Excelsior Installer vs InstallForge

Struggling to choose between Excelsior Installer and InstallForge? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Excelsior Installer is a Development solution with tags like installer, authoring, packaging, compression, windows.

It boasts features such as GUI-based installer creation, Support for MSI and EXE installers, Installer customization and branding, Multiple language support, Advanced installer logic, Installer prerequisites, Custom actions and events, Installer validation, Installer compression and pros including Free and open source, Easy to use drag and drop interface, Good documentation and community support, Create installers without programming knowledge, Flexible and customizable installers, Good for basic to intermediate installer needs.

On the other hand, InstallForge is a Development product tagged with installer, setup, deployment, authoring, windows.

Its standout features include Visual installation authoring, Multiple installer types (EXE, MSI, App-V, etc.), Customizable UI, Scripting support, Built-in tools and actions, Multi-language support, Versioning control, Patch building, Digital signing support, Integration with build tools, and it shines with pros like Intuitive drag and drop interface, Wide range of installer customization options, Good for complex installations, Active user community and documentation, Supports latest Windows versions.

Feature	Excelsior Installer	InstallForge
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Development	Development

Product Overview

Excelsior Installer

Description: Excelsior Installer is a free software installation authoring tool for creating Windows installers. It provides a GUI and set of tools to package, compress, and build installers with advanced functionality.

InstallForge

Description: InstallForge is a software installation authoring tool that allows you to quickly and easily create installers, setup packages, and executables for deploying software on Windows systems. It provides an intuitive visual interface for defining installation steps including file extraction, shortcuts, registry edits, custom actions, etc.

Key Features Comparison

Excelsior Installer Features

• GUI-based installer creation
• Support for MSI and EXE installers
• Installer customization and branding
• Multiple language support
• Advanced installer logic
• Installer prerequisites
• Custom actions and events
• Installer validation
• Installer compression

InstallForge Features

• Visual installation authoring
• Multiple installer types (EXE, MSI, App-V, etc.)
• Customizable UI
• Scripting support
• Built-in tools and actions
• Multi-language support
• Versioning control
• Patch building
• Digital signing support
• Integration with build tools

Pros & Cons Analysis

Excelsior Installer

Pros

• Free and open source
• Easy to use drag and drop interface
• Good documentation and community support
• Create installers without programming knowledge
• Flexible and customizable installers
• Good for basic to intermediate installer needs

Cons

• Limited to Windows installers only
• Less advanced features than paid tools
• Limited UI customization options
• No support for patches or upgrades
• No integration with IDEs or build systems

InstallForge

Pros

• Intuitive drag and drop interface
• Wide range of installer customization options
• Good for complex installations
• Active user community and documentation
• Supports latest Windows versions

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Can be overkill for simple installations
• Limited trial version
• Expensive full license

Pricing Comparison

Excelsior Installer

• Free
• Open Source

InstallForge

• Free trial
• One-time license purchase
• Volume/multi-user discounts available