---
last_modified: 2026-06-16
title: "Comparison with other tools"
description: "How deno desktop compares to Electron, Electrobun, Tauri, and Dioxus across language, engine, process model, app size, ecosystem, and what's built-in."
---

:::info Coming in Deno 2.9

`deno desktop` ships in Deno v2.9.0 and is not in a stable release yet. To try
it now, run `deno upgrade canary` to install the
[`canary`](/runtime/reference/cli/upgrade/) build. The command, configuration
keys, and TypeScript APIs may still change before the feature is stable.

:::

`deno desktop` is one of several ways to ship desktop apps with web
technologies. Here is how it compares to the alternatives.

## At a glance

|                             | Electron               | Electrobun      | Tauri                | Dioxus           | `deno desktop`          |
| --------------------------- | ---------------------- | --------------- | -------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------------- |
| **Language**                | JS/TS (Node.js)        | JS/TS (Bun)     | Rust + web frontend  | Rust             | JS/TS (Deno)            |
| **Web engine**              | Bundled Chromium       | System WebView  | System WebView       | System WebView   | Bundled CEF or WebView  |
| **Consistent rendering**    | Yes                    | No              | No                   | No               | Yes (CEF)               |
| **Process model**           | Multi-process          | Multi-process   | Multi-process        | Single process   | Multi-thread            |
| **Backend ↔ UI**            | IPC                    | IPC             | IPC                  | Native Rust      | In-process channels     |
| **App size**                | ~100 MB+               | ~14 MB          | ~2–10 MB             | ~5 MB            | ~40 MB / ~150 MB (CEF)  |
| **npm / Node compat**       | Yes                    | Yes             | No                   | No               | Yes                     |
| **Framework auto-detect**   | No                     | No              | No                   | No               | Yes                     |
| **HMR**                     | No                     | Yes             | Yes (Vite-based)     | Yes (`dx serve`) | Yes                     |
| **Built-in auto-update**    | Full binary            | bsdiff          | Plugin               | None             | bsdiff                  |
| **Built-in installers**     | Yes                    | No              | Yes                  | No               | Partial (DMG, AppImage) |
| **Cross-compile**           | Yes (electron-builder) | No (macOS only) | No (needs target OS) | No               | Yes (`--target`)        |
| **macOS / Windows / Linux** | All three              | macOS only      | All three            | All three        | All three               |
| **iOS / Android**           | No                     | No              | Yes                  | Yes              | Not yet                 |

## What `deno desktop` is good at

**Zero-config framework support.** `deno desktop .` on a Next.js, Astro, or
Fresh project needs no adapter and no config: the production server runs in
release mode, and the dev server runs under `--hmr`. None of the other tools
auto-detect frameworks at this level.

**Cross-compile from one machine.** Same as `deno compile --target`. Tauri and
Dioxus need the target platform locally to build (their toolchain includes Rust,
which has to compile for the target). Electrobun only ships on macOS. Electron
supports cross-platform builds via electron-builder, but needs Node and
platform-specific signing tools per target.

**Full Node compatibility, with a choice of backend.** Electron bundles both
Chromium and Node, but is massive. Tauri and Dioxus are small but have no JS
ecosystem. `deno desktop` defaults to the OS webview (small, like Tauri) yet
still gives you the full Node compat layer through Deno, including `npm:`
imports in your handlers and `bindings`, and can bundle Chromium (CEF) when you
need consistent rendering.

**In-process bindings instead of IPC.** Electron / Electrobun / Tauri all use
socket-based IPC between the backend and the UI. Calls serialize, cross a
process boundary, and deserialize. `deno desktop` runs the Deno runtime and the
rendering backend inside the same process, talking over in-process channels.
Values are still encoded as JSON across the call, but there is no cross-process
round-trip.

**Built-in auto-update with binary diffs.** Electron ships full binaries.
Tauri's update plugin downloads full builds. Electrobun and `deno desktop` both
do `bsdiff` patches, but `deno desktop` integrates the update flow with the
runtime: no separate updater binary, automatic rollback, manifest polling all in
one API.

## What other tools are good at

**Electron: ecosystem.** Years of tooling, packaging, and signing machinery.
Every major editor and chat app uses it. If you need mature plugin ecosystems
(Spectron, electron-builder, autoUpdater abstractions), Electron has them.

**Tauri: small footprint and mobile.** Tauri's binaries are an order of
magnitude smaller than `deno desktop` (or Electron) and Tauri 2 supports iOS and
Android. If size or mobile is the priority, Tauri wins.

**Electrobun: fast iteration on macOS.** Electrobun has good start-up speed and
HMR on macOS. If you only ship Mac apps and work in the Bun ecosystem, it is
worth a look.

**Dioxus: Rust-only.** No JS runtime at all. If you are writing everything in
Rust and want a unified codebase, Dioxus is a good pick.

## What `deno desktop` doesn't have yet

These are documented on the relevant pages of this section, but worth listing in
one place:

- **One-step notarization.** macOS bundles are code-signed (ad-hoc by default,
  or with a configured Developer ID identity), but notarization is still a
  separate `notarytool` step. See
  [Distribution](/runtime/desktop/distribution/#code-signing).
- **Windows MSI** and **Linux `.deb` / `.rpm`** installer outputs.
- **Auto-update on Windows.** Binary-diff
  [auto-update](/runtime/desktop/auto_update/) applies on macOS and Linux;
  Windows is not yet supported.
- **iOS / Android** targets.
- **Native clipboard and secure-storage APIs** (use the Web `Clipboard` API from
  the webview side until they land). Native
  [notifications](/runtime/desktop/notifications/) and
  [system tray / dock](/runtime/desktop/tray_and_dock/) APIs _are_ available.
- **Runtime permissions for desktop apps** (a permission prompt on every
  filesystem / network access, i.e. Deno's permission system applied to desktop
  sandboxing).
- **Shared CEF runtime across apps.** Every app currently bundles its own CEF
  copy. A managed shared runtime would drop binary sizes to a few MB per app. On
  the roadmap.

## When to pick `deno desktop`

- Your codebase is JavaScript / TypeScript and you do not want to write Rust.
- You want consistent rendering across platforms and are OK with the binary size
  that comes with bundling Chromium.
- You already have a Next.js / Astro / Fresh / etc. web app and want a desktop
  version with no code changes.
- You want cross-compilation from one machine.
- You need full Node compatibility (npm packages, native modules) in your
  backend code.
- You want auto-update built in, not bolted on.

## When to pick something else

- **Tauri** if binary size is non-negotiable, you don't need npm, and you want
  mobile.
- **Electron** if your team's existing tooling, signing, and CI already target
  Electron.
- **Dioxus** if you are writing Rust top to bottom.
- **Electrobun** if you only ship macOS and want to live on the Bun side.