Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Fluid VS Forge

Compare Fluid VS Forge and see what are their differences

Fluid logo Fluid

Turn Your Favorite Web Apps into Real Mac Apps.

Forge logo Forge

Static web hosting made simple
  • Fluid Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-29
  • Forge Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30

Fluid features and specs

  • Dedicated Browsers
    Fluid creates site-specific browsers that allow users to have dedicated apps for their favorite web pages. This can enhance focus and organization by keeping tasks separate from regular web browsing.
  • Custom User Experience
    Each Site Specific Browser (SSB) can have a custom icon and name, providing a more personalized and aesthetically pleasing user interface.
  • Resource Management
    Having dedicated apps for regularly used web services can minimize the use of browser tabs and extensions, potentially leading to better performance and resource management.
  • Independence from Web Browser
    Fluid apps are independent of the main web browser. This means that if your browser crashes or has issues, your Fluid apps remain unaffected.
  • Enhanced Productivity
    By converting web apps into standalone desktop applications, users can more easily compartmentalize their work, leading to enhanced productivity.

Possible disadvantages of Fluid

  • Limited to MacOS
    Fluid is available only for MacOS, which limits its usability to Mac users and excludes users on other operating systems like Windows or Linux.
  • Manual Updates
    Users need to manually update each Site Specific Browser (SSB) created through Fluid, as these do not automatically update like regular browser tabs.
  • Security Risks
    As Fluid apps are essentially wrappers for web pages, they are subject to the same security risks as any web browser. Users need to ensure they are visiting trusted sites.
  • Limited Functionality
    Unlike full-fledged desktop applications, Fluid apps might have limited native functionality. They rely heavily on the web app's own features and may lack advanced desktop integrations.
  • Cost for Full Features
    While Fluid is free to use, certain advanced features, such as pinning apps to the status bar, require a one-time purchase of Fluid's paid version.

Forge features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Forge provides a user-friendly interface that simplifies the deployment and management of server applications, which is beneficial for developers who may not be experts in server management.
  • Automation
    Forge automates many of the tedious tasks involved in server management, such as updates, backups, and scaling, saving users significant time and effort.
  • Scalability
    Using Forge, you can easily scale your applications to handle increased traffic by adding more servers or resources, which is advantageous for growing businesses.
  • Integrations
    Forge seamlessly integrates with various services and platforms, like GitHub and DigitalOcean, to streamline the development and deployment workflow.
  • Security
    Forge emphasizes security by providing built-in firewalls, SSL certificates, and automatic updates, ensuring that servers are well-protected against vulnerabilities.
  • Support
    Forge offers comprehensive customer support, including documentation, forums, and direct support options, which help users troubleshoot and resolve issues quickly.

Possible disadvantages of Forge

  • Cost
    Forge is a paid service, which may be expensive for small developers or startups with limited budgets, as the costs can add up with increased usage.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, there is still a learning curve associated with understanding all its features and capabilities, which may be challenging for beginners.
  • Platform Lock-In
    Using Forge ties you to its ecosystem and infrastructure, which could be limiting if you decide to switch to a different platform or use a different set of tools.
  • Dependency on Internet Connection
    As a cloud-based service, Forge requires a stable internet connection to manage and deploy servers, which could be problematic in areas with unreliable connectivity.
  • Limited Customization
    While Forge provides a lot of automation, the level of customization available may not meet the needs of more advanced users who require specific configurations or features.

Analysis of Fluid

Overall verdict

  • Fluid is a good option for macOS users who find themselves frequently switching between web applications and want a more streamlined process. It's especially useful for those who prefer to keep web app sessions isolated or those who enjoy customizing their workflows. However, consider that it is only available for macOS and may not support all features of more complex web applications.

Why this product is good

  • Fluid (fluidapp.com) allows users to create site-specific browsers, which can be useful for treating web applications as standalone apps on macOS. This can help with productivity by preventing web distractions and organizing workflows. Fluid is particularly beneficial if you frequently use web apps and want them to function like native applications with their own dock icons and separate sessions.

Recommended for

  • MacOS users looking to create desktop-like experiences for web applications.
  • Individuals seeking to minimize distractions from other open tabs in a standard browser.
  • Users who need isolated sessions for different web applications.
  • People who appreciate customizing their desktop workflow.

Fluid videos

Primochill Vue Fluid Review

More videos:

  • Review - FluidReview - Accept Online Applications and Submissions and Review
  • Review - Golden Matte Fluid Acrylic Review โ€ข An Alternative to Gouache?

Forge videos

Devil Forge Single Burner Oval Forge Product Review

More videos:

  • Review - Devil Forge Product Review and Set Up
  • Review - Hell's Forge review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Fluid and Forge)
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Web Servers
0 0%
100% 100
Group Chat & Notifications
Web And Application Servers

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Fluid and Forge

Fluid Reviews

10+ Best Prototyping Tools for UI/UX Designers in 2018
With a strong focus on simplicity and communication, Fluid UI great Prototyping tools. Having built-in high and low fidelity component libraries, live team collaboration, device previews and video presentations making it a top-notch solution for designers, product managers and founders alike.

Forge Reviews

We have no reviews of Forge yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Fluid seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 19 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Fluid mentions (19)

  • ToDesktop โ€“ Web app to desktop app in minutes
    > Is ToDesktop For Me? > If you want to make a desktop app of a website for your personal use, ToDesktop is overkill. I just want to point out that a lot of us "pros" learn how to use tools like this by semi-personal use. Therefore, you might want to consider a free personal version that's crippled in a mildly annoying way: For example, no installer, don't sign the app, and have an easily-ignorable nag. (Therefore... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • in safari Sonoma, do profiles act like containers ? (firefox container)
    If you haven't used Fluid - https://fluidapp.com , I would recommend trying the free download. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Why is it so hard to change Chromium's UI?
    You can use Min, Fluid or any browser with full screen mode to have the same effect. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Safari Window Management
    Https://fluidapp.com/ might do it for you. Other applications like this also exist. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Web Push for Web Apps on iOS and iPadOS
    Does Fluid[1] work as a solution for you? Iโ€™m on an older OS with an older version but I love it for creating single-site apps. [1] https://fluidapp.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
View more

Forge mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Forge yet. Tracking of Forge recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Fluid and Forge, you can also consider the following products

WebCatalog - Run your favorite web apps natively

Microsoft IIS - Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows

Nativeifier - Turn any webpage into a native app

Apache Tomcat - An open source software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies

Coherence X - Coherence X4 is a powerful tool that allows you to turn any website into a chromium-based, isolated, native application on your Mac.

LiteSpeed Web Server - LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.