head to head · open source
GDevelop vs engine
GDevelop has 26,760 GitHub stars, 1,558 forks, 633 open issues and last shipped yesterday. engine has 16,890 stars, 2,000 forks, 471 open issues and last shipped today. GDevelop leads on adoption by 58% (26,760 vs 16,890 stars). GDevelop is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; engine is written in JavaScript under MIT. GDevelop has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, engine 12%. engine was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (game-development, game-engine, gamedev, hacktoberfest), 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
| GDevelop | engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 27K | ★ 17K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 2.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick GDevelop if
- You weight community size — 27K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick engine if
- You want the engine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and engine fits your workflow better
About GDevelop
GDevelop is an open source, cross platform game engine and editor for creating 2D, 3D, and multiplayer games without writing code. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and targets mobile (iOS, Android), desktop, and web platforms. Built with JavaScript, React, Electron, PixiJS, and Three.js, it combines a visual event based system with AI assisted development to lower the barrier to entry for game creation.
read the full GDevelop overview →
About engine
PlayCanvas Engine is an open source, MIT licensed JavaScript and TypeScript runtime for building interactive 3D apps, games and visualizations that run in any browser on any device, built on WebGL2 and WebGPU.
read the full engine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is GDevelop or engine more popular?
GDevelop has 26,760 GitHub stars and engine has 16,890. GDevelop has the larger community by that measure.
Are GDevelop and engine free?
Both are open source. GDevelop has no licence declared in this registry, and engine is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between GDevelop and engine?
GDevelop is written in JavaScript and engine 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, GDevelop or engine?
Choose GDevelop if you want the larger community (26,760 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose engine if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.