CyberInstaller Suite vs Electron Forge

CyberInstaller Suite helps developers build software installation packages for Windows projects made with a range of languages and development environments. CyberInstaller Studio provides a graphical interface and wizard for creating packages, which can be compressed into self-extracting executables. Other modules include Installer, Extractor, Updater, CIPEW and Downloader. Output options include self-extracting files, CD/DVD packages and web pages linking to downloads; command-line packaging and silent installation are also supported. Find Dependencies checks Visual Basic, Delphi and.NET projects, plus executables, and can add required runtime files. Installers can download prerequisites that were not embedded in a package, and distributed applications can receive online updates. With rollback enabled, the installer records system changes and can restore the earlier state during removal. Digital signing is available for package files and the package itself without modifying the originals. The free license is limited to freeware packages; commercial packaging is permitted with Professional and Enterprise licenses. Windows Vista, Server 2008, 7, 8.x, 10 and 11 are listed as supported. Prices are free, €39.90, paid once, €129.90, paid once and €169.90, paid once.

Electron Forge is a free, open-source tool for packaging and distributing Electron applications on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its build pipeline brings together code signing, installer creation, and artifact publishing. Makers generate platform-specific distributables, including Squirrel.Windows, ZIP, DEB, RPM, DMG, AppX, and Flatpak formats. Publishers can send outputs from the make command to distribution services, update servers, or storage such as an S3 bucket. Developers can initialize projects with create-electron-app and choose first-party Webpack, Webpack with TypeScript, Vite, or Vite with TypeScript templates. The Plugin API supports custom build logic, and custom Makers and Publishers can address additional build or storage targets. The GitHub Publisher supports GitHub Releases and, with host configuration, GitHub Enterprise. Documented auto-update options include a free Electron team service for open-source GitHub apps, static storage publishers, and a hosted update server; macOS auto-updates require a signed app. Getting started requires Node.js 16.4.0 or later, Git, and a JavaScript package manager. Packaging requires node_modules on disk and does not account for symlinked dependencies or Yarn Plug'n'Play.