Windows Installer Authoring Tools - Feature Comparison Chart
See also: Complete list of Windows Installer Authoring Tools
The following table compares some popular Windows Installer authoring tools. It is mainly based on information that is publicly available from the respective manufacturers; not all of it has been validated. Features that are actually provided by the Windows Installer service, not by the authoring tool (such as advertising, repair, rollback etc.) are common to all products and therefore not listed. This table focuses on Windows Installer setups. Some tools can also create Windows setups that don't use MSI, but use a proprietary scripting language.
| InstallShield Premier | InstallShield Professional | InstallShield Express | WiX | Visual Studio | |
| Summary | IS Premier |
IS Pro |
IS Express | WiX | VS |
| Manufacturer | Flexera Software | Flexera Software | Flexera Software | Open Source | Microsoft |
| Current Version | 2010 | 2010 | 2010 | 2.0 Note 8 |
2008 |
| Released | June 2009 | June 2009 | June 2009 | Feb 2008 | Nov 2007 |
| Roundup |
|
|
|
|
|
| Design Features | IS Premier | IS Pro | IS Express | WiX | VS |
| Stand alone IDE | + | + | + | - Note 12 |
- |
| Visual Studio integration | + | + | + | + | + |
| Localized versions of the development environment | - | - | - | - | + |
| MSI and Logo validation | + | + | - | - | - |
| Patch and update validation | + | + | - | - | - |
| Full control of features | + | + | + | + | - |
| Full control of components | + | + | - | + | - |
| Visual Editors for registry settings and shortcuts | + | + | + | - | + |
| Visual Editor to define setup types | - Note 6 |
- Note 6 |
+ | - | - |
| Visual Editors for ODBC drivers and DSNs, INI files, Environment variables | + | + | + | - | - |
| Visual Editor for action sequences and logic | + | + | - | - | - |
| Script-like view and editing of sequences and logic | - | - | - | - | - |
| Optionally drive installation logic using a script (external UI) | + | + | - | - | - |
| Optionally create script driven non-MSI setups | + | + | - | - | - |
| Dynamic file linking | + | + | + | - | - |
| Path variables to make projects portable from one machine to another | + | + | + | - | - |
| MSI Debugger | + | + | - | - | - |
| Repackager | + | - Note 1 |
- Note 1 |
- | - |
| Import setups created with InstallShield Professional / Wise Installation System | +/- | +/- | -/- | - | - |
| Automation Interface for external project modification | + | + | - | - | - |
| Macro Editor for repetitive tasks | - | - | - | - | - |
| Integrated MSI table editor | + | + | - | - | - |
| Database to store and manage application data | + | + | - | - | - |
| Technology Support | IS Premier | IS Pro | IS Express | WiX | VS |
| Import VB Projects | + | + | + | - | + |
| Import C# Projects | + | + | + | - | + |
| Import J# Projects | + | + | - | - | - |
| Includes Merge Modules | + | + | + | - | + |
| Wizard to download redistributables | + | + | + | - | - |
| Modify XML files during installation | + | + | - | + | - |
| Add and manage user accounts | + | + | + | + | - |
| Create setups for Web Services and IIS | + | + | + | + | + |
| Create MS SQL Server Databases | + | + | - | + | - |
| Create MySQL Databases | + | + | - | - | - |
| Create Oracle Databases | + | + | - | - | - |
| Visual Editor to Create and Control Services | + | + | - | - | - |
| Device Driver Installation | + | + | - | + | - |
| Active and Static File Dependency Scanners | + | + | + | - | - |
| Direct support for COM+ | + | + | + | - | - |
| Custom Action Support | IS Premier | IS Pro | IS Express | WiX | VS |
| EXE | + | + | + | + | + |
| .NET Installer Class | + | + | + | - | + |
| DLL with MSI specific prototype | + | + | + | + | + |
| General DLL, incl. Windows APIs | + | + | - | - | - |
| VBScript | + | + | + | + | + |
| Proprietary scripting language | + | + | - | - | - |
| Full control of custom action sequencing | + | + | (+) Note 4 |
+ | - |
| International Support | IS Premier |
IS Pro |
IS Express | WiX | VS |
| Supported languages (including language packs) | 35+ Note 2 |
1 Note 3 |
33 | 1 | 9 |
| Languages included in base package | 35 | 1 (selectable) Note 3 |
33 | - | 9 |
| Create One Setup Package with Multiple Languages | + | - | - | - | - |
| Runtime Dialogs | IS Premier |
IS Pro |
IS Express | WiX | VS |
| Customize Dialog Text and Bitmaps | + | + | + | - | (+) |
| Customize Dialog Layout or Add Custom Dialogs | + | + | - | - | - |
| Dialog Editor | + | + | - | - | - |
| Build and Distribution Media | IS Premier |
IS Pro |
IS Express | WiX | VS |
| CD-ROM | + | + | + | - | + |
| Self-extracting EXE | + | + | + | - | - |
| Smart Internet Deployment | + | + | + | - | - |
| Automatic update notification | - Note 11 |
- Note 11 |
- Note 11 |
- | - |
| Mix compressed and uncompressed files | + | + | - | - | - |
| Command Line Build Tools | + | + | + | + | + |
| Standalone Build module to create media on a clean build system (no additional license required) | + | - | - | + | - |
| Release Management - build multiple product variations from a single project | + | + | - | - | - |
| Create Merge Modules | + | + | - | + | + |
| Create Patches | + | + | + | - | - |
| Create Transforms | + | + | - | - | - |
| Create "Multiple Instance Transforms" | + | - | - | - | - |
| Create ClickOnce packages | + | + | - | - | + |
| Create time limited trial version of your application | + | - | - | - | - |
| Application virtualization support | App-V Note 13 |
App-V Note 13 |
- | - | - |
| Target Platforms | IS Premier |
IS Pro |
IS Express | WiX | VS |
| Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 | + | + | + | + | + |
| Windows 7 | + | + | + | - | - |
| Windows Mobile | + | + | + | - | + |
| Palm OS | + | + | + | - | - |
| Pre-install MSI runtime | + | + | + | - | + |
| Pre-install .NET Framework | + | + | + | - | + |
| Pre-install Internet Explorer | + | + | + | - | - |
| Pre-install .NET Compact Framework | + | + | + | - | - |
| Install SQL Server CE | + | + | + | - | - |
| Pricing and Ordering | IS Premier |
IS Pro |
IS Express | WiX | VS |
| List price (US Dollars) | $3,999 | $1,999 | $599 | free |
$799 Note 10 |
| InstallSite Shop |
 English Deutsch |
English Deutsch |
English Deutsch |
Notes
1: Available in a different product
2: Custom languages can be added.
3: InstallShield Professional supports one language, which can be selected (once
for all projects) from 33 available languages.
4: While custom action sequencing in Express is limited compared to the other
tools, it is significantly more detailed than in Visual Studio.
5: These numbers should give an idea of the magnitude and relative size of the
knowledge base. Due to the nature of a knowledge base the actual number of
articles changes frequently.
6: Only in "InstallScript MSI" and "InstallScript" project types.
7: In general, all MSI setups will run on Vista, but this tool doesn't have
specific support for Vista, such as Restart Manager support or Vista logo
validation.
8: WiX is an open source project and uses a different release
model than most commercial applications. While new builds of WiX 3.0 are
published on a regular basis, WiX 2.0 is the latest "released" version.
9: The tool has an interface to a third-party solution for trialware
functionality which must be purchased separately. A license to trialware-enable
a single product is included.
10: Price for Visual Studio Professional edition.
11: The tool has an interface to an add-on solution for update notification
which must be purchased separately.
12: Commercial and open source IDEs are available
13: Requires virtualization pack (not included in the price listed)
Errors and omissions excepted. Be sure to check the manufacturer's web site for the latest information.