Codename One vs Monaca
Codename One
codenameone.com
Monaca
monaca.ioSide by side
| Figure | Codename One | Monaca |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $25/mo | $22/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 4 |
| Spec score · Mobile Development IDEs | 9.3 (#1) | 8.5 (#10) |
| Founded | 2012 | 2009 |
| Integrations | The documented sign-in stack covers OpenID Connect, Sign in with Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft Entra ID, Auth0, and Firebase Authentication. | The product site lists integrations with Onsen UI, Monaca CI, Monaca Power Plugin and product partners. |
| Support | The Free plan includes community support, Pro includes email support, and Enterprise includes phone support during office hours. | Support includes advanced technical support with code review, a monitored community forum, general questions and product documentation. |
| What it does | Codename One is an open-source Java and Kotlin framework that turns one codebase into native applications for mobile, desktop, web, watch, TV and vehicle targets. | Monaca is a cross-platform hybrid mobile app development platform and cloud tool suite built around HTML5, JavaScript and Apache Cordova. |
Plans
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.
Monaca
Monaca is a cross-platform hybrid mobile app development platform and cloud tool suite built around HTML5, JavaScript, and Apache Cordova. Its browser-based Cloud IDE supports Cordova work without local setup, while Monaca Localkit and the CLI provide local development tools. It supports Angular 1, Angular 2+, React, and Vue.js, and developers can bring another JavaScript framework. Cloud builds and continuous-integration features include hook scripts, custom plugins, and configurable setups. The Debugger provides breakpoints, stepping, and profiling, including iOS and Android debugging on Windows and Mac without installing SDKs. Cordova backend APIs cover push notifications, user management, remote databases, and email delivery. The Free plan costs nothing and includes three projects and three remote builds per 24 hours; corporate use is restricted to non-commercial purposes. PRO costs $22 a month, BUSINESS costs $55 a month plus base usage of $22 a month per team, and ENTERPRISE costs $110 a month plus base usage of $550 a month per organization. Monaca states that transmission uses HTTPS and SSL/TLS, but data is not encrypted at rest.