ReleaseFlow comparison
ReleaseFlow vs Electron update servers
Hazel, Nuts and update.electronjs.org answer one question — “is there a newer version?” — from your GitHub Releases. Everything a paid app needs around that: download page, checkout, license keys, device limits, channels and analytics, you still build.
| What you need | ReleaseFlow | Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Native macOS via Sparkle, Electron, Android APKs. | Hazel: macOS + Windows. Nuts: macOS + Windows (Squirrel). update.electronjs.org: macOS or Windows. electron-updater adds Linux. |
| Update feeds | electron-updater feeds (plus Sparkle appcasts) generated from each release. | Hazel serves /update/:platform/:version with a 15-minute cache. Nuts serves Squirrel updates. update.electronjs.org is free for OSS GitHub releases. Generic: latest.yml files you upload yourself. |
| Download links | One link that detects platform and architecture. | Hazel has /download; Nuts has /download/latest and per-OS URLs; the generic provider has none — build your own. |
| Checkout | Hosted checkout on your own Polar or Stripe account. | None of them offer checkout — build it yourself. |
| License keys | Keys with an activate/validate/deactivate API and a Swift SDK. | None — build it yourself. |
| Device limits | Per-machine trials and device limits built in. | None. |
| Channels | Stable, beta and alpha plus a private dev channel behind a token. | Nuts: beta/alpha pre-release channels. Hazel: PRE=1 caches only pre-releases. update.electronjs.org: no channel option documented. Generic: one YAML per channel. |
| Analytics | Download analytics — 7 days on Free, 1 year on Indie. | None built in — Hazel points at GitHub's download_count API; Nuts lets you add your own via middleware. |
| Starting price | Free tier; Indie $9.99/month, $99/year or $199 lifetime. | Hazel and Nuts are free code you host and operate; update.electronjs.org is free for open-source apps only; generic means your bucket and CDN bill. |
Platforms
- ReleaseFlow
- Native macOS via Sparkle, Electron, Android APKs.
- Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider
- Hazel: macOS + Windows. Nuts: macOS + Windows (Squirrel). update.electronjs.org: macOS or Windows. electron-updater adds Linux.
Update feeds
- ReleaseFlow
- electron-updater feeds (plus Sparkle appcasts) generated from each release.
- Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider
- Hazel serves /update/:platform/:version with a 15-minute cache. Nuts serves Squirrel updates. update.electronjs.org is free for OSS GitHub releases. Generic: latest.yml files you upload yourself.
Download links
- ReleaseFlow
- One link that detects platform and architecture.
- Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider
- Hazel has /download; Nuts has /download/latest and per-OS URLs; the generic provider has none — build your own.
Checkout
- ReleaseFlow
- Hosted checkout on your own Polar or Stripe account.
- Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider
- None of them offer checkout — build it yourself.
License keys
- ReleaseFlow
- Keys with an activate/validate/deactivate API and a Swift SDK.
- Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider
- None — build it yourself.
Device limits
- ReleaseFlow
- Per-machine trials and device limits built in.
- Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider
- None.
Channels
- ReleaseFlow
- Stable, beta and alpha plus a private dev channel behind a token.
- Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider
- Nuts: beta/alpha pre-release channels. Hazel: PRE=1 caches only pre-releases. update.electronjs.org: no channel option documented. Generic: one YAML per channel.
Analytics
- ReleaseFlow
- Download analytics — 7 days on Free, 1 year on Indie.
- Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider
- None built in — Hazel points at GitHub's download_count API; Nuts lets you add your own via middleware.
Starting price
- ReleaseFlow
- Free tier; Indie $9.99/month, $99/year or $199 lifetime.
- Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider
- Hazel and Nuts are free code you host and operate; update.electronjs.org is free for open-source apps only; generic means your bucket and CDN bill.
Competitor facts from their public pages, checked : vercel/hazel README · GitbookIO/nuts README · update.electronjs.org README · electron-builder auto-update docs · electron-builder publish docs
What you still build with Hazel / Nuts / update.electronjs.org / generic provider
- Checkout, license keys, device limits and analytics — none of these servers include them.
- Server operations: deploy Hazel to Vercel, Nuts to Heroku or your own host, or wire up your own bucket and uploads for the generic provider.
- A download page with platform and architecture detection.
Who should not use ReleaseFlow
- Your app is open-source, on a public GitHub repo, and you only need macOS/Windows updates — update.electronjs.org does that for free.
- You already run a Hazel or Nuts deployment you're happy with and don't need checkout or licensing.
- You're not selling or licensing your app and enjoy operating the update server yourself.
Push a git tag. Ship the update.
Download links, update feeds, checkout and license keys from your GitHub releases. Free for one app.
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