head to head · open source
Godot vs Hey
Godot has 117,369 GitHub stars, 26,777 forks, 18,870 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hey has 29,369 stars, 1,806 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. Godot leads on adoption by 300% (117,369 vs 29,369 stars). Godot is written in C++ under MIT; Hey is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Godot has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, Hey 6%. Godot 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
| Godot | Hey | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 117K | ★ 29K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 27K | ⑂ 1.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Godot if
- You weight community size — 117K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Hey if
- You want the Hey feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Hey fits your workflow better
About Godot
Godot Engine is a free, MIT licensed, cross platform 2D and 3D game engine that ships an editor, a class reference, export templates, and one click deployment to desktop, mobile, web and console targets, aimed at game developers who want to own their toolchain and their games without royalties.
read the full Godot overview →
About Hey
Hey (hey.xyz) is a decentralized, permissionless social media application built on the Lens Protocol, aimed at Web3 developers and teams who want to self host or fork a blockchain backed social client.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Godot or Hey more popular?
Godot has 117,369 GitHub stars and Hey has 29,369. Godot has the larger community by that measure.
Are Godot and Hey free?
Both are open source. Godot is licensed under MIT and Hey under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Godot and Hey?
Godot is written in C++ and Hey 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, Godot or Hey?
Choose Godot if you want the larger community (117,369 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Hey if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.