electron-packager vs InstallShield
electron-packager
github.comInstallShield
revenera.comSide by side
| Figure | electron-packager | InstallShield |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $393.58/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · Software Packaging Tools | 7.9 (#8) | 7.8 (#14) |
| Purpose | Electron Packager bundles Electron app source code with a renamed Electron executable and supporting files into folders ready for distribution. | InstallShield is a software tool for building Windows installers, including MSI and MSIX packages, with Microsoft Visual Studio integration. |
| Security | GitHub reports that the project has not set up a SECURITY.md security policy. | InstallShield supports Microsoft Entra ID authentication for SQL Server connections, providing MFA-based access. |
| Support | The project directs usage questions to its FAQ and troubleshooting questions to its contributing documentation. | Revenera directs InstallShield users to its Support Hub and community resources for assistance. |
Plans
InstallShield
- InstallShield Professional$4,723 a year
- InstallShield Premier$7,795 a year
- InstallShield Premier - Cloud License ServerPriced on request
- InstallShield Premier - Local License ServerPriced on request
In their own words
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.
InstallShield
InstallShield has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.