Maestro vs XCUITest

Free tier available

Free

Free CLI; Maestro Cloud charges for hosted device execution, priced by run volume.

Free with Xcode, but requires macOS hardware for every CI runner — that is the real cost.

The CLI is open source and free for local and self-hosted CI use.

Included with Xcode.

Widely used

mobile.dev · since 2022

Category standard

Apple · since 2015

• Dramatically faster to a first working test than Appium — minutes versus days.
• Built-in tolerance for asynchronous UI removes most flake without explicit waits.
• Readable YAML that a product manager can follow.

• Fastest and most reliable option on iOS, with no third-party layer to break.
• Native accessibility-hierarchy access and built-in test recording.
• Guaranteed to keep working with each iOS release.

• YAML limits complex conditional logic and data-driven scenarios.
• Younger project with a smaller ecosystem than Appium.
• Fewer integrations with enterprise device clouds.

• iOS and macOS only, and Swift only.
• Requires macOS CI runners, which are expensive to rent or own.
• Element queries are less expressive than modern web locators.

Mobile teams that want working coverage quickly without an automation specialist.

iOS teams that ship native and want first-party reliability.