electron-builder vs Electron Forge

electron-builder9.4Visit Electron Forge8.7Visit

Higher score electron-builder #1 in Software Packaging Tools 9.4/10 Open source ✓ 5 of 5 features Try electron-builder

vs

Electron Forge #5 in Software Packaging Tools 8.7/10 Open source ✓ 3 of 5 features Visit Electron Forge

• electron-builder fits best

  Cross-platform Electron apps with full release workflows

• Electron Forge fits best

  Electron teams needing packaging and publishing

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Side by side

Feature	electron-builder 9.4/10 Visit ↗	Electron Forge 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.7
Ranking	#1 in Software Packaging Tools	#5 in Software Packaging Tools
Best for	Cross-platform Electron apps with full release workflows	Electron teams needing packaging and publishing
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Open source	Open source
Free plan	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Self-hosted
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Docs, Community
Integrations	5 integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features electron-builder 5/5 · Electron Forge 3/5
Command-line packaging	✓	✓
Silent installation	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Auto-update support	✓	✓
Delta updates	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
CI/CD integration	✓	✓
Specs
Target platforms	macOS, Windows, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Output formats	DMG, PKG, MAS, AppImage, Snap, DEB, RPM, FreeBSD, Pacman, P5P, APK, NSIS, NSIS Web, portable EXE, AppX, MSIX, MSI, Squirrel.Windows, ZIP, 7z, tar.xz, tar.gz, tar.bz2, tar.lz, tar.7z	Squirrel.Windows, ZIP, DEB, RPM, DMG, AppX, Flatpak
Our review
Pros	Builds installers, archives, portable apps, and packages across three platforms Supports signing, macOS notarization, silent MSI installs, and differential updates Automates publishing and multi-platform releases with CLI, APIs, and GitHub Actions	Packages Windows, macOS, and Linux applications Supports signing, macOS notarization, publishing, and updates Open-source CLI with makers, hooks, plugins, and CI integrations
Cons	Focused on Electron applications rather than general software packaging Its broad configuration scope may exceed simple packaging needs Release workflows depend on configuring targets, signing, publishing, and updates	Centered on Electron rather than general desktop packaging Automatic updates require application-level configuration macOS automatic updates require a signed application
Our verdict	electron-builder is an open-source command-line tool and Node.js package for turning Electron applications into distributable installers, portable builds, archives, and platform packages. It targets macOS, Windows, and Linux, with… Read the review →	Electron Forge is an open-source development tool for creating, packaging, signing, publishing, and updating Electron applications. It is designed for developers and teams distributing desktop software across Windows, macOS, and Linux.… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• electron-builder — where it wins

  • Builds installers, archives, portable apps, and packages across three platforms
  • Supports signing, macOS notarization, silent MSI installs, and differential updates
  • Automates publishing and multi-platform releases with CLI, APIs, and GitHub Actions

  Where it doesn't

  • Focused on Electron applications rather than general software packaging
  • Its broad configuration scope may exceed simple packaging needs
  • Release workflows depend on configuring targets, signing, publishing, and updates

• Electron Forge — where it wins

  • Packages Windows, macOS, and Linux applications
  • Supports signing, macOS notarization, publishing, and updates
  • Open-source CLI with makers, hooks, plugins, and CI integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Centered on Electron rather than general desktop packaging
  • Automatic updates require application-level configuration
  • macOS automatic updates require a signed application

• electron-builder9.4/10 · Open source

  A broad Electron release toolkit covering builds, updates, signing, publishing, and CI/CD.

  Try electron-builderFull verdict →
• Electron Forge8.7/10 · Open source

  A capable Electron-focused pipeline for building, signing, publishing, and updating desktop apps.

  Visit Electron ForgeFull verdict →