Advanced Installer #1 alternative to the InstallShield
SIDE BY SIDE FEATURES COMPARISONThose evaluating Advanced Installer as an alternative to other tools will be sure to size up the product against competing solutions.
Advanced Installer encourages this since we take enormous pride in our software and are confident that you will be impressed by our solution. There are many other differences between Advanced Installer and InstallShield (the price being an important one), and these are best explored by evaluating the products.
Advanced Installer and other software authoring solutions (like Inno Setup, WiX, Wise, InstallShield, InstallAware, etc) generally perform the same common packaging roles (authoring or generating installer package, converting a packaging type into another, updating the installer)
Also, both products have multiple editions, each including different functionalities. You can analyze Advanced Installer as an InstallShield alternative in a Side-by-Side Feature Comparison here.
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Advanced Installer Free download | InstallShield | |
|---|---|---|
| Functional Differentiators | ||
User Interface As a GUI provides visual representations of commands,
which can sometimes become quite complex, the users do not
need to waste time checking the correctness of all these
commands. By simply selecting a button or an icon you can
call the relevant function and use your time to focus on the
installer you deliver to your clients/users.A well-developed GUI based interface makes your interaction with the software product friendly and easy-to-use since it uses the visual representations of commands and processes. *All according to industry best practices. | GUI Based PowerShell CLI | GUI Based PowerShell CLI |
MSI: Create Transforms and Patches Advanced Installer offers a great and easy solution for
both Patch and Transform. | Supported | Supported |
Licensing Feature or Integrations Advanced Installer offers multiple easy ways to add a
license or trial to your package. | Integration Included | Supported with an additional product |
Installer Updater Use the Updater from Advanced Installer to maintain your
application up to date. There are multiple update options to
build your updater: trigger either manually (directly from
the application code or a shortcut) or through Task
Scheduler to configure your auto-updates. Includes integration
with GitHub. | Manual and Auto-updates Supported | Supported with additional product |
Install updates with no elevation for
Standard Users | Supported | Not Supported |
Azure DevOps | Native Integration | Supported |
Installer Analytics More
details https://www.advancedinstaller.com/analytics/ | 1-click option | Not Supported |
SQL Database predefined support *Including+ Browse SQL Servers (Local/Network/Domain) + Choose authentication method (Windows or SQL) + Browse Database on selected server + Test connection to the server + Schedule SQL queries and capture result in MSI property | Extended SQL Integration* | Standard Support |
MSIX Support Advanced Installer is the first authoring tool to
support MSIX technology. And since 2018 - when Advanced Installer has
been the launching partner for MSIX - we are
constantly adding unique, useful, practical MSIX related
functionalities. *for detailed comparison check the MSIX Support Level | Extended SQL Integration* | Standard Support |
macOS Support Deploy your Java application on macOS X.- All the Java products can be embedded in a package to be deployed on macOS X. - This package will be a ZIP archive that contains for every Java Product a folder with a special structure. - This folder is known as a bundle. - The bundle groups related resources together in one place. *Settings available for an MSI package that are Windows Installer related, like custom actions, registry entries, environment variables, etc. are not supported. | Supported | Supported |
Digital Signature The digital signature is used to help authenticate the
identity of the creator of digital information. | Supported | Supported |
| Native integration with Device Guard and Azure Key Vault, Custom Signing. | Supported | Not Supported |
Automated Report Creation Easily create a report that shows the elements in your
project which are included in the build. The report formats
are HTML, XML or PDF file. | Supported | Not Supported |
One capture for all types of packaging
formats - Create MSIX, APPX MSI, App-V, EXE - all from the
same project Starting with a simple capture using the Advanced
Installer Repackager tool, you can easily build all types of
popular packaging formats: MSI, MSIX, APPX, APP-V,
EXE. | Supported | Supported |
PowerShell Automation Advanced Installer offers PowerShell cmdlets which
can be used for repackaging, editing, and creating Windows
Installer packages. | Supported | Supported |
Predefined Custom Actions Popular custom actions such as Terminate Process, Get
Free Disk Space, Add Network Location, Install/Uninstall
Certificates, and many more are available out
of the box with Advanced Installer, minimizing time and work
efforts for the end-user. | Supported | Not Supported |
Additional PSF Fixups Package Support Framework is a great open-source tool
from Microsoft which allows “hacking” the application in
order to perform fix-ups and make it work. Enjoy the simple
GUI interface to use PSF in your MSIX and a collection of additional
fixups to ease your work. | Supported | Not Supported |
PSF Tracing Fix compatibility issues for your legacy applications
using our PSF integration. | Supported | Not Supported |
Direct MSI to MSIX / App-V / ThinApp (no
repackaging required) Open the MSI and add your Build of choice (MSIX/ APP-v/
ThinApp) and Advanced Installer automatically creates the
Build. No repackaging needed. | Supported | Not Supported |
Virtual Machine Integrations Choose between performing the capture either on your
development machine or on a virtual machine. | VMware HyperV vSphere | VMware HyperV vSphere |
Best Practices Validation Testing Advanced Installer generates builds in accordance with
ICE Validation Standard and industry best practices gathered
in over 15 years of constant contact with our
customers. | Supported in all editions (including the free ones) | Supported in Premier edition |
Publish Packages to popular deployment
systems (rewording) Intune and SCCM tools offered by Advanced Installer for
fast publishing. | Supported | Supported |
FTA (File Type Associations)
Support Dedicated GUI for creating
and modifying File Type Associations, ProgIDs, Extensions,
and Verbs. | Supported by GUI | GUI Limited Support |
Repository Management It helps centralize and share project
resources using the repository. Multiple projects,
i.e. team members, can share the same resources by setting a
common location for the repository, for example, a network
shared drive. | Supported | Supported |
Application virtualization Choose to implement virtual applications because they
offer fast and easy deployment, reduced security risks, and
the possibility to run multiple versions of the same
application. | Microsoft's App-V VMware ThinApp | Microsoft's App-V |
MSIX Support Level
In the packaging industry, MSIX is the newest, most expected delivery format for a software product. It is predicted to be the future of packaging and even prepared to replace the current, ubiquitous MSI.
Advanced Installer is the first authoring tool to support MSIX technology. Since 2018 - when Advanced Installer has been the launching partner for MSIX - we are constantly adding unique, useful, practical MSIX related functionalities.
Advanced Installer Free download | InstallShield | |
|---|---|---|
Create MSIX package Generate MSIX applications from scratch using your own
source files. | Supported | Supported |
MSIX Conversion Convert EXE, MSI, Script installations to MSIX. | Supported | Supported |
MSIX Diff Easily identify differences between two MSIX
packages. | Supported | Not Supported |
One capture for all types of packaging
formats - Create MSIX, APPX MSI, App-V, EXE - all from the
same project From a single repackaging session, create all the
package formats you need. | Supported | Supported in AdminStudio |
Automatic MSIX Fix-ups Microsoft offers a Package Support Framework to add
fixes in your MSIX package. Advanced Installer integrates
PSF, and adds predefined fix-ups. Check them out here. | Supported | Supported |
Digital Signing By digitally signing your installers and products, you
will increase your user's confidence in you and your
company, giving them peace of mind about your
software. | Supported | Supported |
Manifest Editor Easily edit the AppxManifest.xml in your MSIX
package. | Supported | Not Supported |
Application Declarations Declarations are a mechanism by which an app can add
functionality in a manner defined by the operating system.
Advanced Installer provides an extensive collection of
out-of-the-box applications and package declarations
(StartUp Task, App Execution Alias, App Service, File Type
Association, and many
more). | Supported | Partially Supported |
Edit Capabilities Enable or disable capabilities in your package to
access certain API or resources in the system. | Supported | Supported |
MSIX Dependencies The Dependencies feature allows you to specify other
packages or drivers that your app depends on. | Supported | Not Supported |
Automatic .AppInstaller
Generation Generate .appinstaller file which provides automatic
updates for your MSIX files. | Supported | Not Supported |
MSIX Modification The MSIX Modification Package is an MSIX package meant
to store the customizations of the application. All about
it here. | Supported | Supported |
MSIX Bundle Use MSIX bundle to wrap multiple MSIX packages in
order to reduce the size of the app that users download or
address specific usage scenarios. | Supported | Supported |
Price & Licensing
Advanced Installer Free download | InstallShield | |
|---|---|---|
Price | $ | $$$ |
Licensing flexibility *With a licensed version of Advanced Installer, you
can create an unlimited number of install packages and you
can distribute them royalty-free to an unlimited number of
users, to be installed on an unlimited number of
computers. | All licenses are Royalty-Free* Floating licenses openly available | Every single user and end-point needs
to be licensed. Concurrent licenses - available by demand. |
Upgrade discounts available | Yes | Yes |
Volume discounts available | Yes | Yes |
Licensing All commercial licenses include a 12-month Maintenance
Service to ensure the proper onboarding for you and your
team. | Perpetual You can use the software indefinitely | 3-Year Cycle Subscription Access to the product stops when subscription expires |
Just a little bit of extra
Advanced Installer Free download | InstallShield | |
|---|---|---|
| Good to Know | ||
Learning Curve Advanced Installer intuitive UI helps you make
packages fast and save you precious time. | Intuitive, easy to use also by beginners | Complex, time-consuming, training needed |
Trial Get first-hand experience with Advanced Installer and
get access to our excellent customer support during all
the trial period. | 30-day Fully-Featured Trial Free | 20-day 10-day extension Feature-Limited Trial Free |
Customer Support All Advanced Installer trials benefit from free
Customer Support, and all commercial licenses include
Maintenance Service to ensure the proper onboarding for
you and your team. | Exceptional Customer Service First 12-months maintenance included with commercial license | Customer Service Available First 12-month maintenance mandatory to buy |
Market Responsiveness With our agile approach, we can respond faster to the
market and provide fresh features to cover the latest
packaging and deployment needs. | Monthly Updates | Yearly Updates |
Migration from other packaging
tools | Projects Supported Visual Studio, InstallShield, Wise, WiX, InnoSetup, Ensis, Desktop Bridge Package *Included in all editions | Available in AdminStudio Projects Supported Novel Zen Work Win Install WiX |
Advanced Installer is a recognized leader in the packaging industry, helping developers, software developing companies, enterprises, managed service providers, and consulting companies to dramatically improve efficiency and reduce costs using state-of-the-art packaging technology.
Microsoft is proud to be working with 3rd parties like Advanced Installer to extend the current platform capabilities with innovative solutions for all Windows developers.
Andrew Clinick
Group Program Manager At
Microsoft
