# Free Alternative to Xojo Published January 1, 2026 ยท Updated August 10, 2026 The best free alternative to Xojo ($499/year) is Flutter. Install it with: `brew install --cask flutter`. ## Best Free Alternatives to Xojo for Mac Xojo still pitches one codebase for desktop, web and mobile. The price reset from July 2025 is still the price in August 2026. A new Desktop, Web or Mobile license is $499 per year, Pro is $999 per year and Pro Plus is $1999 per year, all listed on store.xojo.com. The Lite tier is gone. You can still learn for free and you can still build for Linux and Raspberry Pi without paying. Shipping a macOS or Windows binary needs a paid license while that license is current. Free alternatives cover more ground than they did a year ago. Flutter 3.44.x installs with `brew install --cask flutter` and is the closest cross platform counterpart. You write Dart, get hot reload, and compile to desktop plus mobile plus web with no activation server and no yearly platform fee. Godot 4.7.1 installs with `brew install --cask godot` and costs nothing if your apps are games or interactive tools. For Mac only work, Xcode and SwiftUI install free with any Apple ID. You only pay the Apple Developer Program when you want App Store distribution. None of these is a one to one swap. Flutter is Dart and widgets, not Xojo BASIC. Godot is a game engine, not a forms designer for business tools. If the reason you chose Xojo is drag and drop RAD with a BASIC style language, there is no free identical tool. You either budget $499 for the Desktop license or you plan to learn a new language. ## Free alternatives 1. [Flutter](https://bundl.run/apps/flutter) โ€” UI toolkit for building cross-platform apps from a single codebase `brew install --cask flutter` ## Verdict In August 2026 Xojo asks $499 per year for each of Desktop, Web and Mobile, with no Lite tier. Flutter is the no cost default for true cross platform work. SwiftUI is the no cost pick for Mac only. Godot fits games. None repeats Xojo's BASIC drag and drop RAD exactly, so expect a language change unless you keep paying. ## FAQ ### is there a free version of xojo for mac Xojo is free to learn with and free to build for Linux and Raspberry Pi. To build for macOS, Windows, iOS or Android you need a paid license. In August 2026 that is $499 per year for Desktop, Web or Mobile, with Pro at $999 and Pro Plus at $1999. The cheaper Lite license was retired in August 2025. Teachers and students can still apply for a free educational license with valid credentials. ### can flutter really replace xojo for cross-platform development Yes for most teams, with a language change. Both let you keep one codebase for desktop, mobile and web. Flutter compiles to native binaries, has a larger package ecosystem, includes hot reload, and has no license fee. You trade Xojo BASIC for Dart, which is a one time cost that also applies to other jobs outside Xojo. ### how does flutter's performance compare to xojo In UI heavy apps Flutter usually feels faster. Both compile to native ARM64 and x86_64 code, but Flutter draws through Impeller and keeps animations at 60fps with low jank. Xojo apps are native too, yet the framework layer can add overhead that varies by control and workload. For most typical apps the two are close, with Flutter more consistent on animated interfaces. ### is flutter difficult to learn for a xojo developer Moderate. Dart syntax maps reasonably well to Xojo for anyone comfortable with objects and garbage collection. The harder part is the UI model. You move from Xojo forms and events to Flutter's declarative widget tree. Many Xojo developers report being useful in Flutter after two to four weeks of focused work, helped by extensive docs and a larger community to ask. ### what is the best free alternative to xojo in 2026 Flutter is the default free pick in 2026. It matches Xojo's core idea of one codebase with native compilation for all platforms, but without a yearly fee. Google maintains it, the package catalog is far larger than Xojo's, and the tooling is actively developed. React Native, .NET MAUI and Electron are options, but Flutter is the closest to Xojo's native everywhere approach. ### can i migrate my existing xojo project to flutter There is no automatic converter, so you rewrite. The UI concepts translate, buttons, lists, windows and database calls have equivalents, but you reimplement them as widgets and Dart code. Budget two to three times the original build time for a full rewrite, though hot reload makes rebuilding screens quicker. You can reuse your database schema and keep any Xojo built REST APIs running for the new Flutter client while you migrate in stages. ### does flutter support macos desktop apps natively Yes. macOS has been a stable Flutter target since version 2.10. Apps compile to native ARM64 for Apple Silicon and x86_64 for Intel, use Cocoa embedding, and support menu bars, keyboard shortcuts, window management, file drag and drop and platform dialogs. Google maintains the macOS embedding and ships improvements regularly. ### what happened to xojo lite license Xojo retired Lite in July 2025. Holders could renew until 4 August 2025, after that no new Lite licenses were sold. Lite was $99 per year, so its removal raised the cheapest paid entry to $499 per year for Desktop, Web or Mobile. That change pushed many hobbyists and small teams toward free options such as Flutter. ## Sources - [Xojo store pricing](https://store.xojo.com/) - [Xojo licenses](https://store.xojo.com/product-category/xojo-licenses/) - [Xojo pricing changes (July 2025)](https://blog.xojo.com/2025/07/21/xojo-pricing-changes/) - [Flutter](https://flutter.dev/) - [Homebrew Flutter](https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/flutter) - [Godot Engine](https://godotengine.org/) - [Homebrew Godot](https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/godot) - [Xcode on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/xcode/id497799835) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization", "name": "Bundl.run", "url": "https://bundl.run", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://bundl.run/og-image.png", "width": 1200, "height": 630 }, "description": "The Ninite for Mac. 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