B4X vs Qt Creator

B4X is a suite of rapid application development tools for Android, iOS, desktop, server, and IoT projects. Its B4X language is described as a modern version of Visual Basic, and B4A, B4J, and B4i projects can share 90%+ of their code through cross-platform libraries. B4A includes a GUI designer for multiple screens and orientations and supports device debugging over USB or a wireless bridge. B4J creates desktop interfaces, console programs, and server solutions that can run on Windows, Mac, Linux, and ARM boards such as Raspberry Pi. B4R targets Arduino, ESP8266, and ESP32. The maker says compiled iOS, Android, Arduino, and ESP8266 applications are native and have no dependencies. B4A, B4R, and B4J are free, including for commercial purposes. Standard B4A and B4i licenses cost 59.00 USD once per developer. B4i requires an Apple developer account costing $99 per year, an iOS 11+ device, and Windows 7 64-bit or a VM for its IDE.

Qt Creator is an IDE for making applications for desktop, embedded, and mobile systems, as well as web browsers. It supports work from project setup and interface design through coding, building, deployment, running, and debugging. The editor offers semantic highlighting, syntax checks, code completion, search, and refactoring. It understands C++ and QML, with some Python language services when a language server is available. Build integrations cover CMake, qmake, Qbs, and Autotools; generic projects can use configurable build commands. Integrated debuggers and analysis tools can help investigate memory leaks, profile execution, and analyze CPU use. Testing support includes Boost.Test, Catch2, Google Test, Qt Quick Test, Qt Test, and CTest. Qt Creator supports AI agents; its documentation lists GitHub Copilot and an MCP Server extension. An open-source version is available at free, subject to LGPL/GPL obligations for Qt framework use. Qt’s commercial evaluation lasts 10 days and is for evaluation, not production or product development. Commercial use requires an active license for each developer, and Qt-based device distribution may also need licenses.