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EtherApps Forge VS PACE Suite

Compare EtherApps Forge VS PACE Suite and see what are their differences

EtherApps Forge

AI-ready Windows app packaging, with local AI options. Forge captures apps where they run, even with no installer, into signed MSIX, MSI, Intune and App Attach. GitHub Copilot can drive it via MCP.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Paid Free trial £895 / Annually (Per admin user)
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Alternatives Is it good?
PACE Suite

PACE Suite is an intelligent application packaging solution to work with packages of multiple formats, such as MSI, MSIX, AppX, App-V, ThinApp, and IntuneWin.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Paid Free trial €1,400 / Annually
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Alternatives Is it good?
ReleasePad
Changelog software that turns GitHub commits into release notes your users actually see — inside your app. Built for founders and teams who ship fast. sponsored
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Virtualization popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
9 vs 28

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

EtherApps Forge
PACE Suite
Website etherapps.ai dropcatch.com
Pricing
Paid Free trial £895 / Annually (Per admin user) Official pricing
Paid Free trial €1,400 / Annually Official pricing
Platforms
Windows Windows XP Server 2008R2
Windows
Company 1 - 9 employees 2008
Listed in
Virtualization App Deployment Endpoint Management Virtualization Platform Developer Tools MCP & AI Agent Tooling MSIX AI +5
Application Packaging Application Builder Application Deployment Package Builder Application Quality Application Repackaging CI/CD +4

About EtherApps Forge and PACE Suite

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

EtherApps Forge
PACE Suite

EtherApps Forge captures Windows applications on the machines they already run on, even when the installer is lost, and turns them into signed MSIX, MSI, Intune Win32 and App Attach packages. Package the apps holding up your move to Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop and Intune, including the...

Read more about EtherApps Forge

PACE Suite is an intuitive application packaging solution aimed at simplifying and optimizing the end-to-end application packaging process and reducing the delivery time of high-quality software to end-users across thousands devices. The solution provides a wide range of advanced features that...

Read more about PACE Suite

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

EtherApps Forge 12 features
PACE Suite 16 features
  • AI agent integration (MCP)
    The Forge MCP server lets GitHub Copilot and other MCP clients drive Forge in plain English, one real tool call at a time
  • Local AI (Forge AI Controller)
    Private preview: runs packaging as an agent in your own infrastructure, with local AI models, Microsoft Foundry in your subscription or OpenAI services
  • Capture without the installer
    Capture apps on the machine they run on, from Windows XP SP3 to Windows 11 and Server 2008 R2 to 2025
  • App-V conversion
    App-V 5 packages to MSIX or MSI without resequencing
  • Output formats
    Signed MSIX, MSI, Intune Win32 and App Attach (VHD, VHDX, CIM)
  • Package testing
    Sign, validate and smoke test each package
  • MSIX editing
    Edit a built MSIX without rebuilding it
  • Automation
    Batch capture, forge_msix command line and PowerShell module
  • Deployment targets
    Microsoft Intune, Configuration Manager, Azure Virtual Desktop App Attach, Citrix, Omnissa App Volumes
  • Data control
    Runs on your own machines; packages and signing keys stay with you
  • Free trial
    7 days at etherapps.ai, 25 captures, no card
  • Training
    Free MSIX training and certification with a work email
  • Create Windows Installer package, edit it, create transforms, patches
  • Capture installations remotely on multiple virtual machines hosted on the ESXi, Hyper-V and VirtualBox hypervisors
  • Automate package quality, safety and deployment readiness checks
  • Create Windows Installer package, edit it, create transforms, patches
  • Repackage any installer into an MSI, MSIX, APPX or a virtualization format
  • Publish MSI package to Microsoft SCCM
  • Automate routine packaging tasks
  • Estimate MSI package complexity and generate package documentation
  • Create and edit virtual packages (App-V, ThinApp)
  • Repackaging in Windows Sandbox
  • Editor for PSAppDeployToolkit
  • Build installer for CI/CD
  • Dialog box editor
  • PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit framework
  • Repackaging in Windows Sandbox
  • Repackaging in Docker

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

EtherApps Forge 8 videos + Add
PACE Suite 2 videos + Add

Agentic App Packaging with EtherApps Forge: Ask in Plain English

More videos

  • - EtherApps Forge: The complete walkthrough
  • - EtherApps Forge in 48 Seconds: Legacy Apps Ready for Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop
  • - Forge AI Controller (private preview): Unattended packaging in your own tenant
  • - App-V to MSIX Without Resequencing
  • - The App Nobody Can Reinstall: Capture It as MSIX
  • - Forge Capture: Live capture from any Windows machine
  • - Forge MSIX: Scripted MSIX packaging from your build pipeline

Publish MSI to SCCM - PACE Suite 5.5.x

More videos

  • - Edit MSI (Windows Services)

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
EtherApps Forge
PACE Suite
100% 100%
Virtualization
0% 0%
0% 0%
Package Builder
100% 100%
100% 100%
Endpoint Management
0% 0%
0% 0%
Application Deployment
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing EtherApps Forge and PACE Suite.

What makes your product unique?

EtherApps Forge's answer

EtherApps Forge packages Windows apps with AI doing the busywork. Through the Forge MCP server, GitHub Copilot and other AI clients drive Forge in plain English, one real tool call at a time, and nothing ships until your team approves it. For teams that cannot send data to a shared AI service, Forge AI Controller (private preview) runs in your own infrastructure with local AI models, so what it learns stays in your environment. Underneath, Forge captures apps on the machine they already run on, even when the installer is lost, from Windows XP SP3 to Windows 11 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to 2025. One capture gives signed MSIX, MSI, Intune Win32 and App Attach packages, and App-V 5 packages convert to MSIX or MSI without resequencing.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

EtherApps Forge's answer

Most packaging tools need the original installer and a clean machine. Forge captures the app where it already runs, so the apps nobody can reinstall still get packaged. It converts App-V without resequencing, builds every format (MSIX, MSI, Intune Win32, App Attach) from one capture, and signs, validates and smoke tests each package. GitHub Copilot can drive the whole process through the Forge MCP server. Forge runs on your own machines, so packages and signing keys stay with you. In our study, MSIX at Scale (2026), Forge built an MSIX for 90.68% of 3,261 Windows application cases.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

EtherApps Forge's answer

Application packagers, endpoint and Microsoft Intune engineers, and the teams moving apps to Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop. Managed service providers (MSPs) use Forge to run packaging as a service across many customers.

What's the story behind your product?

EtherApps Forge's answer

Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop projects kept stalling on the same thing: old Windows apps with lost installers, App-V packages and apps nobody could reinstall. EfficientEther built Forge to clear that app blocker by capturing each app where it still runs and turning it into modern packages. As AI coding assistants arrived, Forge added the Forge MCP server so GitHub Copilot can drive packaging in plain English, and Forge AI Controller (private preview) to run the lifecycle as an agent in your own tenant.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

EtherApps Forge's answer

Forge is a Windows application built around MSIX, Windows Installer (MSI), App-V, Intune Win32 and App Attach (VHD, VHDX, CIM) packaging. It exposes its tools through a command line (forge_msix), a PowerShell module and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for GitHub Copilot and other AI clients. Forge AI Controller (private preview) works with Microsoft Foundry, OpenAI services or local models.

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