Inno Setup vs Makeself

Struggling to choose between Inno Setup and Makeself? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Inno Setup is a Development solution with tags like installer, setup, authoring, windows.

It boasts features such as Create installers for Windows programs, Multi-language support, Customizable installer UI, Conditional logic, Registry and file manipulation, Scripting using Pascal Script and pros including Free and open source, Easy to use graphical interface, Powerful scripting capabilities, Wide range of functionality, Active community support.

On the other hand, Makeself is a Os & Utilities product tagged with selfextracting, installer, packaging, unix.

Its standout features include Creates self-extracting shell scripts, Packages software into a single executable file, Works on Unix-like systems, Easy distribution and installation of software, Compression using gzip, bzip2, lzma or xz, MD5 checksum verification, Progress bar during extraction, Customizable messages, prompts and license agreement, and it shines with pros like Simple and easy to use, Good for distributing software, Does not require root access or special permissions, Works across different Unix distributions, Lightweight and efficient.

Feature	Inno Setup	Makeself
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Development	Os & Utilities

Product Overview

Inno Setup

Description: Inno Setup is an open-source installation and setup authoring tool for Windows programs and software packages. It allows developers to easily create installers with basic to advanced functionality, including multi-language support, custom dialogs and screens, conditional logic, and much more.

Makeself

Description: Makeself is a small shell script that generates a self-extractable tarball for Unix. It packages software into a single executable file for easy distribution and installation.

Key Features Comparison

Inno Setup Features

• Create installers for Windows programs
• Multi-language support
• Customizable installer UI
• Conditional logic
• Registry and file manipulation
• Scripting using Pascal Script

Makeself Features

• Creates self-extracting shell scripts
• Packages software into a single executable file
• Works on Unix-like systems
• Easy distribution and installation of software
• Compression using gzip, bzip2, lzma or xz
• MD5 checksum verification
• Progress bar during extraction
• Customizable messages, prompts and license agreement

Pros & Cons Analysis

Inno Setup

Pros

• Free and open source
• Easy to use graphical interface
• Powerful scripting capabilities
• Wide range of functionality
• Active community support

Cons

• Windows only
• Steep learning curve for advanced features
• Not as feature rich as some paid tools
• Scripting requires Pascal knowledge

Makeself

Pros

• Simple and easy to use
• Good for distributing software
• Does not require root access or special permissions
• Works across different Unix distributions
• Lightweight and efficient

Cons

• Limited to Unix-like systems
• Not as full-featured as other packaging systems
• No dependency handling
• No uninstall capability
• Lacks some advanced features

Pricing Comparison

Inno Setup

• Open Source

Makeself

• Open Source