---
title: "Install Methods Compared — Portable vs Desktop vs Manual vs CLI vs Cloud"
type: synthesis
tags: [install, decision]
updated: 2026-06-09
confidence: high
sources: [raw/github_doc-installation-comfyui-portable-windows-mdx.md, raw/github_doc-installation-desktop-windows-mdx.md, raw/github_doc-installation-desktop-linux-mdx.md, raw/github_doc-installation-manual-install-mdx.md, raw/github_doc-comfy-cli-getting-started-mdx.md, raw/github_doc-get-started-cloud-mdx.md, raw/github_doc-manager-install-mdx.md]
---

# Install Methods Compared

| | Portable (Win) | Comfy Desktop | Manual | comfy-cli | Comfy Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows x64 | Win 10+ (x64/ARM64), macOS 13+ (Apple Silicon); **Linux unsupported** | Win/macOS/Linux | Win/macOS/Linux | browser |
| Setup effort | extract & run | installer | venv + git + pip | one CLI | none |
| Python env | embedded (`python_embeded`) | managed per instance | yours (venv/conda) | managed | n/a |
| Manager | enable manually (`--enable-manager`) | **included, enabled** | enable manually | — | pre-installed platform |
| Multi-instance | one per extract | **yes — built for it** | manual | snapshots/bisect | n/a |
| Updates | `update/` batch scripts | launcher-managed | `git pull` | `comfy` update | always current |

## Decision rules

- **Windows beginner with a GPU** → **Portable**: zero environment work; mind the GPU-matched download (CUDA 13.0 vs cu126 for 10-series) and avoid the dependencies update script ([[concepts/install-windows-portable]]).
- **Want multiple ComfyUI instances / cleanest GUI experience** → **Desktop** (Manager already on). Not on Linux.
- **Linux, or you want control** → **Manual** (venv discipline is mandatory) or **comfy-cli** — the CLI adds snapshot/bisect, which doubles as the update-breakage debugging tool ([[syntheses/troubleshooting-playbook]]).
- **No hardware / try first** → **[[entities/comfy-cloud]]** (400 free credits/month).
- **Automation/scripting against hosted models without local install** → `comfy generate` partner nodes (Beta — [[concepts/install-manual-and-cli]]).

## The cross-cutting trap

Whatever the method, **each install is its own Python environment** — breakage usually means *that environment's* torch/deps changed, not your system Python ([[syntheses/troubleshooting-playbook]] § CUDA).