| Criterion | Package manager | Installer |
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| Shipped with | Usually, the operating system | Each computer program |
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| Location of installation information | One central installation database | It is entirely at the discretion of the installer. It could be a file within the app's folder, or among the operating system's files and folders. At best, they may register themselves with an uninstallers list without exposing installation information. |
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| Scope of maintenance | Potentially all packages on the system | Only the product with which it was bundled |
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| Developed by | One package manager vendor | Multiple installer vendors |
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| Package format | A handful of well-known formats | There could be as many formats as the number of apps |
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| Package format compatibility | Can be consumed as long as the package manager supports it. Either newer versions of the package manager keep supporting it or the user does not upgrade the package manager. | The installer is always compatible with itsarchive format, if it uses any. However, installers, like all computer programs, may be affected bysoftware rot. |
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