# Electron vs Ionic

| Attribute | Electron | Ionic |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 66.3 (60% (medium)) | 68.7 (75% (high)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 63 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 93,246 | 54,760 |
| adoption.github_stars | 123,412 | 52,698 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 501,730 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Electron is a framework for building desktop applications by embedding Chromium and Node.js into its binary, allowing developers to maintain a single JavaScript codebase and create cross-platform apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is indexed under Mobile App Frameworks.","source":"https://www.electronjs.org","question":"What is Electron?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Electron is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.electronjs.org","question":"Is Electron free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Electron supports Windows, macOS and Linux. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.electronjs.org","question":"What platforms does Electron support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 3 integrations for Electron, including Mac App Store, Microsoft Store and Snap Store. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.electronjs.org","question":"What does Electron integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Electron is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/electron/electron","question":"Is Electron open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"An open-source framework that uses standard web technologies to create mobile applications deployable to iOS and Android as native apps or to the web as Progressive Web Apps. It is indexed under Mobile App Frameworks.","source":"https://ionicframework.com","question":"What is Ionic?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Ionic is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://ionicframework.com","question":"Is Ionic free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Ionic supports the web, iOS and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://ionicframework.com","question":"What platforms does Ionic support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Ionic can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://ionicframework.com","question":"Can Ionic be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 5 integrations for Ionic, including Cordova, Capacitor, Angular, React and Vue. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://ionicframework.com","question":"What does Ionic integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Ionic is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework","question":"Is Ionic open source?","confidence":0.99}]` |
| deployment.options | - | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Electron is a framework for building desktop applications by embedding Chromium and Node.js into its binary, allowing developers to maintain a single JavaScript codebase and create cross-platform apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux. | A web-based mobile app framework that enables developers to build native-quality applications for iOS, Android, and the web from a single codebase using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. |
| features.capabilities | `{"targets":"macOS, Windows, and Linux","approach":"desktop_webview","language":"JavaScript, HTML, and CSS","web_target":false,"ota_updates":true,"native_widgets":false,"bundled_runtime":true,"desktop_support":true,"single_codebase":true,"native_api_access":"plugin_bridged","auto_update_builtin":true,"code_signing_support":true,"native_look_and_feel":false,"mobile_target_support":false,"app_store_distribution":true}` | `{"targets":"iOS, Android, Web/PWA","approach":"webview_hybrid","language":"JavaScript","web_target":true,"ota_updates":true,"native_widgets":false,"desktop_support":false,"official_ui_kit":true,"single_codebase":true,"native_api_access":"plugin_bridged"}` |
| integrations.count | 3 | 3 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Mac App Store"},{"name":"Microsoft Store"},{"name":"Snap Store"}]` | `[{"name":"Cordova"},{"name":"Capacitor"},{"name":"Angular"},{"name":"React"},{"name":"Vue"}]` |
| language.primary | C++ | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | MIT | MIT |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://www.electronjs.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T16:49:04.595Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","summary":"Open source framework with optional paid Appflow service for deployments and build management","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://ionicframework.com","retrievedAt":"2026-09-14T13:21:37.383Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 7 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v43.7.9","date":"2026-10-07T03:14:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v43.7.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.16","date":"2026-10-07T03:13:54Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v43.7.8","date":"2026-10-06T18:05:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v43.7.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v42.11.11","date":"2026-10-06T17:41:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v42.11.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.15","date":"2026-10-06T01:39:20Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v44.6.0","date":"2026-10-06T22:31:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v44.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.14","date":"2026-10-01T22:06:03Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v43.7.7","date":"2026-09-30T10:48:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v43.7.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v42.11.10","date":"2026-09-30T11:00:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v42.11.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v44.5.1","date":"2026-09-30T02:12:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v44.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v44.5.0","date":"2026-09-29T19:09:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v44.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v43.7.6","date":"2026-09-29T19:00:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v43.7.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v42.11.9","date":"2026-09-29T19:05:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v42.11.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.13","date":"2026-09-28T22:05:51Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.12","date":"2026-09-24T21:48:05Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v45.0.0-alpha.11","date":"2026-09-23T05:15:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v45.0.0-alpha.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v44.4.5","date":"2026-09-23T06:45:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v44.4.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v43.7.5","date":"2026-09-23T06:15:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v43.7.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v42.11.8","date":"2026-09-23T06:37:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v42.11.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v44.4.4","date":"2026-09-22T18:38:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v44.4.4"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v9.0.8","date":"2026-10-14T15:43:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.0.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v9.0.7","date":"2026-10-07T17:21:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.0.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v9.0.6","date":"2026-09-30T17:16:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.0.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v9.0.5","date":"2026-09-23T18:44:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v9.0.4","date":"2026-09-16T17:41:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v9.0.3","date":"2026-09-09T15:19:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v9.0.2","date":"2026-09-02T19:25:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v9.0.1","date":"2026-08-26T18:08:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v9.0.0","date":"2026-08-19T17:11:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v9.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.19","date":"2026-08-19T15:27:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.18","date":"2026-08-12T21:15:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.17","date":"2026-08-05T17:18:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.16","date":"2026-07-29T20:46:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.15","date":"2026-07-22T21:29:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.14","date":"2026-07-15T21:15:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.13","date":"2026-07-01T19:00:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.12","date":"2026-06-24T17:17:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.11","date":"2026-06-17T18:28:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.10","date":"2026-06-10T20:43:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/releases/tag/v8.8.9","date":"2026-06-03T17:19:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.8.9"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 6.8 | 6.9 |
| security.trust_center | https://electronjs.org/docs/latest/tutorial/security | https://ionicframework.com/docs/v7/techniques/security |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":64,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=electron&per_page=100","last_12m":36,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` | `{"count":1,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40ionic%2Fcore&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Mobile App Frameworks)

| Capability | Electron | Ionic |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Target platforms | macOS, Windows, and Linux | iOS, Android, Web/PWA |
| Approach | Desktop WebView | WebView hybrid |
| Primary language | JavaScript, HTML, and CSS | JavaScript |
| **Rendering** |  |  |
| Renders true native UI | ✗ | ✗ |
| **DX** |  |  |
| Hot reload | - | - |
| TypeScript-first | - | - |
| **Delivery** |  |  |
| Over-the-air code push | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Portability** |  |  |
| Single codebase, multiple platforms | ✓ | ✓ |
| Desktop support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Builds for web | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Capability** |  |  |
| Native API access | Plugin / bridged | Plugin / bridged |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| Bundled UI component library | - | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:03:57.109Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*