head to head · open source
GDevelop vs LittleJS
GDevelop has 27,242 GitHub stars, 1,570 forks, 633 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LittleJS has 4,197 stars, 233 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped today. GDevelop leads on adoption by 549% (27,242 vs 4,197 stars). GDevelop is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; LittleJS is written in JavaScript under MIT. GDevelop has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, LittleJS 6%. LittleJS was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (game-development, game-engine, gamedev), 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 | LittleJS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 27K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-07 | 2026-10-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 233 |
| 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 LittleJS if
- You want the LittleJS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and LittleJS 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 LittleJS
LittleJS is a tiny, dependency free 2D and 3D HTML5 game engine written in JavaScript and TypeScript, aimed at web game developers who want a small footprint without giving up rendering, physics, audio, and tooling.
read the full LittleJS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is GDevelop or LittleJS more popular?
GDevelop has 27,242 GitHub stars and LittleJS has 4,197. GDevelop has the larger community by that measure.
Are GDevelop and LittleJS free?
Both are open source. GDevelop has no licence declared in this registry, and LittleJS is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between GDevelop and LittleJS?
GDevelop is written in JavaScript and LittleJS 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 LittleJS?
Choose GDevelop if you want the larger community (27,242 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose LittleJS if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.