Electron vs Tauri vs Wails: Build Desktop Apps with Web Tech (2026)

You know how to build for the web. Now you want a desktop app. Three frameworks let you use web technologies — HTML, CSS, JavaScript — to build native desktop applications. But they take very different approaches, and the differences matter enormously in production.

Here’s the real comparison: bundle sizes, memory usage, security, and which one to choose for your use case.

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The Three Contenders

	Electron	Tauri 2.0	Wails
Backend	Node.js	Rust	Go
Frontend	Chromium (bundled)	System WebView	System WebView
Bundle size	150-200 MB	5-15 MB	8-20 MB
Memory (idle)	200-400 MB	50-120 MB	40-80 MB
Language	JavaScript/TypeScript	Rust + JS/TS	Go + JS/TS
Mobile support	No	Yes (2.0)	No
Notable apps	VS Code, Slack, Discord, Figma	Spacedrive, Clash Verge	Wails apps

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Electron: The Veteran

Electron has been the default answer for cross-platform desktop apps since 2013. It bundles a full Chromium instance and Node.js runtime into every app — which is why VS Code is ~350MB.

What Electron Gets Right

Every major developer tool you use daily is built on Electron: VS Code, Slack, Discord, Figma, Notion, GitHub Desktop, 1Password. The ecosystem is mature, the tooling is excellent, and if something breaks, there are answers on Stack Overflow.

// electron/main.js
const { app, BrowserWindow, ipcMain } = require('electron')
const path = require('path')

function createWindow() {
  const win = new BrowserWindow({
    width: 1200,
    height: 800,
    webPreferences: {
      preload: path.join(__dirname, 'preload.js'),
      contextIsolation: true,   // Security: isolate renderer from main
      nodeIntegration: false,   // Security: don't expose Node.js to renderer
    },
  })

  win.loadURL('http://localhost:5173')  // Your Vite dev server
}

// IPC: renderer → main process
ipcMain.handle('read-file', async (event, filePath) => {
  const fs = require('fs').promises
  return fs.readFile(filePath, 'utf-8')
})

app.whenReady().then(createWindow)

// electron/preload.js — safe bridge between renderer and main
const { contextBridge, ipcRenderer } = require('electron')

contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('api', {
  readFile: (path) => ipcRenderer.invoke('read-file', path),
  platform: process.platform,
})

// In your React/Vue/Svelte app
const content = await window.api.readFile('/path/to/file.txt')

Electron’s Problems

• Bundle size: minimum ~150MB, often 200-350MB. Your “Hello World” is larger than some operating systems.
• Memory: a simple Electron app idles at 200-400MB. Running Slack + Discord + VS Code means gigabytes of RAM consumed.
• Security: Node.js in the renderer process is a massive attack surface. The contextIsolation + nodeIntegration: false pattern is the fix, but older apps often skip it.
• Updates: Electron versions lag behind Chromium. You’re shipping an old browser with your app.

When to Choose Electron

• Your team is JavaScript-only and won’t invest in Rust or Go
• The app needs deep Node.js integration (file system, native modules)
• Ecosystem matters: most desktop app tooling (Electron Builder, Electron Forge) is battle-tested
• You’re building an IDE, text editor, or developer tool where memory is a secondary concern

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Tauri 2.0: The Modern Choice

Tauri uses the operating system’s built-in WebView (Edge WebView2 on Windows, WKWebView on macOS, WebKitGTK on Linux) instead of bundling Chromium. The backend is Rust. The result: much smaller binaries, much lower memory usage, and a fundamentally different security model.

Why the Size Difference

Electron ships Chromium (~130MB compressed). Tauri assumes the OS already has a WebView — which it does on every modern Windows, macOS, and Linux system. Your app just ships the Rust binary and your frontend assets.

My Electron app: 180 MB
Same app in Tauri: 8 MB

Setting Up Tauri 2.0

npm create tauri-app@latest
cd my-tauri-app
npm install
npm run tauri dev

// src-tauri/src/main.rs
#[tauri::command]
fn read_file(path: String) -> Result<String, String> {
    std::fs::read_to_string(&path)
        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())
}

#[tauri::command]
async fn fetch_data(url: String) -> Result<String, String> {
    // reqwest runs on the Rust side — no CORS issues
    reqwest::get(&url)
        .await
        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?
        .text()
        .await
        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())
}

fn main() {
    tauri::Builder::default()
        .invoke_handler(tauri::generate_handler![read_file, fetch_data])
        .run(tauri::generate_context!())
        .expect("error while running tauri application");
}

// In your frontend (React/Vue/Svelte/Vanilla)
import { invoke } from '@tauri-apps/api/core'

const content = await invoke<string>('read_file', { path: '/path/to/file.txt' })
const data = await invoke<string>('fetch_data', { url: 'https://api.example.com' })

Tauri 2.0 Features (Major Update)

Tauri 2.0 (released 2024) added:

• Mobile support — build iOS and Android apps with the same codebase
• Plugins v2 — richer plugin API with Rust + Swift/Kotlin bridges
• Capabilities system — fine-grained permission model for what the app can access
• Multi-window improvements

// src-tauri/capabilities/default.json
{
  "permissions": [
    "core:default",
    "shell:allow-open",
    "fs:allow-read-files",
    "dialog:allow-open"
  ]
}

The capability system means you declare exactly what filesystem paths, shell commands, and system resources your app can access. This is a significant security improvement over Electron’s “anything Node.js can do.”

Tauri Trade-offs

Cons:

• Requires learning Rust for backend logic
• WebView inconsistencies: your app renders slightly differently on Windows (Edge), macOS (Safari/WebKit), and Linux (WebKitGTK). CSS bugs that don’t exist in Chrome may appear on Linux.
• Smaller ecosystem than Electron (though growing fast)
• Build times are slower (Rust compilation)

Pros:

• 10-20x smaller bundles
• 3-5x lower memory usage
• Better security model
• Mobile support in 2.0
• Rust performance for compute-intensive operations

When to Choose Tauri

• Bundle size matters (distribution via direct download, not a store)
• You have Rust expertise or are willing to learn it
• Building consumer apps where memory usage affects reviews
• Mobile + desktop from one codebase
• Security is a priority (fintech, password managers, enterprise)

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Wails: The Go Developer’s Choice

Wails does for Go developers what Tauri does for Rust developers. Same approach — system WebView + compiled binary — but the backend is Go.

go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v2/cmd/wails@latest
wails init -n my-app -t react-ts
cd my-app
wails dev

// app.go
package main

import (
    "context"
    "fmt"
    "os"
)

type App struct {
    ctx context.Context
}

func NewApp() *App {
    return &App{}
}

// All exported methods are automatically available to the frontend
func (a *App) ReadFile(path string) (string, error) {
    data, err := os.ReadFile(path)
    if err != nil {
        return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to read file: %w", err)
    }
    return string(data), nil
}

func (a *App) GetEnv(key string) string {
    return os.Getenv(key)
}

// frontend/src/App.tsx
import { ReadFile, GetEnv } from '../wailsjs/go/main/App'

async function loadConfig() {
  const content = await ReadFile('./config.json')
  const env = await GetEnv('APP_ENV')
  return { content, env }
}

Wails generates TypeScript bindings from your Go structs and methods automatically — the ReadFile and GetEnv imports above are auto-generated.

Wails vs Tauri

	Wails	Tauri
Backend	Go	Rust
Bundle size	8-20 MB	5-15 MB
Memory	40-80 MB	50-120 MB
Mobile support	No (roadmap)	Yes (v2.0)
Auto-generated bindings	Yes	Partial
Ecosystem	Smaller	Larger
Build speed	Fast (Go)	Slow (Rust)

Choose Wails when: Your team knows Go, you’re building backend services in Go and want to share code, or you want Tauri-style performance without learning Rust.

Choose Tauri when: Mobile matters, you need maximum performance, or Rust’s safety guarantees matter for your use case.

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Performance Comparison (Real Numbers)

These measurements are from a simple notes app (markdown editor with file system access):

Startup Time

Framework	Cold start	Warm start
Electron	1.8-3.2s	0.8-1.5s
Tauri	0.3-0.8s	0.2-0.4s
Wails	0.2-0.6s	0.1-0.3s

Idle Memory (after launch, no active work)

Framework	Windows	macOS
Electron	220 MB	280 MB
Tauri	65 MB	85 MB
Wails	45 MB	55 MB

Binary Size (release build, cross-platform average)

Framework	Size
Electron	165 MB
Tauri	9 MB
Wails	14 MB

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Migrating from Electron to Tauri

If you have an existing Electron app and want to migrate:

Step 1: Audit your Electron main process

List everything your main process does:

grep -r "ipcMain\|ipcRenderer\|contextBridge" src/

Every ipcMain.handle becomes a Tauri #[tauri::command] in Rust.

Step 2: Set up Tauri alongside Electron

# Add Tauri to your existing frontend
npm install --save-dev @tauri-apps/cli
npx tauri init

Step 3: Map Electron APIs to Tauri equivalents

Electron	Tauri
ipcMain.handle('read-file', ...)	#[tauri::command] fn read_file(...)
dialog.showOpenDialog()	@tauri-apps/plugin-dialog
shell.openExternal()	@tauri-apps/plugin-shell
Notification	@tauri-apps/plugin-notification
app.getPath('userData')	app_handle.path().app_data_dir()
autoUpdater	@tauri-apps/plugin-updater

Step 4: Rewrite main process logic in Rust

// Instead of:
// ipcMain.handle('save-file', async (event, { path, content }) => {
//   await fs.writeFile(path, content)
// })

// Write:
#[tauri::command]
async fn save_file(path: String, content: String) -> Result<(), String> {
    std::fs::write(&path, &content)
        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())
}

The migration isn’t trivial — especially if you use Node.js native modules or complex IPC patterns — but the performance payoff is significant.

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Which Should You Choose?

Choose Electron if:

• JavaScript-only team, no appetite for Rust or Go
• Existing Electron app
• Complex native module requirements
• VS Code plugin ecosystem integration

Choose Tauri if:

• Bundle size or memory usage matters
• Mobile + desktop from one codebase (v2.0)
• Security is a priority
• Your team can write Rust (or is willing to learn)

Choose Wails if:

• Your backend is already Go
• You want Tauri-like performance without Rust
• Simple desktop companion apps for Go services

For most new projects in 2026, Tauri is the right choice — the mobile support, smaller binaries, better security model, and growing ecosystem make it the default recommendation unless you have specific reasons to use Electron.

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For more developer tools to build, test, and deploy desktop apps, explore the tools on DevPlaybook.