head to head · open source
azerothcore-wotlk vs pokerth
azerothcore-wotlk has 9,142 GitHub stars, 3,943 forks, 2,445 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pokerth has 694 stars, 264 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. azerothcore-wotlk leads on adoption by 1,217% (9,142 vs 694 stars). azerothcore-wotlk is written in C++ under GPL-2.0; pokerth is written in C++ under AGPL-3.0. azerothcore-wotlk has attracted 43% as many forks as stars, pokerth 38%. azerothcore-wotlk was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (game-server), 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
| azerothcore-wotlk | pokerth | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.1K | ★ 694 |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.9K | ⑂ 264 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick azerothcore-wotlk if
- You weight community size — 9.1K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pokerth if
- You want the pokerth feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and pokerth fits your workflow better
About azerothcore-wotlk
AzerothCore Build Status Introduction AzerothCore is an open source game server application and framework designed for hosting massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs). It is based on the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW) and seeks to recreate the gameplay experience of the original game from patch 3.3.5a. The original code is based on MaNGOS, TrinityCore, and SunwellCore and has since then had extensive development to improve stability, in game mechanics, and modularity to the game. AC has also grown into a community driven project with a significant number of contributors and developers…
read the full azerothcore-wotlk overview →
About pokerth
PokerTH The open source Texas Hold'em engine — play against the computer or against other people over the internet. Website & Forum · Download · Issues · ChangeLog About PokerTH is a poker game written in C++ with Qt. You can play the popular Texas Hold'em poker variant against up to nine computer opponents or against real people on the internet — on the official server at pokerth.net, or on any dedicated server you run yourself. The project has been around since 2006, is licensed under the AGPLv3 , and carries no ads, no real money gambling and no tracking. Features Texas Hold'em, 2–10 players — single player…
read the full pokerth overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is azerothcore-wotlk or pokerth more popular?
azerothcore-wotlk has 9,142 GitHub stars and pokerth has 694. azerothcore-wotlk has the larger community by that measure.
Are azerothcore-wotlk and pokerth free?
Both are open source. azerothcore-wotlk is licensed under GPL-2.0 and pokerth under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between azerothcore-wotlk and pokerth?
azerothcore-wotlk is written in C++ and pokerth in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, azerothcore-wotlk or pokerth?
Choose azerothcore-wotlk if you want the larger community (9,142 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose pokerth if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.