tool **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Management Consulting | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 08, 2019 **What do you like best about Xcode?** I like that it is super compatible with other software and that it is simple. Love the version control too. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Sometimes when you want to push a build it does not go very well and you think something that would be relatively simple turns out complex. Error messages are also not succinct. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Be patient with some of the different functions and builds! Even when you get comfortable with the software you still might run into some unexpected errors. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Organizing all code for a given solution ### 33. Xcode the epitome of coding for Apple **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** John H. | Senior Software Engineer, Civil Engineering, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 02, 2019 **What do you like best about Xcode?** The fact you can code applications for apple in it and only apple **What do you dislike about Xcode?** The fact it's really buggy at times. The code syntax is out there. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** be prepared to get frustrated as hell. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** We launched our first business app with xcode. its connecting us around the world. ### 34. Different than other IDEs **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Chintan D. | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 08, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** The clean UI of XCode is the best. It is really interesting to work with an IDE which is completely different from Eclipse or any other IDE. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** It does not support tabs or does not integrate well with other tools. That is a little irritating at times. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** XCode is great for apple application development. But using it develop anything else in C++ is not a good idea. I have faced a lot of problems with that. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Using xcode for Apple devices related to development work. It has been interesting to work on XCode. It is not the best. ### 35. Not suitable on Macbook Air 2017 **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 27, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Clean and straightforward interface. Also seems very stable. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Very slow even for the simplest of operations on a macbook air. Your move may vary, of course. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Xcode for testing out iPhone development. ### 36. All in one programming app for mac if you ignore the bugs **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 25, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** It's an all in one tool for programming with lots of SDKs and a great number of add-ons **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Every new update bring in their own set of bugs so much so that I put off updating as I can at least work with the bugs I know exist. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Programmed the microcontroller for semiconductor testing solutions for clients in this app. ### 37. A bit too OS X centric **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 10, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Works well, has a good debugger for C++, it gets the job done. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** It's a bit too focused around OS X development practices. If you're writing cross-platform software, or want a general C++ IDE, you're probably going to be a bit disappointed by Xcode **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Checkout other products like CLion, they're not that expensive and a lot more cross-platform-friendly **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Works well for developing C++ on a OSX box. For some time it was the only C++ editor for OS X with a debugger out-of-the-box, and it still is probably the best free C++ IDE for OS X ### 38. Xcode, necessary to program for ios **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Victor M. | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 03, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** * It is the only legitimate program you can use to make native Apple product applications. * As you type, you may see compiler errors or issues and also a message detailing helpful information. * You can test your iOS apps either in the simulator that comes with Xcode, or on your own physical iOS device. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** * Is probably the most complex application Apple develops, and it has relatively few users **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** * It is the only legitimate program you can use to make native Apple product applications. ### 39. Great tool but contains a lot of bugs **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Damian N. | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 05, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Simplicity is the best thing in XCode IDE. GUI is clear and user friendly. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** A lot of situation with well-known message "Xcode quit unexpectly" make me craze. There should be more tools for text/words searching and replacing (Android Studio is good example of great text editing tools). **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Use save button quite often :) **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** I develop my applications in XCode ### 40. Xcode is good for web design **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Marketing and Advertising | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 27, 2017 **What do you like best about Xcode?** I like how Xcode simplifies everything involved with editing into one software that you can use to create different apps. I also like how Xcode uses the Swift programing language. This makes it easier to use. At first, I thought that it was going to be hard to use because I was not use to it, but it makes app developing a lot easier. It offers a lot of features. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** I do not like the interface builder at all. The interface builder is suppose to help you design apps without using code, but it seems like you can only use this for basic things. More advanced editing requires you to have a knowledge of coding. The debugger also doesn't catch all of the mistakes and some things that it flags as mistakes are not mistakes at all. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Give Xcode a try, but it takes a lot to get use to. Tutorials help a lot. I would advise trying to seek out independent tutorials to help gain the basics of Xcode. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** App developing for a small business ### 41. Heavy and full of bugs **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rut B. | Programmatore Php/Zend Framework/Mysql, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 11, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** I think the best thing of this IDE is the visual interface designer **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Almost all. Very heavy, you need to fully update it and download 4 or 5 Gigabytes every time a new iOS release is rolled out. Poor vcs support. Since I am used to work with Jetbrains Intellij Idea, I find Xcode cumbersome compared to it. It's full of annoying bugs: about signign when you build and sign multiple apps with multiple developers account, and so on, current release even when you hit the back space button it makes the program crash and you can lose your work **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Using Xcode is compulsory if you want to develop iOS applications. I have found useful the integrated process of build -sign - and upload an iOS build to the Apple Store, even if sometimes bugs interfere also with this ### 42. Its a pain in the ass, but you are likely stuck. **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 23, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** It does make it easy to debug. Sometimes it makes it easy to cross reference **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Project/build management is a pain in the ass. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** I like using Visual SlickEdit and then XCode to build. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Writing and debugging Apple system and application code. ### 43. Used Xcode to develop mobile apps **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Banking | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 23, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** XCode is a one place IDE from where one can develop, debug and test different mobile apps easily and effectively. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Some features were removed from previous version and looks like they may be still useful. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Xcode can be used if you use C, C++, Python and want to use one IDE. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Mobile app maps and some kids games I used to develop mobile app using IDE. ### 44. Program for apple programmers with apple devices **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Agustín G. | Tecnico Móviles Express Movistar, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 10, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Integrated program to program ios programs, very intuitive with all its necessary libraries and many aids to do the job well. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** It is such a mac program that there is no version for another operating system, therefore we have to have a mac, or pull emulations to use the ide. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Easy to use, for ios it is the only option. ### 45. Works **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 17, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** It works well for many languages. It’s app development platform has a comprehensive layout. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** The UI isn’t the most appealing. Looks a bit bland. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Programming, looking at code ### 46. It is time for us to have more options for Apple's development **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 28, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** I really like the images configuration for splash screens, icons, and publishing options. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Way too many configurations, the IDE has lots of navigational problems. It should be less complicated to go around the options. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** I only use Xcode when extremely necessary. I prefer to use other IDEs that send Xcode command line codes and I don't even need to open the App. ### 47. Useful for niche languages **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 06, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Supports MIPS and is the best Mac alternative to Windows Notepad. It's a base for other editors. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Have to download all sorts of extras for your language. It's nothing groundbreaking and would not be my first choice by any means. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Install it and forget about until something goes wrong or you want to save an obscure file type. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** In many aspects I need it installed to work efficiently on Rails in Mac OS. Otherwise, it's a convenient tool for off the cuff projects when it's already installed. ### 48. Necessary for iPhone development **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Research | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 11, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Xcode is a must have for any Apple product developer. It contains all the tools you need to develop + prototype in Objective C and Swift. There really is no alternative. Xcode is a one stop shop for everything you need to develop for Apple. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** It is not cross-platform compatible (must have Mac to use.) This is very restrictive for developers who cannot afford to buy an Apple product. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** Xcode does require some ramp-up time/ time to get used to all of the features. I recommend taking the time to watch tutorials or read docs on how to best use the product. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Developing digital applications for Apple/Mac users. In terms of business possibilties, this comes out to millions of total users who could potentially benefit from the product. ### 49. Excellent features not great experience **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jesus Adolfo R. | Junior Manager, Computer Software, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 03, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Built in simulator, easy to go. By installing XCode you can start programming almost right away. Not only that but it comes with a bunch of built in features such as Instruments, simulator, interface builder. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** Very buggy and inefficient using system resources. If you are planning to be productive using XCode, you better have a pretty good mac with enough system resources (mainly RAM and CPU). Also the IDE crashes a lot. Another thing I dislike is how sometimes the IDE stops indexing and then your IDE becomes somewhat unusable as you lose the ability inspect code easily. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** You need a lot of patience when using XCode. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** Building, debugging and testing iOS applications. ### 50. Apple App Store development **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jeroen G. | Co-Owner, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 19, 2018 **What do you like best about Xcode?** Xcode is actually the only right and straight way to develop any app for Apple. Take any Apple device and you are able to create an app for it using Xcode. **What do you dislike about Xcode?** If you come from Windows development using Visual Studio there's a high learning curve. I cannot get used to it, but i'll manage to create basic apps anyway. **Recommendations to others considering Xcode:** If you want to develop Apple App Store apps use Xcode, and dig into learning it from A-Z. **What problems is Xcode solving and how is that benefiting you?** I create simple demo apps for further development by professional Xcode developers. ## Xcode Discussions - [xcode the best aplication](https://www.g2.com/discussions/44803-xcode-the-best-aplication) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [Will in future storyboard will be there?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/32657-will-in-future-storyboard-will-be-there) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [Can we use Xcode for the hybrid apps in future?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/can-we-use-xcode-for-the-hybrid-apps-in-future) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [What is the best way to merge storyboards with other users? Do you just build dynamic layouts?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-the-best-way-to-merge-storyboards-with-other-users-do-you-just-build-dynamic-layouts) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [What are your pros and cons about Xcode which lids you to make you a good iOS developer?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/14589-what-are-your-pros-and-cons-about-xcode-which-lids-you-to-make-you-a-good-ios-developer) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [View Xcode pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/xcode/reviews?filters%5Bnps_score%5D%5B%5D=3§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-05+10%3A44%3A03+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=164d9880-a411-46ae-b607-3fd2a14f052b&secure%5Btoken%5D=70207e788098014aa2f104d926f9fda85c29acd5481d604843e83df784359da8&format=llm_user) ## Xcode Integrations - [Angular](https://www.g2.com/products/angular/reviews) - [ChatGPT](https://www.g2.com/products/chatgpt/reviews) - [CoPilot AI](https://www.g2.com/products/copilot-ai/reviews) - [Firebase](https://www.g2.com/products/firebase/reviews) - [GitHub](https://www.g2.com/products/github/reviews) - [GitHub Copilot](https://www.g2.com/products/github-copilot/reviews) - [MobileWorker](https://www.g2.com/products/mobileworker/reviews) - [Rider](https://www.g2.com/products/rider/reviews) - [Storyboard to SwiftUI Converter](https://www.g2.com/products/storyboard-to-swiftui-converter/reviews) - [Visual Studio Code](https://www.g2.com/products/visual-studio-code/reviews) ## Xcode Features **** - Continuous Integration - Drag & Drop - Backup and Recovery - Multiple Programming Languages Supported - Continuous Deployment - Code Development - For No-Code Development - Version Control - Configurable Workflow - Graphical User Interface - For Low-Code Development - Activity Dashboard - Generative AI - UI Prototyping - Source Control - Software Development - API - Data Import/Export - Web App Development - Custom Development - Code Repository Integration - Data Security - Mobile Development - Access Controls/Permissions - Game Development - Collaboration Tools - Application Security - Alerts/Notifications - Automated Testing - Integrated Development Environment - Offline Access - Debugging - AI Copilot - Reporting/Analytics - Compatibility Testing - Pre-built Templates - Third-Party Integrations - Data Modeling - Customizable Branding - Data Visualization - Code Editing **Functionality** - Ease of Use - File Management - Multi-Language Support - Customization - Straight-Out-the-Box Functionality - Help Guides - Patching & Updates **Functionality** - Test Feedback - Test Variety - Emulation **Functionality** - Ease of Use - File Management - Multi-Language Support - Customization - Straight-Out-the-Box Functionality - Help Guides - Patching & Updates - Workflow Management - Change Management - Deployment Management - Performance Management - Compliance Management - Lifecycle Management - Task Management - Document Management - Database Support **Agentic AI - Mobile Development Platforms** - Adaptive Learning - Natural Language Interaction - Proactive Assistance **Management** - Test History - Automation - Organization ## Top Xcode Alternatives - [Visual Studio](https://www.g2.com/products/visual-studio/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (3,832 reviews) - [Eclipse](https://www.g2.com/products/eclipse/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (3,097 reviews) - [NetBeans](https://www.g2.com/products/netbeans/reviews) - 4.2/5.0 (657 reviews)