PakePlus and WebCatalog Desktop can both take a URL and give you back an app with its own window and icon. Where they differ is what happens next.
PakePlus is built for making apps: you configure a build, and you get an app file to install or hand to someone else. WebCatalog Desktop is built for using them: you install the tools you work in, sign in, and get on with your day. If you're deciding between the two, the question is which of those jobs you're actually doing.
At a glance
| WebCatalog Desktop | PakePlus | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An app for installing and using web apps | A tool for packaging websites and web projects into apps |
| How you create apps | Pick from a catalog or enter any URL, ready in seconds | Enter a URL or upload a project, then build locally or with GitHub Actions |
| App catalog | 65,000+ apps with names and icons | Any URL |
| Engine | Chromium, the same everywhere | Each system's built-in web view (via Tauri) |
| Multiple accounts | Every account signed in side by side, each with its own session | One session per app |
| Organizing apps | Spaces that group apps and accounts in one window | One app per website |
| Updates | Apps update automatically | Rebuild to update |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | Builds for macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS |
What is WebCatalog Desktop?
WebCatalog Desktop is the place where you use web apps every day, rather than a tool for producing them. You install apps from a catalog of more than 65,000 or add any site, and each one runs in its own window with its own Dock or taskbar icon. Everything around the app, from accounts to updates, is handled for you.
What is PakePlus?
PakePlus is a graphical tool built on Tauri that packages a website, or an HTML, Vue, or React project, into a small app for desktop or mobile. You set a name, icon, and optional custom JavaScript, then build locally or in the cloud through GitHub Actions using your own GitHub account.
1. Using apps, not building them
PakePlus shines when the app file is the goal: you've built a React project and want to ship it as an app, or you want to hand a client a packaged version of their site. Each app is a build you create, and rebuild when something changes.
If you just want Figma, Linear, and your team's wiki as desktop apps instead of browser tabs, that build step is overhead. In WebCatalog Desktop you search, click install, and the app is ready with the right name and icon. For a site that isn't listed, enter its name and URL and pick an icon. There's no project to configure, no GitHub token to create, and nothing to rebuild, because apps update automatically.
2. Built on Chrome's engine
PakePlus apps use each system's built-in web view, which keeps them small. The trade-off is that sites behave the way they do in those engines, such as Safari's on macOS, and some sign-in flows or site checks don't work the way they do in Chrome.
Every WebCatalog Desktop app runs on Chromium, the engine behind Chrome and Edge. That matters most for the complex web apps you rely on all day, which are usually tested in Chrome first.
3. Every account, every client
A PakePlus app is one website with one session, so two accounts means two builds. For someone juggling clients, that adds up quickly: a calendar for each client, a project tool for each, all as separate apps.
In WebCatalog Desktop, each app can hold several accounts, each with its own isolated session and unread badge, all signed in at once. Then spaces bring it together: one window per client with that client's apps and accounts in a sidebar, which you open when you start their work and close when you're done.
If your team works the same way, shared spaces give everyone the same list of apps and accounts, while logins stay on each person's computer.
4. Your logins stay with you
Cloud builds in PakePlus run in your GitHub account and publish their output to a public repository. With WebCatalog Desktop there's nothing to build or publish: your apps and logins stay on your computer, an app lock with a password or Touch ID on Mac keeps them private, and a built-in ad and tracker blocker cleans up the sites you use.
Which one should you choose?
PakePlus can make sense if you specifically need to package your own web project into an app file to share, including Android or iOS builds.
If your goal is to work in web apps rather than ship them, choose WebCatalog Desktop. It's the better fit if you:
- Want the tools you use installed in a click, with no project or build to manage
- Work across several clients or accounts and want each one signed in and grouped
- Rely on web apps that are tested in Chrome
- Prefer to keep your logins on your own computer
Turn your daily web apps into desktop apps in a few clicks: try WebCatalog Desktop.
