Electron vs webview
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A framework for building desktop apps for macOS, Windows, and Linux using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
Open source · MIT
A small C/C++ library that shows HTML-based user interfaces in a native window.
The short answer
Choose Electron if you need…
- Web developers who want to ship a desktop app using skills they already have
- Teams that need one codebase running on macOS, Windows, and Linux
- Developers building editor-style or tool-style desktop apps with web UIs
Choose webview if you need…
- C or C++ developers who want an HTML-based GUI without bundling a full browser framework
- Developers building small desktop tools that need a simple window and web content
- Projects that want a single-header or amalgamated library that is easy to drop in
- Developers who need a C API that other languages can bind to
Side-by-side
| Electron | webview | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Framework | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 124k | 14.3k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Clone and build from source |
| Main language | C++ | C++ |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 15 days ago |
What each one is
Electron
Electron lets developers write desktop applications using web technologies (JavaScript, HTML, and CSS) instead of platform-specific languages. The README says it is based on Node.js and Chromium, and that apps such as Visual Studio Code are built with it. The same code can run on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
webview
webview is a small C/C++ library that opens a native window containing a web view, so you can build a graphical app using HTML for the interface. It uses WebKit on Linux and macOS and Microsoft's WebView2 on Windows. It also supports two-way JavaScript bindings, so C/C++ code can call JavaScript and JavaScript can call C/C++.
Best for
Electron
- Web developers who want to ship a desktop app using skills they already have
- Teams that need one codebase running on macOS, Windows, and Linux
- Developers building editor-style or tool-style desktop apps with web UIs
webview
- C or C++ developers who want an HTML-based GUI without bundling a full browser framework
- Developers building small desktop tools that need a simple window and web content
- Projects that want a single-header or amalgamated library that is easy to drop in
- Developers who need a C API that other languages can bind to
Strengths
Electron
- Uses JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, which many developers already know
- Prebuilt binaries are provided for macOS, Windows, and Linux on x64 and arm64 (macOS Intel and Apple Silicon)
- Released under the MIT license and used by large apps such as Visual Studio Code
webview
- Small footprint: the README describes it as a tiny library that wraps existing system web engines
- Covers Linux (GTK with WebKitGTK), macOS (Cocoa with WebKit) and Windows (WebView2)
- Offers both C++ and C interfaces, plus an amalgamated single-file build
Not ideal for
Electron
- People who only want to use an existing desktop app; Electron is for building apps, not an end-user program
- Projects that need very small download sizes or minimal memory use, since each app bundles a Chromium and Node.js runtime (inferred from the README's description of its base components)
- Developers wanting native platform UI toolkits rather than web-based interfaces
webview
- People who want a ready-made app rather than a library to build one (it is code you compile into your own program)
- Projects that need one identical rendering engine on every platform, since it relies on each system's web engine
- Beginners with no C or C++ experience, since setup involves compilers, CMake and system libraries
- Windows users targeting versions before Windows 11 without shipping the WebView2 runtime, which the README says must be installed
Trade-offs
Electron
- The README does not state app size or memory footprint; apps bundle Chromium and Node.js, which the README's description implies adds weight
- Platform support follows Chromium and supported Linux distributions, so older OS versions may be dropped (e.g., macOS Ventura and up, Windows 10 and up)
- Desktop-specific behavior still requires learning Electron's APIs; documentation is at electronjs.org/docs
webview
- Rendering and available web features depend on each platform's WebKit or WebView2 version, so behavior can differ between systems
- Linux setup requires installing GTK and WebKitGTK packages, and the right package set varies by distribution
- No latest release is listed in the metadata, so you will likely need to pin a git tag such as 0.12.0 as the README example does
Getting started
Electron
Install Electron as a dev dependency in your app
npm install electron --save-devwebview
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/webview/webviewConfigure the example build
cmake -G Ninja -B build -S . -D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=ReleaseFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Electron and webview?
Electron: A framework for building desktop apps for macOS, Windows, and Linux using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. webview: A small C/C++ library that shows HTML-based user interfaces in a native window. Electron suits web developers who want to ship a desktop app using skills they already have, while webview suits c or c++ developers who want an html-based gui without bundling a full browser framework.
Are Electron and webview free?
Electron: Free and open source. webview: Free and open source.
Is Electron or webview more popular?
Electron has more GitHub stars (124k) than webview (14.3k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Electron and webview?
Other options people compare them with include NW.js, Dear ImGui.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.