VeloxKit vs Electron vs Tauri vs Electrobun
An honest comparison. These are real measurements on real apps, not synthetic benchmarks.
TL;DR
| VeloxKit | Tauri | Electron | Electrobun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binary size | ~20MB | ~6MB | ~130MB | ~55MB |
| Cold startup | ~50ms | ~80ms | ~800ms | ~200ms |
| Idle memory | ~18MB | ~25MB | ~100MB | ~45MB |
| Renderer | GPU (wgpu) | OS WebView | Chromium | Bun + WebView |
| Language | React / TS | React / TS / Vue | Any JS | React / TS |
| Rust required | No | Optional | No | No |
| Node.js APIs | Via bindings | Via bindings | Full Node.js | Bun APIs |
| Maturity | Pre-release | Stable | Stable | Early |
| Framework | Cold Startup | Binary Size | Idle Memory | Renderer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VeloxKit | ~50ms | ~20MB | ~18MB | wgpu + Vello (native) |
| Tauri | ~80ms | ~6MB | ~25MB | OS WebView |
| Electron | ~800ms | ~130MB | ~100MB | Chromium |
| Electrobun | ~200ms | ~55MB | ~45MB | Bun + WebView |
Measured on Apple M2, macOS 14.5. Binary includes all dependencies. Last updated: 2025.
Rendering model
This is the most fundamental difference between the frameworks.
Electron and Electrobun bundle or use a browser engine (Chromium or WebKit). Your UI is HTML and CSS rendered by the browser. All web APIs work. All browser quirks apply.
Tauri uses the OS WebView — WKWebView on macOS, WebView2 on Windows, WebKitGTK on Linux. Smallest binary size (no bundled browser), but rendering consistency varies by platform. What looks right on macOS may look different on Windows.
VeloxKit uses a purpose-built GPU renderer (wgpu + Vello) with no browser lineage. UI components are not HTML — they're native element structs rendered directly to GPU. Identical output on all platforms. No WebView, no Chromium, no HTML.
The VeloxKit trade-off: you can't use HTML/CSS or browser-dependent libraries. The gain: consistent 120fps GPU rendering, 50ms startup, and a ~20MB binary.
Developer experience
Electron
The most mature ecosystem. Any web library works. The main/renderer process split requires IPC for native API access, which adds boilerplate. Cold startup is the worst of the group at 600–800ms but most developers don't notice because it's a known quantity.
Best for: apps that need to reuse web code directly, large teams where every hire knows web development, apps that use complex web-only libraries (rich text editors, maps, etc.).
Tauri
Excellent binary size (~6MB). The Rust backend is required for native functionality, which is a barrier for teams without Rust experience. The WebView rendering inconsistency is a real issue for pixel-perfect UIs — test on all three platforms.
Best for: security-conscious apps, apps where binary size matters (enterprise deployments), teams comfortable with Rust.
Electrobun
Uses Bun as the JavaScript runtime instead of Node.js. Faster than Electron but in the same architectural category (WebView-based). Early stage.
Best for: Electron refugees who want the same model with better performance.
VeloxKit
No browser engine, no Rust required. The GPU rendering model is different from web — you write React components with a React Native-like style API. Libraries that depend on the DOM won't work. The capability system is an explicit trade-off: more secure by default, slightly more configuration.
Best for: apps built from scratch that want maximum performance and minimum size, teams comfortable with React Native-style development, apps where startup time matters.
Ecosystem comparison
| Electron | Tauri | VeloxKit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rich text editor | ✓ (any web lib) | ✓ (any web lib) | Partial (no DOM) |
| Maps | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ (no WebGL-in-HTML) |
| Data visualization | ✓ (D3, etc.) | ✓ | ✓ (Canvas 2D / 3D) |
| Video playback | ✓ | OS-dependent | In roadmap |
| PDF viewer | ✓ (pdf.js) | ✓ | In roadmap |
| Web scraping | ✓ | Limited | ✗ |
| SQLite | Via better-sqlite3 | Via rusqlite | Built-in |
| Local AI | Via llama-node | Via candle | Built-in |
| OS keychain | Via keytar | Built-in | Built-in |
The honest answer
Use Electron if you have a large existing web codebase to port, need browser-only libraries, or your team is entirely web-focused and startup time isn't a concern.
Use Tauri if binary size is the top priority and you have Rust expertise, or you're willing to learn it.
Use VeloxKit if you're building from scratch, want the best startup time and smallest binary without Rust, and your UI can be built with React + the VeloxKit component set.
VeloxKit is pre-release. If you need stability guarantees today, Tauri or Electron are safer choices. If you're building something new and want to bet on the right architecture, VeloxKit is worth evaluating.