Dear ImGui vs Qt

Struggling to choose between Dear ImGui and Qt? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Dear ImGui is a Development solution with tags like c, gui, immediate-mode-gui.

It boasts features such as Immediate mode GUI, Minimal code required, Integration with OpenGL, DirectX, Vulkan, Metal, Widgets like buttons, checkboxes, sliders, trees, Multi-viewport support, Mouse/keyboard/gamepad inputs, Font support, Customizable look and feel and pros including Lightweight and fast, Easy to integrate and use, Good documentation and examples, Active development and community support, Permissive MIT license.

On the other hand, Qt is a Development product tagged with crossplatform, gui, cli, desktop-apps, mobile-apps, embedded-systems.

Its standout features include Cross-platform development, Comprehensive widget set and UI building tools, Integrated IDE (Qt Creator), Signals and slots for inter-object communication, Model/view architecture, Graphics framework and 2D rendering engine, XML parser, Networking and connectivity libraries, Multimedia and audio support, Database access through SQL drivers, Web browser engine (Qt WebEngine), and it shines with pros like Write once, deploy anywhere, Large ecosystem of libraries and add-ons, High performance and small executable sizes, Integrated GUI designer and debugger, Clean and consistent API design, Good documentation and community support.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Dear ImGui

Dear ImGui

Dear ImGui is an open source immediate mode graphical user interface library for C++. It is easy to use and integrate into games or applications to create fast graphical user interfaces with minimal code.

Categories:
Development User Interface Libraries
c gui immediate-mode-gui

Dear ImGui Features

  1. Immediate mode GUI
  2. Minimal code required
  3. Integration with OpenGL, DirectX, Vulkan, Metal
  4. Widgets like buttons, checkboxes, sliders, trees
  5. Multi-viewport support
  6. Mouse/keyboard/gamepad inputs
  7. Font support
  8. Customizable look and feel

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Lightweight and fast

Easy to integrate and use

Good documentation and examples

Active development and community support

Permissive MIT license

Cons

Limited widget set compared to traditional GUI frameworks

Requires rendering knowledge for integration

Not as full-featured as traditional GUI frameworks

Qt

Qt

Qt is a cross-platform application development framework focused on creating GUI and CLI apps for desktop, mobile and embedded platforms. It includes a class library and tools designed to streamline the process of writing and maintaining applications across platforms.

Categories:
Development Application Frameworks
crossplatform gui cli desktop-apps mobile-apps embedded-systems

Qt Features

  1. Cross-platform development
  2. Comprehensive widget set and UI building tools
  3. Integrated IDE (Qt Creator)
  4. Signals and slots for inter-object communication
  5. Model/view architecture
  6. Graphics framework and 2D rendering engine
  7. XML parser
  8. Networking and connectivity libraries
  9. Multimedia and audio support
  10. Database access through SQL drivers
  11. Web browser engine (Qt WebEngine)

Pricing

  • Open Source
  • Commercial License

Pros

Write once, deploy anywhere

Large ecosystem of libraries and add-ons

High performance and small executable sizes

Integrated GUI designer and debugger

Clean and consistent API design

Good documentation and community support

Cons

Steep learning curve

Binary compatibility issues when upgrading

Limited native look and feel on some platforms

Not as lightweight as some alternatives

Lacks some features of native platforms