head to head · open source
GDevelop vs s&box
GDevelop has 28,355 GitHub stars, 1,641 forks, 633 open issues and last shipped yesterday. s&box has 6,517 stars, 696 forks, 2,406 open issues and last shipped yesterday. GDevelop leads on adoption by 335% (28,355 vs 6,517 stars). GDevelop is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; s&box is written in C# under a custom or non-standard licence. GDevelop has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, s&box 11%. GDevelop was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | s&box | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 6.5K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | JavaScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 696 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick GDevelop if
- You weight community size — 28K 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 s&box if
- You want the s&box feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and s&box fits your workflow better
About GDevelop
GDevelop is a full featured, no code, open source game development software. You can build 2D, 3D and multiplayer games for mobile (iOS, Android), desktop and the web. GDevelop is designed to be fast and incredibly intuitive: make games using an easy to understand yet powerful event based system and modular behaviors. Create with AI that assists or builds alongside you. Getting started Are you interested in contributing to GDevelop for the first time? Take a look at the list of good first issues , good first contributions or the "🏐 not too hard" cards on the Roadmap. Games made with GDevelop Find GDevelop games…
read the full GDevelop overview →
About s&box
[Website] [Getting Started] [Forums] [Documentation] [Contributing] [Website]: [Getting Started]: [Forums]: [Documentation]: [Contributing]: CONTRIBUTING.md s&box s&box is a modern game engine, built on Valve's Source 2 and the latest .NET technology, it provides a modern intuitive editor for creating games. If your goal is to create games using s&box, please start with the getting started guide. This repository is for building the engine from source for those who want to contribute to the development of the engine. Getting the Engine Steam You can download and install the s&box editor directly from Steam…
read the full s&box overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is GDevelop or s&box more popular?
GDevelop has 28,355 GitHub stars and s&box has 6,517. GDevelop has the larger community by that measure.
Are GDevelop and s&box free?
Neither GDevelop nor s&box declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between GDevelop and s&box?
GDevelop is written in JavaScript and s&box in C#. 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 s&box?
Choose GDevelop if you want the larger community (28,355 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose s&box if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.