head to head · open source
bevy vs Pumpkin
bevy has 49,474 GitHub stars, 5,010 forks, 3,418 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Pumpkin has 12,804 stars, 983 forks, 452 open issues and last shipped yesterday. bevy leads on adoption by 286% (49,474 vs 12,804 stars). bevy is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Pumpkin is written in Rust under GPL-3.0. bevy has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Pumpkin 8%. Pumpkin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (gamedev, rust), 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
| bevy | Pumpkin | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 49K | ★ 13K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.0K | ⑂ 983 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick bevy if
- You weight community size — 49K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Pumpkin if
- You want the Pumpkin feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Pumpkin fits your workflow better
About bevy
What is Bevy? Bevy is a refreshingly simple data driven game engine built in Rust. It is free and open source forever! WARNING Bevy is still in the early stages of development. Important features are missing. Documentation is sparse. A new version of Bevy containing breaking changes to the API is released approximately once every 3 months. We provide migration guides, but we can't guarantee migrations will always be easy. Use only if you are willing to work in this environment. MSRV: Bevy relies heavily on improvements in the Rust language and compiler. As a result, the Minimum Supported Rust Version (MSRV) is…
About Pumpkin
Pumpkin Pumpkin is a Minecraft server built entirely in Rust, offering a fast, efficient, and customizable experience. It prioritizes performance and player enjoyment while adhering to the core mechanics of the game. Goals Performance : Leveraging multi threading for maximum speed and efficiency. Compatibility : Supports the latest Java & Bedrock Minecraft server version while adhering to Vanilla game mechanics. Security : Prioritizes security by preventing known security exploits. Flexibility : Highly configurable, with the ability to disable unnecessary features. Extensibility : Provides a foundation for…
read the full Pumpkin overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is bevy or Pumpkin more popular?
bevy has 49,474 GitHub stars and Pumpkin has 12,804. bevy has the larger community by that measure.
Are bevy and Pumpkin free?
Both are open source. bevy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Pumpkin under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between bevy and Pumpkin?
bevy is written in Rust and Pumpkin in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, bevy or Pumpkin?
Choose bevy if you want the larger community (49,474 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Pumpkin if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.