Advanced Installer vs electron-packager
Advanced Installer
advancedinstaller.comelectron-packager
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Advanced Installer | electron-packager |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $33.25/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · Software Packaging Tools | 8.4 (#2) | 7.9 (#8) |
| Integrations | Its continuous integration support includes Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, TeamCity, and Bamboo. | Electron Forge uses Electron Packager internally, while related installer tools use Packager-created folders to create distributables. |
| Security | The 2026 highlights list update configuration signature matching, hidden or embedded updater settings, modified-parameter checks, PowerShell tamper checks, and build security validation. | GitHub reports that the project has not set up a SECURITY.md security policy. |
| Support | The company provides support through its forums, user guide, and email, and phone support for customers with a valid maintenance plan during stated weekday hours. | The project directs usage questions to its FAQ and troubleshooting questions to its contributing documentation. |
Plans
Advanced Installer
- FreewareFree
- Professional$399 a year
- Enterprise$1,399 a year
- Enterprise Team$3,599 a year
In their own words
Advanced Installer
Advanced Installer is a Windows authoring tool for building packages that install, update, and configure software products. It creates MSI, EXE, and MSIX packages; listed output formats also include APPX, App-V, MST, and ThinApp. Command-line packaging, silent installation, auto-updates, and delta updates are supported. Continuous integration support includes Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, TeamCity, and Bamboo. The Architect edition can repackage legacy installations and provides MECM and Intune integration for packaging and deployment workflows. Freeware features are available without a license for Simple projects; licensed features require a valid license. Professional costs $399 a year, Enterprise costs $1,399 a year, and Enterprise Team costs $3,599 a year for five users. One-time purchase options are listed at $599 per user for Professional and $2,399 per user for Enterprise. Non-freeware features have a 30-day trial, but trial-built packages are for testing only. The current application requires Windows 10 or 11; produced MSI or EXE installers are listed for Windows 7 or newer and Windows Server 2008 R2 or newer.
electron-packager
electron-packager bundles Electron app source code with a renamed Electron executable and supporting files into folders ready for distribution. It works as a command-line tool or a Node.js library called through JavaScript. Packager can find or download a matching Electron release and build for a selected platform and architecture, all valid combinations, or the host combination. Output targets include Windows, macOS—including Mac App Store targets—and Linux; these are also the listed host platforms. Documented target architectures include x86, x86_64, arm64, universal macOS, Linux armv7l, and Linux mips64el, though some depend on Electron versions. CLI options include a regular-expression ignore filter for files and folders. Electron Forge uses Packager internally, and installer tools can use its output folders to create distributables. The free, open-source Node.js tool requires Node.js 22.12.0 or higher, and local installation is recommended. Signing a macOS or Mac App Store bundle requires building on a macOS host. The project also notes that even a minimal zipped app is approximately the size of the matching zipped Electron binary.