Capacitor vs Electron
How does Capacitor compare to Electron?
See the pros and cons of each framework, target platforms and more.
Capacitor
Electron
About
Maintainer
IonicInitial Release
May 22, 2019
Maintainer
OpenJS FoundationInitial Release
15 July 2013
Community
Languages
- JavaScript
- TypeScript
- HTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
- TypeScript
- HTML
- CSS
Target Platforms
- ✓ Android
- Android Auto
- Android TV
- ✓ iOS
- Linux
- macOS
- tvOS
- watchOS
- Wear Os
- Windows
- Android
- Android Auto
- Android TV
- iOS
- ✓ Linux
- ✓ macOS
- tvOS
- watchOS
- Wear Os
- ✓ Windows
✅Strengths
- Cross-platform
Capacitor allows developers to build mobile apps for multiple platforms, including Android and iOS, using a single codebase.
- Native APIs
Capacitor provides a bridge between the web technologies and the native APIs of the operating systems. This means that developers can access native functionality such as camera, contacts, and file storage.
- Web Technologies
Developers can use web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build mobile apps with Capacitor, which they may already be familiar with. This can make development faster and more comfortable.
- Plugins
Capacitor has a plugin system that allows developers to extend the functionality of their apps. There are many plugins available to help developers build apps faster.
- Cross-platform
Electron allows developers to write code once and deploy it across multiple platforms. This saves development time and effort.
- Web Technologies
Developers can use web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build desktop apps with Electron, which they may already be familiar with. This can make development faster and more comfortable.
- Native APIs
Electron provides a bridge between the web technologies and the native APIs of the operating systems. This means that developers can access native functionality like the menu bar, tray and much more.
- Large Community
Electron has a large and active developer community, which means there is plenty of documentation, tutorials, and examples available to help developers build desktop apps.
🛑Weaknesses
- Performance
Apps built with Capacitor may not perform as well as those built natively due to the overhead introduced by the webview.
- Emerging Community
Capacitor is a relatively new framework, which means that there is not a lot of tutorials, and examples available to help developers apps.
- Performance
Apps built with Electron may not perform as well as those built natively due to the overhead introduced by the webview.
- App Size
Electron apps have Chromium and Node.js bundled with them which can make the resulting binary quite large.
- Limited Platforms
Electron can only target desktop environments like Windows, macOS and Linux.
