head to head · open source
imgui vs aframe
imgui has 76,971 GitHub stars, 12,101 forks, 1,227 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. aframe has 17,687 stars, 4,408 forks, 338 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. imgui leads on adoption by 335% (76,971 vs 17,687 stars). imgui is written in C++ under MIT; aframe is written in JavaScript under MIT. imgui has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, aframe 25%. imgui was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (game-development, game-engine, gamedev), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| imgui | aframe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 18K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-07-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 12K | ⑂ 4.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick imgui if
- You weight community size — 77K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick aframe if
- You want the aframe feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and aframe fits your workflow better
About imgui
Dear ImGui ===== "Give someone state and they'll have a bug one day, but teach them how to represent state in two separate locations that have to be kept in sync and they'll have bugs for a lifetime." ryg (This library is available under a free and permissive license, but needs financial support to sustain its continued improvements. In addition to maintenance and stability there are many desirable features yet to be added. If your company is using Dear ImGui, please consider reaching out.) Businesses: support continued development and maintenance via invoiced sponsoring/support contracts: E mail: contact @…
read the full imgui overview →
About aframe
A Frame A web framework for building browser based 3D, AR and VR experiences. Site — Docs — Examples — School — Community Examples Find more examples on the homepage, A Week of A Frame, and WebVR Directory. Features :eyeglasses: Virtual Reality Made Simple : A Frame handles the 3D and WebXR boilerplate required to get running across platforms including mobile, desktop, and all headsets (compatible with a WebXR capable browser) just by dropping in . :heart: Declarative HTML : HTML is easy to read and copy and paste. Since A Frame can be used from HTML, A Frame is accessible to everyone…
read the full aframe overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is imgui or aframe more popular?
imgui has 76,971 GitHub stars and aframe has 17,687. imgui has the larger community by that measure.
Are imgui and aframe free?
Both are open source. imgui is licensed under MIT and aframe under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between imgui and aframe?
imgui is written in C++ and aframe in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, imgui or aframe?
Choose imgui if you want the larger community (76,971 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose aframe if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.