I got this question enough that I decided to put together a post.

What can both do?

• Both are data persistence frameworks.

• Get, insert, update, and delete data.

• Display data easily with SwiftUI

• Create relationships between two models/entities.

• Sync data between all of a user's devices using CloudKit.

(Setting up SwiftData example from: SwiftData Mastery in SwiftUI)

What is different?

• SwiftData is newer and only available since iOS 17 where Core Data supports all versions.

• Core Data supports shared and public CloudKit databases. This is when different users of your app can see each other's data.

• Core Data has a sectioned fetch request which can make it easy to bind to a List/Form with sections:

(Sectioned fetch request example from: Core Data Mastery in SwiftUI)

SwiftData Advantages

• Less of a learning curve.

• Faster and easier to set up models and get data on the screen.

• Automatically saves data, no need to manually save.

• Easy to create models in Swift with compiler type-checking built in.

(Creating a model is as easy as making a class in Swift. From: SwiftData Mastery in SwiftUI)

Learn More - Special Offer

Are you interested in advancing your skills with SwiftData or Core Data easily and visually?

We offer books to help you do just that!

As a thank you for reading our blog, we're thrilled to offer you an exclusive 11% discount on all our SwiftUI books!

📚 Use coupon code POSTS_11 at checkout or just click this link bigmountainstudio.com to claim your discount.

(Note: Coupons cannot be used during sales.)

Your Learning Path Quick Links (Save 11%)

1. Create UI with SwiftUI Views Mastery (beginner)

2. Architect your app using SwiftUI Essentials (beginner)

3. Improve your app's UX with SwiftUI Animations Mastery (junior)

4. Save & sync your app's data with Core Data Mastery -or- SwiftData Mastery (junior) 

5. React to and manipulate data using Combine Mastery in SwiftUI (advanced)