head to head · open source
three.js vs colyseus
three.js has 115,666 GitHub stars, 36,556 forks, 386 open issues and last shipped yesterday. colyseus has 7,311 stars, 665 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped today. three.js leads on adoption by 1,482% (115,666 vs 7,311 stars). three.js is written in JavaScript under MIT; colyseus is written in TypeScript under MIT. three.js has attracted 32% as many forks as stars, colyseus 9%. colyseus was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| three.js | colyseus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 116K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 37K | ⑂ 665 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick three.js if
- You weight community size — 116K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick colyseus if
- You want the colyseus feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and colyseus fits your workflow better
About three.js
three.js is an MIT licensed JavaScript 3D library that provides an easy to use, lightweight, cross browser, general purpose layer for rendering interactive 3D graphics in the browser, aimed at JavaScript developers who need 3D scenes on the web without writing raw GPU code.
read the full three.js overview →
About colyseus
Colyseus is an MIT licensed authoritative multiplayer framework for Node.js that provides synchronizable data structures, room based matchmaking, and client SDKs for TypeScript, React, Unity, Godot, GameMaker, Defold, Construct, Haxe, and C, aimed at developers building realtime and turn based multiplayer games.
read the full colyseus overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is three.js or colyseus more popular?
three.js has 115,666 GitHub stars and colyseus has 7,311. three.js has the larger community by that measure.
Are three.js and colyseus free?
Both are open source. three.js is licensed under MIT and colyseus under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between three.js and colyseus?
three.js is written in JavaScript and colyseus in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, three.js or colyseus?
Choose three.js if you want the larger community (115,666 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose colyseus if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.