head to head · open source
raylib vs aframe
raylib has 34,803 GitHub stars, 3,302 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. aframe has 17,635 stars, 4,396 forks, 338 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. raylib leads on adoption by 97% (34,803 vs 17,635 stars). raylib is written in C under Zlib; aframe is written in JavaScript under MIT. raylib has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, aframe 25%. raylib 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
| raylib | aframe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 35K | ★ 18K |
| License | Zlib | MIT |
| Written in | C | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-07-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 4.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick raylib if
- You weight community size — 35K stars and counting
- You want the Zlib 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 raylib
raylib is an open source, Zlib licensed C programming library for building videogames and graphical applications, aimed at programmers who would rather write code directly than work inside a visual game engine editor.
read the full raylib overview →
About aframe
A Frame is an MIT licensed JavaScript web framework built on top of three.js that lets anyone who can write HTML build browser based 3D, augmented reality and virtual reality experiences running on desktop, mobile and any WebXR capable headset.
read the full aframe overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is raylib or aframe more popular?
raylib has 34,803 GitHub stars and aframe has 17,635. raylib has the larger community by that measure.
Are raylib and aframe free?
Both are open source. raylib is licensed under Zlib and aframe under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between raylib and aframe?
raylib 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, raylib or aframe?
Choose raylib if you want the larger community (34,803 stars) or its Zlib licence terms. Choose aframe if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.