Ionic Framework vs MIT App Inventor
Ionic Framework
ionicframework.com
MIT App Inventor
appinventor.mit.eduSide by side
| Figure | Ionic Framework | MIT App Inventor |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Mobile App Development Platforms | 7.8 (#9) | 8.7 (#2) |
| Support | Ionic’s documentation points developers to its community forum, GitHub issues, and community channels for help and contributions. | MIT directs users to a community forum where community experts answer questions, rather than promising commercial support contracts. |
| What it does | Ionic is an open-source UI toolkit for building performant mobile apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. | MIT App Inventor is a browser-based, block-programming environment for creating, testing and sharing mobile apps. |
Plans
In their own words
Ionic Framework
Ionic Framework has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
MIT App Inventor
MIT App Inventor is a free, browser-based platform for creating, testing, and sharing mobile apps with block-based programming. Its Designer is used to choose components, and its Blocks Editor is where users program app behavior. Projects can include games and media, AI for images, sounds, and text, surveys and charts, maps, sensors, and internet-connected devices. The MIT AI2 Companion app supports testing as an app is built on iOS and Android devices over Wi-Fi. Users can share projects for others to load and remix, then package completed apps for installation on Android. Although apps can be built for Android and iOS, the getting-started information says packaged app building and installation are Android-only for now. The browser tool supports Chrome, Firefox, and Safari on most laptops and desktops, plus Chromebooks, iPads, and Android tablets. A Google account is required. Creators own their apps and can download or delete them from the server. MIT says it tracks site usage and project-development information and may log device and browser details.