Excelsior Installer vs InstallShield

Struggling to choose between Excelsior Installer and InstallShield? 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, InstallShield is a Development product tagged with setup, installer, deployment, packaging.

Its standout features include Create installers for Windows, macOS, Linux, Support for MSI, EXE, AppX installers, Wizard-driven interface, Multiple languages support, Custom actions and logic, Version checking capabilities, Integration with build tools, Virtualization support, Patching capabilities, Rollback functionality, Administrative installs, and it shines with pros like Wide platform and installer format support, Intuitive visual interface, Powerful customization options, Robust patching and upgrading features, Integration with popular build tools, Good technical support.

Feature	Excelsior Installer	InstallShield
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.

InstallShield

Description: InstallShield is a software tool used to create installers or setup packages for distributing software to end users. It simplifies the complex process of making installers for Windows and other platforms.

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

InstallShield Features

• Create installers for Windows, macOS, Linux
• Support for MSI, EXE, AppX installers
• Wizard-driven interface
• Multiple languages support
• Custom actions and logic
• Version checking capabilities
• Integration with build tools
• Virtualization support
• Patching capabilities
• Rollback functionality
• Administrative installs

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

InstallShield

Pros

• Wide platform and installer format support
• Intuitive visual interface
• Powerful customization options
• Robust patching and upgrading features
• Integration with popular build tools
• Good technical support

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Complex pricing model
• Limited trial version
• Can be overkill for simple installers

Pricing Comparison

Excelsior Installer

• Free
• Open Source

InstallShield

• One-time Purchase
• Subscription-Based