Electron vs Wails
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A framework for building desktop apps for macOS, Windows, and Linux using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
Open source · MIT
A Go framework for building desktop apps with a web-based user interface.
The short answer
Choose Electron if you need…
- Web developers who want to ship a desktop app using skills they already have
- Teams that need one codebase running on macOS, Windows, and Linux
- Developers building editor-style or tool-style desktop apps with web UIs
Choose Wails if you need…
- Go programmers who want a desktop app with a web-style interface
- Developers who want to add a frontend to an existing Go program
- Teams wanting a lighter alternative to Electron for Go-based apps
- Developers who already know React, Vue, Svelte, or Angular
Side-by-side
| Electron | Wails | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Framework | Framework |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 124k | 36.9k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | C++ | Go |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Electron
Electron lets developers write desktop applications using web technologies (JavaScript, HTML, and CSS) instead of platform-specific languages. The README says it is based on Node.js and Chromium, and that apps such as Visual Studio Code are built with it. The same code can run on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Wails
Wails lets Go programmers build desktop applications using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS for the interface, with Go handling the backend logic. It packages both into a single binary and handles project creation, compilation, and bundling. The README says it uses native rendering engines rather than an embedded browser, and offers native dialogs and menus.
Best for
Electron
- Web developers who want to ship a desktop app using skills they already have
- Teams that need one codebase running on macOS, Windows, and Linux
- Developers building editor-style or tool-style desktop apps with web UIs
Wails
- Go programmers who want a desktop app with a web-style interface
- Developers who want to add a frontend to an existing Go program
- Teams wanting a lighter alternative to Electron for Go-based apps
- Developers who already know React, Vue, Svelte, or Angular
Strengths
Electron
- Uses JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, which many developers already know
- Prebuilt binaries are provided for macOS, Windows, and Linux on x64 and arm64 (macOS Intel and Apple Silicon)
- Released under the MIT license and used by large apps such as Visual Studio Code
Wails
- Lets Go developers reuse familiar web frontend tools
- Produces a single binary combining Go code and the web UI
- Supports macOS, Windows, and Linux per the project topics and features list
Not ideal for
Electron
- People who only want to use an existing desktop app; Electron is for building apps, not an end-user program
- Projects that need very small download sizes or minimal memory use, since each app bundles a Chromium and Node.js runtime (inferred from the README's description of its base components)
- Developers wanting native platform UI toolkits rather than web-based interfaces
Wails
- People who do not know Go, since the backend is written in Go (reason: the framework assumes Go programming skills)
- Projects needing a browser-based web server rather than a desktop app (reason: Wails targets packaged desktop binaries)
- Anyone needing a mature v3 ecosystem, since the README lists v2 as the stable line and v3.0.0 with no release binaries (reason: version status is still settling)
Trade-offs
Electron
- The README does not state app size or memory footprint; apps bundle Chromium and Node.js, which the README's description implies adds weight
- Platform support follows Chromium and supported Linux distributions, so older OS versions may be dropped (e.g., macOS Ventura and up, Windows 10 and up)
- Desktop-specific behavior still requires learning Electron's APIs; documentation is at electronjs.org/docs
Wails
- Requires Go knowledge and familiarity with web frontend tooling
- Version 3 is newly released and the latest release lists no binaries, so you may need to build it yourself
- The README is truncated here, so detailed platform and setup requirements are not fully confirmed
Getting started
Electron
Install Electron as a dev dependency in your app
npm install electron --save-devWails
Install Wails v2 CLI
go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v2/cmd/wails@latestInstall Wails v3.0.0 CLI
go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v3/cmd/wails3@v3.0.0Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Electron and Wails?
Electron: A framework for building desktop apps for macOS, Windows, and Linux using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Wails: A Go framework for building desktop apps with a web-based user interface. Electron suits web developers who want to ship a desktop app using skills they already have, while Wails suits go programmers who want a desktop app with a web-style interface.
Are Electron and Wails free?
Electron: Free and open source. Wails: Free and open source.
Is Electron or Wails more popular?
Electron has more GitHub stars (124k) than Wails (36.9k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Electron and Wails?
Other options people compare them with include NW.js, NativeScript, Clean Architecture Solution Template.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.