head to head · open source
imgui vs JoltPhysics
imgui has 76,397 GitHub stars, 12,062 forks, 1,227 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. JoltPhysics has 11,616 stars, 980 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped yesterday. imgui leads on adoption by 558% (76,397 vs 11,616 stars). imgui is written in C++ under MIT; JoltPhysics is written in C++ under MIT. imgui has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, JoltPhysics 8%. JoltPhysics was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (game-development, game-engine), 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
| imgui | JoltPhysics | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 76K | ★ 12K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-25 | 2026-09-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 12K | ⑂ 980 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick imgui if
- You weight community size — 76K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick JoltPhysics if
- You want the JoltPhysics feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and JoltPhysics fits your workflow better
About imgui
Dear ImGui is a bloat free, MIT licensed graphical user interface library for C++ that outputs optimized vertex buffers for rendering inside 3D pipeline enabled applications, and it is aimed at programmers building content creation, visualization, and debug tools rather than at developers shipping consumer facing UI.
read the full imgui overview →
About JoltPhysics
Jolt Physics is an MIT licensed, multi core friendly rigid body physics and collision detection library written in C++, intended for games and VR applications and used by Horizon Forbidden West and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
read the full JoltPhysics overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is imgui or JoltPhysics more popular?
imgui has 76,397 GitHub stars and JoltPhysics has 11,616. imgui has the larger community by that measure.
Are imgui and JoltPhysics free?
Both are open source. imgui is licensed under MIT and JoltPhysics under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between imgui and JoltPhysics?
imgui is written in C++ and JoltPhysics 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, imgui or JoltPhysics?
Choose imgui if you want the larger community (76,397 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose JoltPhysics if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.