Verdict: For new desktop apps in 2026, Tauri is the safest default if your team can write Rust — it ships the smallest binaries, has the most mature ecosystem of the two Chromium-free options, and added iOS and Android targets in v2. Wails is the right pick if your backend is Go: it matches Tauri's architecture (OS-native webview, no bundled Chromium) but replaces JSON IPC with auto-generated TypeScript bindings, so Go methods feel like local JS functions. Electron is still the pragmatic choice when your team is 100% JavaScript, you need pixel-identical rendering on every OS, or you depend on the vast npm ecosystem — but you pay for it with 10–20× larger bundles and 3–4× more RAM.
Last verified: 2026-07-30 · Best for Go teams: Wails v2.13 · Best for Rust teams: Tauri v2 · Best for JS-only teams / maximum ecosystem: Electron · Pricing/limits change often — last checked July 2026.
What Is Wails and How Does It Work?
Wails is an open-source framework that lets you build cross-platform desktop applications using Go for the backend and any web technology (React, Vue, Svelte, plain HTML/JS) for the frontend, compiled into a single native binary. Instead of bundling a full Chromium browser like Electron, Wails reuses each operating system's native webview — WebView2 on Windows, WebKit (WKWebView) on macOS, and WebKitGTK on Linux — the same architectural approach Tauri takes. The result is a dramatically smaller binary with no browser engine shipped inside it (Wails GitHub).
What sets Wails apart is its binding system. You write Go structs and methods in your backend; Wails automatically generates TypeScript definitions and JavaScript wrappers for them. When you change a Go method signature, wails dev regenerates the bindings and reloads the app — your frontend code calls the Go function as if it were a local import, with full type safety and no manual JSON glue code. Go errors surface as JavaScript exceptions automatically (Wails v3 docs, Medium — Why Wails Wins at IPC).
Current versions: Wails v2.13.0 is the stable release. Wails v3 is in alpha (v3.0.0-alpha2.118 as of July 26, 2026) and adds multi-window support, a system tray API, a new menu system, experimental Android packaging (AAB for Google Play), and the Wails Markup Language (wml) — an htmx-like way to drive the app from plain HTML without JavaScript (Wails v3 docs — What's New, Wails releases).
| Property | Wails v2 (stable) | Wails v3 (alpha) |
|---|---|---|
| Backend language | Go | Go |
| Webview | OS-native (WebView2 / WKWebView / WebKitGTK) | Same |
| Bindings | Auto-generated TS/JS from Go | Same |
| Multi-window | No | Yes |
| Mobile (iOS/Android) | No | Experimental (Android AAB) |
| GitHub stars | ~35.5K | (same repo) |
| Install | go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v2/cmd/wails@latest |
go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v3/cmd/wails3@latest |
Sources: Wails installation docs, Wails v3 installation, Wails GitHub
Wails vs Tauri vs Electron: How Do Their Architectures Compare?
All three frameworks let you build desktop apps with a web frontend — but they differ on what runs the backend and what renders the UI.
| Dimension | Wails (Go) | Tauri (Rust) | Electron (Node.js) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backend language | Go | Rust | JavaScript / Node.js |
| Rendering engine | OS-native webview | OS-native webview | Bundled Chromium |
| IPC mechanism | Direct method binding (auto-generated) | JSON commands + events (invoke) |
Channel-based (ipcMain / ipcRenderer) |
| Type-safe bindings | Yes, automatic | Optional (tauri-bindgen) |
No |
| Single binary | Yes | Yes | No (bundles Chromium + Node) |
| Mobile targets | Experimental (v3 alpha, Android) | Yes, iOS + Android (v2.0+) | No |
| GitHub stars | ~35.5K | ~107K | ~121K |
| Learning curve | Low (if you know Go) | Medium (Rust) | Low (if you know JS) |
Sources: Tauri v2 docs, Electron docs, Wails docs, DigitalApplied comparison
The architectural fork is simple: Electron ships a complete Chromium instance inside every app, guaranteeing identical rendering everywhere but inflating the bundle. Wails and Tauri share the same "use the OS webview" strategy, so their binary sizes are similar — the difference is whether the backend is Go (Wails) or Rust (Tauri), and how frontend-to-backend calls are wired.
How Much Smaller Is a Wails or Tauri App Than Electron?
Wails and Tauri produce binaries that are roughly 5–20× smaller than Electron because they do not bundle Chromium. Here is what the primary sources report:
| Framework | Typical installer size | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wails | ~10–30 MB (vendor-stated ~15 MB for v3) | OS webview + Go binary |
| Tauri | ~3–15 MB (core < 600 KB) | OS webview + small Rust binary |
| Electron | ~80–200 MB+ | Bundles Chromium + Node.js |
Sources: Tauri app size docs, DigitalApplied 2026 comparison, Pikvue benchmark, BuildMVPFast
Important caveat on Wails numbers: Wails' own architecture docs report ~15 MB bundles, ~10 MB memory, and sub-0.5s startup — but these are vendor-reported figures, not yet independently confirmed by a third-party benchmark. Treat them as stated capabilities, not measured facts. Tauri's numbers, by contrast, have been independently corroborated by multiple sources (DigitalApplied, JavaScript News, BuildMVPFast).
In one hands-on comparison (building the same screen-recorder app in all three frameworks), the bundle sizes were: Wails 52 MB, Tauri 57 MB, Electron 324 MB — so Wails and Tauri landed within 5 MB of each other, while Electron was more than 6× larger. Your actual numbers will depend on your frontend assets and Go/Rust dependencies.
How Do They Compare on Memory and Startup Time?
The OS-webview approach (Wails, Tauri) avoids running a full Chromium process tree, which is where the memory and startup savings come from.
| Metric | Wails | Tauri | Electron |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idle RAM (typical) | ~25–80 MB (vendor-stated ~10 MB) | ~30–100 MB | ~100–300 MB |
| Warm startup | Sub-0.5s (vendor-stated) | ~0.5–1s | ~2–5s |
| Cold startup | Not independently measured | ~0.8s | ~2.5s |
Sources: Pikvue benchmark, BuildMVPFast, JavaScript News, Oflight Tauri guide
Electron's memory cost comes from its process model: a main process (Node.js), one or more renderer processes (each a Chromium instance), and a GPU process. A simple Electron app at idle commonly sits at 150–250 MB of combined RAM; complex apps frequently exceed 400 MB (JavaScript News). Tauri and Wails avoid this because there is no bundled browser — the OS webview is already shared with the system.
From the same hands-on screen-recorder comparison: warm-start averages were Wails 385 ms, Tauri 410 ms, Electron 350 ms — Electron was actually slightly faster on warm start (its Chromium is already optimized for this), but on cold starts Electron was the slowest. Runtime performance during screen recording was better with Wails and Tauri because they can call native capture APIs directly (no data crossing a JS bridge); Electron records from the webview itself and passes frames to the backend, adding overhead.
What Is the Developer Experience Like in Each Framework?
Developer experience is where the three frameworks diverge most sharply, and it comes down to language and binding ergonomics.
Wails (Go + auto-generated bindings)
Wails' standout feature is its automatic binding generation. You expose a Go struct like:
type Recorder struct {}
func (r *Recorder) StartRecording(sourceID string) error {
// your Go implementation
return nil
}
Wails generates TypeScript definitions and a JS wrapper you import directly:
import { StartRecording } from "../wailsjs/go/main/Recorder";
StartRecording("screen-1").then(() => console.log("recording"));
There is no JSON serialization boilerplate, no manual glue code, and wails dev hot-reloads both the Go backend and the frontend. When you change a Go function signature, the TypeScript types update automatically and the app reloads. Go errors become JavaScript exceptions with full type information. Struct mapping is also automatic — a Person struct in Go becomes a Person class in JS with constructors and helpers (Medium — Why Wails Wins at IPC).
The catch: Go's ecosystem for native platform APIs is thinner than Rust's. If you need access to macOS-specific frameworks (like ScreenCaptureKit for screen recording), Go has no community crate equivalent — you may need to write Objective-C via cgo (Go's C interop), linking Apple's frameworks yourself. This is real native code you own and maintain, which can mean hundreds of lines of Objective-C that a Rust developer would never write (they would just pull a community crate like screencapturekit).
Tauri (Rust + command-based IPC)
Tauri uses an explicit command-and-event model. You define a Rust command with a macro:
#[tauri::command]
fn greet(name: &str) -> String {
format!("Hello, {}!", name)
}
And call it from JS via invoke:
import { invoke } from "@tauri-apps/api/core";
const result = await invoke("greet", { name: "Alice" });
Type safety is possible but optional — you can use tauri-bindgen for auto-generated bindings, but it is an extra step rather than the default. Under the hood, invoke serializes arguments to JSON, calls the Rust function, and deserializes the result. It works well, but compared to Wails' direct binding model it feels more like standard RPC than calling a local function (RaftLabs — Tauri vs Electron, Medium — Why Wails Wins at IPC).
The advantage: Rust's crate ecosystem for native APIs is substantially deeper than Go's. For screen capture, macOS menu bars, or filesystem operations, there are usually community crates that keep you entirely in Rust — no cgo, no Objective-C. Rust's ownership model also eliminates entire classes of memory-safety bugs by default.
Electron (Node.js + channel IPC)
Electron's IPC is the oldest and most manual of the three. You use ipcRenderer.invoke / ipcMain.handle (or the older send / on pattern) to pass JSON messages between the main and renderer processes:
// renderer
const result = await window.electronAPI.greet("Alice");
// preload
ipcRenderer.handle("greet", (event, name) => `Hello, ${name}!`);
There is no code generation, no type-safe binding generation, and you write preload-script boilerplate for every API surface. Struct mapping is manual JSON. The trade-off is that you get the full Node.js / npm ecosystem inside your backend, which is unmatched for third-party libraries, integrations, and tooling. If your team already lives in JavaScript, the learning curve is nearly zero (Peerlist — Tauri vs Electron).
How to Build a Desktop App With Wails: Step-by-Step
If you decide Wails is the right fit, here is the path from install to a running cross-platform app.
Step 1: Install prerequisites
Wails requires Go (1.21+ for v2, 1.24+ for v3) and npm (Node 15+). On macOS you also need Xcode command-line tools.
# Install Go from https://go.dev/dl/
xcode-select --install # macOS only
# Install the Wails CLI (v2 stable)
go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v2/cmd/wails@latest
# Or v3 alpha
go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v3/cmd/wails3@latest
Sources: Wails v2 installation, Wails v3 installation
Step 2: Verify your environment
wails doctor # v2
# or
wails3 doctor # v3
This checks that Go, npm, and platform-specific dependencies (libwebkit2gtk on Linux, Xcode tools on macOS, WebView2 on Windows) are installed and advises on anything missing.
Step 3: Create a new project
wails create -n my-app -t react-ts # v2: React + TypeScript template
# or
wails3 create # v3: interactive setup wizard
This generates a project with:
app.go— your Go backend (the methods you expose to the frontend)main.go— the entry point that configures the window (title, size, background)frontend/— your React/Vue/Svelte projectwailsjs/— the auto-generated bindings directory
Step 4: Write your Go backend
In app.go, define the methods you want to call from the frontend:
type App struct {
ctx context.Context
}
func (a *App) Greet(name string) string {
return fmt.Sprintf("Hello %s!", name)
}
Step 5: Call Go from the frontend
Wails auto-generates TypeScript types during wails dev. Import and call directly:
import { Greet } from "../wailsjs/go/main/App";
Greet("World").then(console.log); // "Hello World!"
If you comment out the Greet method in Go and save, the TypeScript import immediately shows an error — and when you uncomment it, the error clears and the app hot-reloads.
Step 6: Build for production
wails build # produces a native binary in build/bin/
The output is a single binary (plus platform-specific packaging like .app on macOS or .exe + installer on Windows). No Chromium to ship — just your Go code, the frontend assets (embedded), and the OS webview.
When Should You Choose Wails Over Tauri or Electron?
The decision comes down to three questions: what language does your team know, how much native code will you need, and does bundle size matter?
| Your situation | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Your backend is Go and you want desktop apps in the same language | Wails — auto-generated bindings make Go feel native to the frontend |
| You can write Rust and want the smallest binaries + deepest native ecosystem | Tauri — mature, mobile targets (iOS/Android), capability-based security, richer crate ecosystem for platform APIs |
| Your team is 100% JavaScript and you need maximum ecosystem + pixel-identical rendering | Electron — the proven incumbent (VS Code, Slack, Discord, Notion) |
| You need iOS/Android alongside desktop today | Tauri (stable mobile support in v2); Wails v3 mobile is experimental alpha |
| Bundle size is non-negotiable (consumer app, embedded) | Tauri (independently verified 3–15 MB); Wails if your team is Go and you accept vendor-reported ~15 MB |
| You need deep macOS native API access (ScreenCaptureKit, etc.) | Tauri — Rust crate ecosystem wraps Apple frameworks without cgo; Wails requires writing Objective-C via cgo |
The honest summary: Tauri has a deeper ecosystem and more independently verified performance data. Wails has a meaningfully better developer-experience story for Go teams (automatic bindings, no JSON IPC, hot reload). Electron is the safest bet when you must stay in the JavaScript world and can tolerate the size.
What This Means for You
If you are building a desktop app for a small business or side project, the framework choice should follow your team's language, not a benchmark:
- Go shop? Pick Wails. You get a single-binary native app, auto-generated TypeScript bindings, and hot reload — without learning Rust or shipping Chromium. Just budget time for writing cgo/Objective-C if your app needs deep macOS APIs.
- Rust-capable? Pick Tauri. It is the most mature Chromium-free option, has mobile targets, and its crate ecosystem avoids the native-code tax Wails sometimes pays.
- JavaScript-only team or need the biggest ecosystem? Stay on Electron. The size cost is real, but the migration cost away from it is higher — and VS Code, Slack, and Discord prove users tolerate it when the product justifies it.
The one scenario where the choice is genuinely hard: you write both Go and Rust. In that case, pick based on how much native platform integration you need. Little to none → Wails (better DX). Lots (screen capture, hardware, deep OS APIs) → Tauri (richer crates, no cgo).
If you are building a desktop tool to run a local AI agent or coding assistant — a common 2026 use case — the framework choice interacts with how you package the model. For running open-weight models locally inside a desktop app, see our guide on how to set up local AI on your own hardware, and if you want a local coding agent specifically, our walkthrough on running a local coding agent with Gemma 4 and Ollama covers the model side. Pair that with Wails or Tauri for the desktop shell and you get a small, fast native app wrapping a local model — no cloud, no browser.
If your desktop app is part of a broader AI automation stack rather than a standalone tool, you may not need a native binary at all — our how to build an AI agent fleet on Hermes Agent guide shows when a background agent process is the right shape instead of a GUI app.
FAQ
Q: Is Wails production-ready in 2026? A: Wails v2.13.0 is stable and production-ready for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Wails v3 is in alpha as of July 2026 (v3.0.0-alpha2.118) — the team describes the API as "reasonably stable" with apps already running in production, but you should expect breaking changes before the final release. v2 will continue receiving critical updates (Wails releases).
Q: Does Wails bundle Chromium like Electron? A: No. Wails uses the operating system's native webview (WebView2 on Windows, WKWebView on macOS, WebKitGTK on Linux), the same approach as Tauri. This is why Wails binaries are ~10–30 MB rather than 100+ MB. The trade-off is that rendering may differ slightly across platforms since each OS ships a different webview version (Wails GitHub).
Q: Which framework has the smallest bundle? A: Tauri produces the smallest verified binaries — 3–15 MB with a core under 600 KB, confirmed by multiple independent benchmarks. Wails reports ~15 MB but that figure comes from Wails' own architecture docs and has not been independently benchmarked. Electron is consistently the largest at 80–200 MB+ because it bundles Chromium and Node.js (Tauri app size docs, DigitalApplied).
Q: Can I use React, Vue, or Svelte with Wails?
A: Yes. Wails is frontend-agnostic — you build your UI with any web framework and Wails auto-generates bindings so the frontend can call Go methods directly. The wails create CLI includes templates for React, Vue, Svelte, and vanilla JS/TS.
Q: Is Wails or Tauri better for accessing native macOS APIs?
A: Tauri has the advantage here. Rust's crate ecosystem includes mature wrappers for Apple frameworks (e.g., the screencapturekit crate for screen recording), so you stay entirely in Rust. Wails (Go) has thinner native-API coverage — for macOS-specific frameworks you typically use cgo to write Objective-C and link the Apple frameworks yourself, which means owning and maintaining that native code.
Q: Should I migrate an existing Electron app to Wails or Tauri? A: Only if bundle size or memory is a proven problem your users care about. Your frontend code (HTML/CSS/JS) can largely be reused in Wails or Tauri, but the backend (Node.js in Electron) must be rewritten in Go (Wails) or Rust (Tauri), and the IPC model changes. For a new project, Wails or Tauri is the better default. For an existing successful Electron app, the migration cost usually outweighs the size savings (BuildMVPFast).
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