Qt
Cross-platform C++ application and GUI framework with Widgets and QML toolkits.
HN commenters recommend Qt as a mature, batteries-included toolkit for cross-platform native desktop apps,123 often naming it as an alternative to Electron or WinUI.456 The most common complaints are a fragmented, boilerplate-heavy mix of C++, QML and JavaScript,789 and licensing that forces a choice between LGPL and costly commercial terms.1011
Why people recommend it
Cross-platform desktop · 3
Commenters list it as a go-to choice for desktop apps that run on Mac, Windows and Linux.
“In my case, I use Qt”
“there are basically only three options in 2026: Qt, Electron, or roll your own like Zed/Sublime.”
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“Otherwise, Qt, VCL, Firemonkey, Avalonia, Uno, ImGUI,....”
Mature ecosystem · 3
Commenters call it a batteries-included framework and one of the most successful desktop GUI toolkits.
“it struck me as dated compared to Flutter or React Native”
“one of the most successful desktop gui toolkit of all times (Qt Widgets)”
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“I love the Qt ecosystem.”
Language bindings · 2
Commenters note Qt bindings exist for Go and Zig and report building Qt apps with Rust.
“Rust needs good Qt bindings.”
“to build native apps via Qt and Rust”
Responsive apps · 1
One commenter says their Qt apps aren't laggy at all.
Preferred over GTK · 1
One KDE Plasma user says they always prefer Qt over GTK.
Caveats and dissent
Language sprawl · 3
Commenters say splitting work across QML, JavaScript and C++, plus the Widgets/QML divide, adds boilerplate and a steep learning curve.
“In Qt you write your display layer in QML then your UI logic in Javascript and any backend advanced logic in C++. It is frankly exhausting.”
“it struck me as dated compared to Flutter or React Native”
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“We are using it for our apps, but I can see why people do not use it for new projects”
Licensing · 2
Commenters cite license issues, saying you either go LGPL or pay heavily for a commercial license.
“QT has license issues”
“We are using it for our apps, but I can see why people do not use it for new projects”
Apple platforms · 2
Commenters report Qt lagging behind Apple's Cocoa changes on macOS and being unsuitable for iOS.
“I've had so many problems with stuff that uses Qt because Qt takes a while to catch up with things Apple broke inside their Cocoa internals.”
“He stated it's ok on macOS but not suitable for iOS.”
Dated design · 2
Commenters describe it as dated next to Flutter or React Native, with a byzantine layout engine and manual state management.
“it struck me as dated compared to Flutter or React Native”
“There's just so much wrong with KDE and Qt, architecturally and visually”
Overhead · 1
One commenter contrasts sub-microsecond window opening in a custom Vulkan engine with milliseconds in Qt.
“Doing the same in Qt is what... milliseconds?”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- The state of building user interfaces in Rust 2 mentions
- Iced 0.14 has been released (Rust GUI library) 2 mentions
- Oldest GUI application that still runs on Windows 11 1 mention
- We should be more ambitious with the software we build 1 mention
- Apple/macOS removed from official Unix registry 1 mention
- Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop 1 mention
Data: qt.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 23
“Substitute Qt”
“Doing the same in Qt is what... milliseconds?”
“I've had so many problems with stuff that uses Qt because Qt takes a while to catch up with things Apple broke inside their Cocoa internals.”
“There's just so much wrong with KDE and Qt, architecturally and visually”
“I use KDE so there are a lot of Qt apps and they are all click-to-scroll in the scrollbar”
“My Qt and Lazarus apps aren't laggy at all”
“In my case, I use Qt”
“there are basically only three options in 2026: Qt, Electron, or roll your own like Zed/Sublime.”
“Rust needs good Qt bindings.”
“it struck me as dated compared to Flutter or React Native”
“working with Qt on a local app”
“why he chose wxWidgets instead of Qt”
“Otherwise, Qt, VCL, Firemonkey, Avalonia, Uno, ImGUI,....”
“better use Win32, Forms, WPF, Avalonia, Qt,...”
“folks typically use a library. See Unreal Engine, raylib, godot, qt, etc.”
“to build native apps via Qt and Rust”
“after that I always prefer qt over gtk”
“QT has license issues”
“I love the Qt ecosystem.”
“He stated it's ok on macOS but not suitable for iOS.”
“one of the most successful desktop gui toolkit of all times (Qt Widgets)”
“In Qt you write your display layer in QML then your UI logic in Javascript and any backend advanced logic in C++. It is frankly exhausting.”
“We are using it for our apps, but I can see why people do not use it for new projects”