# Electron vs NW.js

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Electron

| Attribute | Electron | NW.js |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 66.3 (60% (medium)) | 46.1 (25% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 21 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 93,246 | 1 |
| adoption.github_stars | 123,412 | 41,147 |
| 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":"A desktop application framework combining Chromium and Node.js, enabling developers to create native desktop applications using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebGL while accessing Node.js APIs directly. It is indexed under Desktop App Frameworks.","source":"https://nwjs.io/","question":"What is NW.js?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"NW.js 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://nwjs.io/","question":"Is NW.js free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"NW.js supports Windows, macOS and Linux. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://nwjs.io/","question":"What platforms does NW.js support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. NW.js 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/nwjs/nw.js","question":"Is NW.js open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| 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 desktop application framework combining Chromium and Node.js, enabling developers to create native desktop applications using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebGL while accessing Node.js APIs directly. |
| 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}` | `{"hot_reload_dev":true,"bundled_runtime":true,"native_look_and_feel":true,"app_store_distribution":true}` |
| integrations.count | 3 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Mac App Store"},{"name":"Microsoft Store"},{"name":"Snap Store"}]` | - |
| language.primary | C++ | JavaScript |
| license.spdx | MIT | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://www.electronjs.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T16:49:04.595Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://nwjs.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-07T15:26:49.344Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| 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"}]` | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 6.8 | 2.5 |
| security.trust_center | https://electronjs.org/docs/latest/tutorial/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":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fnwjs%2Fnw.js&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Desktop App Frameworks)

| Capability | Electron | NW.js |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Native look and feel | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bundled runtime | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto update builtin | ✓ | - |
| Code signing support | ✓ | - |
| App store distribution | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hot reload dev | - | ✓ |
| Accessibility support | - | - |
| Mobile target support | ✗ | - |
| Ide bundled | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-20T14:54:59.834Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*