The Electron Framework and modern apps

Source: Dev.to

What is Electron?

If you aren’t familiar with Electron, it is a framework/bundler for building native apps using web apps. It also uses a local Node.js backend, allowing you to write both sides in JavaScript. This sounds great, until you analyze the end result.

Electron is known for memory and disk space requirements that seem insanely bloated, even for non‑Electron apps that still use web code. This is because it bundles an entire instance of Chromium. It runs a headless version, but includes the whole browser. Chromium also provides an embedded framework called CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework), but Electron is not the same thing.

So, why is it so popular?

Electron is better for teams.

Native code often requires a lot of effort and can become a nightmare with even one mistake in team environments. Web code is much easier to work with in teams, especially for companies, and it is compatible with many front‑end frameworks. You can even bring in back‑end developers to work with the Node.js side.

However, using Electron comes with a massive cost for users. Although it might seem like it, about 90 % of users are not using powerful PCs, and around 25–30 % don’t have more than 4 GB of RAM.

My Personal Take

Developers make apps to serve users, yet modern frameworks like Electron often seem to serve the developer first. If you forget that you are serving users and not yourselves, you are not a developer.

I don’t intend to offend anyone who uses Electron, but the better choice will always be native when possible. If you want a web‑based front‑end, there are many alternatives.

Electron Alternatives

Tauri

Tauri is a Rust framework that uses the system’s native web engine (WebView2 on Windows, Safari on macOS, Gecko on most Linux distros) to render a web‑based UI. The backend is Rust, while the front‑end remains lightweight, giving you more control over the app’s lifecycle.

Size comparison (minimal app):

• Tauri: < 5 MB
• Electron: 200 + MB

Flutter

Flutter is a UI toolkit that lets you write apps in Dart and compile them for mobile, desktop, and web (though the web target is generally not recommended for desktop‑focused projects). In desktop builds, Dart is compiled to native code and linked with Flutter’s rendering engine, producing binaries comparable to native C++ applications.

Size comparison (minimal app):

• Flutter: 20–30 MB
• Electron: 200 + MB

Conclusion

Electron makes a lot of sense for teams that value a single codebase across platforms, but alternatives like Tauri and Flutter can better serve end users by delivering smaller, more efficient binaries.

If you read this on the 25th, Merry Christmas.