Electron Forge vs Setup Factory
Electron Forge
electronforge.ioSetup Factory
indigorose.comSide by side
| Figure | Electron Forge | Setup Factory |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Software Packaging Tools | 8.6 (#1) | 7.5 (#24) |
| Extensibility | Forge supports custom build logic through plugins and lets developers create custom makers and publishers for build and storage targets. | Action plugins can add capabilities such as database, XML, encryption, and FTP support, and the maker offers a plugin development kit. |
| Integrations | The documentation index includes integrations and guides for Webpack, Vite, Parcel, React, React with TypeScript, and Vue 3. | The maker lists out-of-the-box unattended build support for Visual Build and Automated Build Studio. |
| Purpose | Electron Forge is an all-in-one tool for packaging and distributing Electron applications. | Setup Factory creates Setup.exe installers for Windows applications. |
Plans
Setup Factory
- Setup Factory (Single User)$395, paid once
- Setup Factory (Team Pack)$995, paid once
In their own words
Electron Forge
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.
Setup Factory
Setup Factory has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.