I can't say about you, but your claim about what end users want is quite strong. End users want all the features (including performance) for free and then pick

I can't say about you, but your claim about what end users want is quite strong. End users want all the features (including performance) for free and then pick the currently available option that looks best suited for them. I didn't say that there are no other frameworks. The ones you provided all break the "transferable skill" requirement (React native a bit less so but still). If you prefer to install ripchord instead of discord and slack nothing prevents you for doing so. Let me write a few comments about it: - it made sense building it for the author because those two services already existed and already had enough users. Also the author has the skills needed to build it. - it won't be free - it is not feature complete compared to the reproduced services So it might attract users depending of the perceived gain from a faster software vs its price and the missing features. It also has to win over all the people that have already installed the slack & discord clients. If it gains significant market share there are 2 risks: intentional api breaking changes by slack & discord, and them redoing/optimizing their client to win back the lost users. Most probably: they don't care about the client part. They are selling a service and this new client might make some of their users happier. So we see that even though ripchord exists, it does not mean that electron hasn't helped in making two new services available. The ripchord author might be able to reproduce a client with a better tech, but that doesn't mean he has the skills to create a whole new offer (market research, sales, backend administration, etc). edit: format