Free InstallShield AlternativesSoftware Installers and other similar apps like InstallShield

The best free alternative to InstallShield is Inno Setup, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to InstallShield and many of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to InstallShield are NSIS, WiX, DCP Setup Maker and Advanced Installer.

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Alternatives list

  1. Inno Setup icon

    Inno Setup

     115 likes
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    Inno Setup is a free installer for Windows programs. First introduced in 1997, Inno Setup today rivals and even surpasses many commercial installers in feature set and stability.

    50 Inno Setup alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Wine
    Compiler
     
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    2
    11
    Comments about Inno Setup as an Alternative to InstallShield
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    It is quite different and doesn't open the files created by InstallShield

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    2

    was able to create setup for an app in less than 2 mins

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    InstallShield Icon
    Inno Setup icon

    • Most users think Inno Setup is a great InstallShield alternative.

    • Inno Setup is the most popular Windows alternative to InstallShield.

    • Inno Setup is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to InstallShield.

    • Inno Setup is Free and Open SourceInstallShield is Paid and Proprietary
    • Inno Setup is CustomizableInstallShield is not according to our users
  2. NSIS icon

    NSIS

     69 likes
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    NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) is a professional open source system to create Windows installers. It is designed to be as small and flexible as possible and is therefore very suitable for internet distribution.

    50 NSIS alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Installer example: Winamp
     
  4. WiX icon

    WiX

     21 likes
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    The Windows Installer XML (WiX) is a toolset that builds Windows installation packages from XML source code. The toolset supports a command line environment that developers may integrate into their build processes to build MSI and MSM setup packages.

    38 WiX alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    WiX screenshot 1
     
  5. DCP Setup Maker icon

    DCP Setup Maker

     7 likes
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    Powerful simple-to-use application to generate stable and multi-platform installers. Its intuitive user interface and exceptional ease of use makes it very easy to build complex desktop or web installers with large amounts of files.

    15 DCP Setup Maker alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Wine
    Scan
     

    • DCP Setup Maker is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to InstallShield.

    • DCP Setup Maker is Free and Open SourceInstallShield is Paid and Proprietary
  6. Advanced Installer icon

    Advanced Installer

     16 likes
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    Advanced Installer is a powerful and easy to use setup authoring tool which offers full Windows Installer support and more. You can configure every aspect of your installer through a simple graphical user interface or through its command line.

    41 Advanced Installer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Advanced Installer screenshot 1
     
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    6
  7. Wix# icon

    Wix#

     6 likes
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    WixSharp enables creating MSI files or WiX source code by using C# source code. Upon execution, the C# code is transformed into a MSI file or WiX source code. Thanks to C# features such as inheritance, it becomes easy to create installers.

    21 Wix# alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  9. IzPack icon

    IzPack

     10 likes
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    IzPack is a one-stop solution for packaging, distributing and deploying applications.

    32 IzPack alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Java
    IzPack screenshot 1
     
  10. InstallForge icon

    InstallForge

     7 likes
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    InstallForge is a very easy-to-use and flexible tool for creating fast installation packages for Windows.

    24 InstallForge alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Wine
    Select the languages you want to be supported by your setup.
     
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    6
  11. Velopack icon

    Velopack

     1 like
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    Velopack is an installation and auto-update framework for cross-platform desktop applications. It's opinionated, extremely easy to use with zero config needed. With just one command you can be up and running with an installable application, and it's lightning fast for...

    7 Velopack alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    Velopack screenshot 1
     
  12. Effing Package Management! icon

    Effing Package Management!

     2 likes
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    The packaging formats used by different distributions of Linux can be a pain point for software developers wishing to release their projects in an easily consumable way. Debian and Ubuntu rely on .deb packages, while Fedora and RedHat both use .rpm style packaging systems.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • OpenSolaris
     
  13. SFX Tool icon

    SFX Tool

     3 likes
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    SFX Tool is a graphical user interface and script generator for the Nullsoft Scriptable Install System. It allows the user to create simple setup files in minutes without writing a line of code. Advanced users may also edit the install script before it is compiled.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    SFX Tool screenshot 1
     
  14. Debreate icon

    Debreate

     7 likes
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    Debreate is a utility to aid in creating installable Debian (.deb) packages. The goal behind the project is to make developing for Debian based Linux distributions more appealing, with an easy to use interface for packaging applications, artwork, media, themes, etc.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Control Page
     
12 of 33 InstallShield alternatives