head to head · open source
colyseus vs pufferpanel
colyseus has 7,547 GitHub stars, 687 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. pufferpanel has 1,771 stars, 268 forks, 116 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. colyseus leads on adoption by 326% (7,547 vs 1,771 stars). colyseus is written in TypeScript under MIT; pufferpanel is written in Go under Apache-2.0. colyseus has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, pufferpanel 15%. colyseus 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
| colyseus | pufferpanel | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.5K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-10 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 687 | ⑂ 268 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick colyseus if
- You weight community size — 7.5K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pufferpanel if
- You want the pufferpanel feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and pufferpanel fits your workflow better
About colyseus
Multiplayer Framework for Node.js. View documentation Colyseus is an Authoritative Multiplayer Framework for Node.js, with SDKs available for all major platforms and engines. Client SDKs The project focuses on providing synchronizable data structures for realtime and turn based games, matchmaking, and ease of usage both on the server side and client side. The mission of the framework is to be a standard netcode & matchmaking solution for any kind of project you can think of! Why developers choose Colyseus: ⚡️ Real time state sync that just works → Define your state on the server and it automatically synchronizes…
read the full colyseus overview →
About pufferpanel
PufferPanel Website Discord Documentation Translations What is PufferPanel? PufferPanel is a web based Game Server Management System. PufferPanel allows you to manage multiple different game servers all from one central location. You can give other users their own servers or allow them to access to your servers. Installation Please follow the installation guide for PufferPanel located here. What's different about PufferPanel? In addition to being a free and open source project, PufferPanel provides an easy to use interface for everyone from individual users to large networks. We strive to create a friendly…
read the full pufferpanel overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is colyseus or pufferpanel more popular?
colyseus has 7,547 GitHub stars and pufferpanel has 1,771. colyseus has the larger community by that measure.
Are colyseus and pufferpanel free?
Both are open source. colyseus is licensed under MIT and pufferpanel under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between colyseus and pufferpanel?
colyseus is written in TypeScript and pufferpanel in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, colyseus or pufferpanel?
Choose colyseus if you want the larger community (7,547 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose pufferpanel if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.