Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Framework 7 VS Electron

Compare Framework 7 VS Electron and see what are their differences

Framework 7 logo Framework 7

Full Featured HTML Framework For Building iOS Apps

Electron logo Electron

Build cross platform desktop apps with web technologies
  • Framework 7 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24
  • Electron Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-01

Framework 7 features and specs

  • Comprehensive UI Components
    Framework7 provides a complete set of UI components like modals, pop-ups, action sheets, side panels, list views, etc., which help in rapid development.
  • Customizable
    It is highly customizable with both themes and custom styles, enabling developers to tailor the application to their specific needs.
  • Multi-Platform Support
    Framework7 supports iOS and Android design guidelines, allowing for the creation of hybrid apps that look and feel native.
  • Flexibility
    It offers flexibility as it can be used with multiple frontend frameworks like React, Vue.js, and Svelte, or even without any framework.
  • Performance
    Optimized for high performance with features like virtual lists and smart DOM updates.
  • Documentation
    Framework7 has extensive documentation, which provides detailed guides and examples, making it easier for developers to get started.
  • Community Support
    There is a growing community and active forum, which is helpful for troubleshooting and finding best practices.

Possible disadvantages of Framework 7

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Despite extensive documentation, beginners may find it difficult to initially get accustomed to the framework's structure and conventions.
  • Size
    Framework7 is relatively large in size compared to other frameworks, which might affect load times for web apps.
  • Limited Third-Party Plugins
    Although the core library is comprehensive, the ecosystem of third-party plugins and extensions is smaller compared to other frameworks like React or Vue.js.
  • Dependency on HTML Layout
    It relies heavily on HTML structure, which can make the code harder to manage and less flexible in more complex applications.
  • iOS-Centric Design
    While it supports both iOS and Android, the default design leans heavily towards iOS, which might require extra customization for Android-centric apps.
  • Performance Overhead
    The extensive feature set can sometimes introduce performance overhead in less optimized use cases.

Electron features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Electron allows developers to create applications that run on Windows, macOS, and Linux using a single codebase, making it easier to reach a broader audience.
  • Web Technologies
    Developers can utilize HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (including popular frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue) to build Electron apps, enabling a more accessible development process for web developers.
  • Rich Ecosystem
    Electron benefits from the vast ecosystem of Node.js, granting access to a multitude of packages and modules, and simplifying the inclusion of various functionalities in applications.
  • Auto-Update Mechanism
    Electron has built-in support for auto-updating applications, which saves developers time and effort in managing updates and improves the user experience by keeping the application up-to-date seamlessly.
  • Active Community
    An active community and extensive documentation provide a wealth of resources for developers, from tutorials to plugins, making it easier to find support and improve productivity.

Possible disadvantages of Electron

  • Large File Size
    Because Electron packages both the application code and a version of Chromium, applications tend to be significantly larger in file size compared to native counterparts.
  • High Memory Consumption
    Electron apps can consume more memory because each window runs its instance of Chromium, which can lead to inefficient resource usage, especially on systems with limited memory.
  • Performance
    Due to its reliance on web technologies and Chromium, Electron applications may not perform as well as optimally coded native apps, particularly in resource-intensive scenarios.
  • Security Concerns
    Electron's use of web technologies and features like Node.js integration increases the attack surface, requiring careful handling of security practices to prevent vulnerabilities such as injection attacks.
  • Complexity in Debugging
    Debugging Electron applications can be more complex due to the blend of backend (Node.js) and frontend (browser-like) code, requiring developers to be proficient in multiple debugging tools and techniques.

Framework 7 videos

Geometry Framework 7 - Review part 1

Electron videos

💻 Why You Should Build Desktop Software With Electron

More videos:

  • Review - What is Electron: The Hard Parts Made Easy
  • Review - Electron Matrix Review Video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Framework 7 and Electron)
Development Tools
40 40%
60% 60
JavaScript Framework
100 100%
0% 0
Rapid Application Development
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Framework 7 and Electron

Framework 7 Reviews

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Electron Reviews

Electron.js Alternatives For Cross-Platform Development
All of this changed when Electron.js came into the picture. The framework allowed developers to create a unique cross-platform desktop application without any hurdles. However, it uses up quite a bit of resource making it harder for developers to create lightweight applications. With this blog, we will look into suitable alternatives for Electron.js.
Source: www.atatus.com
12 Best Frameworks and Toolkits to Build Desktop Applications
If you are looking for an alternative to the Electronjs desktop application development framework, Neutralinojs is a viable option. A few applications may become bulky with Electron, but Neutralinojs can help avoid such problems.
Source: geekflare.com
10 Best Tools to Develop Cross-Platform Desktop Apps 
Electron.js is compatible with a variety of frameworks, libraries, access to hardware-level APIs and chromium engine, and Node.js support. Electron Fiddle feature is great for experimentation as it allows developers to play around with concepts and templates. Simplification is at the center of Electron because developers don’t have to spend unnecessary time on the packaging,...
Electron Alternatives﹣5 Best JavaScript Frameworks for Desktop Apps
If you’re a JavaScript developer, you’re going to need to learn a few relatively simple things on how Electron works and it’s API. You will most probably be able to set up your first Electron desktop application in just a few days.
Source: brainhub.eu
Frameworks & Tools to Develop Cross-Platform Desktop Apps – Best of
Enyo is an open-source JavaScript framework, like Electron, that allows developers to create native-quality apps for desktop, mobile, and TV. Enyo can run across all the relatively modern and standard web-based environments. It’s battle-tested and comes with a beautiful cross-platform UI toolkit for creating rich user interfaces.

Social recommendations and mentions

Framework 7 might be a bit more popular than Electron. We know about 15 links to it since March 2021 and only 14 links to Electron. 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.

Framework 7 mentions (15)

View more

Electron mentions (14)

  • Design Systems with Web Components
    So we talked a lot about the Atomic Design Principle, but you could just use that in any system and start creating. You could have Angular components, React Components, and Vue Components. But if you notice these don't easily work Everwhere. So the solution is to use Web Components because the modern browser can already understand these, and any Front-End framework can then utilize these components. You can use... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Building Apps with Tauri and Elixir
    For the longest time, building desktop apps was a daunting task to web developers. That is, until technologies like Electron made creating these apps more approachable to a wider audience. Today, we’ve got a wide array of native applications built with solutions like Electron, Tauri, Capacitor, and many more. While these are great solutions, sometimes configuration can be tricky and the applications we create can... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • SvelteKit + Electron: Create your desktop web app
    I make a new Adapter for SvelteKit apps that prerenders your entire site as a collection of static files for use with Electron. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Electron: Build Desktop Applications Using Plain Javascript
    Electron is a cross-platform shell — a user interface for accessing operating system services both via command line (CLI) and graphical user interface (GUI). - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Circuit To Turn On Desktop PC
    Electron (https://electronjs.org/) is a framework for developing cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. This is the technology behind many popular apps like Slack, Discord and Visual Studio Code. Join for discussions around Electron! Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Framework 7 and Electron, you can also consider the following products

Ionic - Ionic is a cross-platform mobile development stack for building performant apps on all platforms with open web technologies.

Qt - Powerful, flexible and easy to use, Qt will help you not only meet your tight deadline, but also reduce the maintainable code by an astonishing percentage.

PhoneGap - Easily create apps using the web technologies you know and love: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Flutter - Build beautiful native apps in record time 🚀

Onsen UI - HTML5 Hybrid Mobile App UI Framework - work with Angular, React, Vue, Meteor & pure JavaScript. Material & Flat design.

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React