B4i vs Codename One
B4i
b4x.comCodename One
codenameone.comSide by side
| Figure | B4i | Codename One |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $2.17/mo | $25/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 8 |
| Spec score · Mobile Development IDEs | 7.9 (#22) | 9.3 (#1) |
| Support | The maker directs technical questions to its forum and says it answers presales and general support email within 24 hours. | The Free plan includes community support, Pro includes email support, and Enterprise includes phone support during office hours. |
Plans
B4i
- Hosted Mac Builder$26 a year
- B4i Standard$59, paid once
- B4i Standard + Hosted Builder$85, paid once
- B4i Enterprise$119, paid once
- B4i Enterprise + Hosted Builder$145, paid once
Codename One
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- Basic$25 a month
- Pro$85 a month
- Basic$300 a year
- Enterprise$450 a month
- Pro$1,020 a year
- Enterprise$5,400 a year
In their own words
Codename One
Codename One is an open-source framework for Java and Kotlin developers building apps from one codebase for Android, iOS, macOS, Linux, Windows, and web browsers. Its toolkit renders its own interface components and bundles the runtime and theme with each app. Developers can access platform SDKs through native interfaces and embed heavyweight views, including maps, web views, and camera surfaces. Projects use Maven and work in Maven-capable IDEs such as IntelliJ IDEA, NetBeans, Eclipse, and VS Code. The documented security tools include secure storage, encryption, certificate pinning, device integrity checks, and cryptographic APIs; App Shield adds short-lived attestation tokens on Enterprise. The Free plan provides 100 cloud build credits monthly, with iOS builds using eight credits, and an 8.5 MB user JAR limit. Commercial use carries no royalties or per-app fees. Pricing lists a free plan, paid plans from $25/user/mo billed annually, and a 14-day trial. Platforms also list watchOS and tvOS among mobile targets.