Online Installer

It’s an installer type which connects to the developer’s server using an available internet connection each time you run the setup.

AKA web setup, online setup, and online installer.


Offline Installer

It can be installed on your computer without an internet connection. e.g Google offline installer and Skype offline installer.

AKA offline setup, standalone setup and standalone installer.


Online Installer vs Offline Installer

Below are some differences

X= Online Installer

Y= Offline Installer

1.X: It requires an internet connection each time you run the setup.
1.Y: It doesn’t require an internet connection each time a setup is run.

2.X: It cannot be run without an internet connection.
2.Y: It can be run without an internet connection.

3.X: Installation is more time consuming as it downloads data each time its run.
3.Y: Installation consumes less time.

4.X: The entire product is downloaded.
4.Y: After installation, you can just download the updates.

5.X: You have to download the data again if you wish to install the product on many computers.
5.Y: The same setup can be used on several computers.

6.X: Alwaysan updated copy downloded each time.
6.Y: You have to download the updates separately.

7.X: It is small in size as most of the required data is downloaded once the setup is run.
7.Y: It is large in size.

8.X: Mostly used by applications those require internet access to function.
8.Y: Commonly used by software which can function without an internet connection?

9.X: Good for fast internet connections.
9.Y: Good for slow internet connections.

10.X: Good for single installations.
10.Y: Good for multiple installations.

11. There is pause/resume ability available while downloading for offline setup e.g if any download manger is used.

12. There chances that if the the Internet connection get interrupted for a while, online installer may skip any file on that moment.

13. Depend on the software, if the system is infected with viruses already, online installer may not able to download properly or not able to download at all.

14. Some online installers perform downloading and installation at the same time which can be complicated or problematic sometimes.

15. Another point is the time out for re-checking/re-trying the downloading file, if the Internet connection gets interrupted and the online installer retry to re-download it, which is usually less for On-line installers.Either the online installer skip that particular file or show the error and then you may have to redo the whole process again. Sometimes you may have to locate and delete the incomplete downloaded files manually.

16. Offline installer is more reliable than Online installer.