head to head · open source
Godot vs orx
Godot has 120,170 GitHub stars, 27,518 forks, 18,870 open issues and last shipped yesterday. orx has 1,788 stars, 124 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. Godot leads on adoption by 6,621% (120,170 vs 1,788 stars). Godot is written in C++ under MIT; orx is written in C under Zlib. Godot has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, orx 7%. Godot 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
| Godot | orx | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 120K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | MIT | Zlib |
| Written in | C++ | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-14 | 2026-11-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 28K | ⑂ 124 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Godot if
- You weight community size — 120K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick orx if
- You want the orx feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Zlib license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and orx fits your workflow better
About Godot
Godot Engine 2D and 3D cross platform game engine Godot Engine is a feature packed, cross platform game engine to create 2D and 3D games from a unified interface. It provides a comprehensive set of common tools, so that users can focus on making games without having to reinvent the wheel. Games can be exported with one click to a number of platforms, including the major desktop platforms (Linux, macOS, Windows), mobile platforms (Android, iOS), as well as Web based platforms and consoles. Free, open source and community driven Godot is completely free and open source under the very permissive MIT license. No…
read the full Godot overview →
About orx
A (HEAVILY) DATA DRIVEN 2D GAME ENGINE Orx (Version 1.17) ======================================== This engine is licensed under the very permissive zlib license (i.e. it's free for any commercial or non commercial use), see the LICENSE file for details. Email iarwain [at] orx project.org to contact the author or come chat with us on Discord if you have any questions, feedback or comments. Summary Orx is a heavily data driven, 2D oriented game engine, focused primarily on ease of use, performances and powerful features. (See below for a list of supported platforms.) This is a release candidate for orx v1.17. If…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Godot or orx more popular?
Godot has 120,170 GitHub stars and orx has 1,788. Godot has the larger community by that measure.
Are Godot and orx free?
Both are open source. Godot is licensed under MIT and orx under Zlib. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Godot and orx?
Godot is written in C++ and orx 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, Godot or orx?
Choose Godot if you want the larger community (120,170 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose orx if its feature set, stack or Zlib licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.