head to head · open source
imgui vs OpenRA
imgui has 76,990 GitHub stars, 12,100 forks, 1,227 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenRA has 17,736 stars, 3,112 forks, 1,598 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. imgui leads on adoption by 334% (76,990 vs 17,736 stars). imgui is written in C++ under MIT; OpenRA is written in C# under GPL-3.0. imgui has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, OpenRA 18%. imgui was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | OpenRA | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 18K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-05 | 2026-10-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 12K | ⑂ 3.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick imgui if
- You weight community size — 77K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick OpenRA if
- You want the OpenRA feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and OpenRA fits your workflow better
About imgui
Dear ImGui ===== "Give someone state and they'll have a bug one day, but teach them how to represent state in two separate locations that have to be kept in sync and they'll have bugs for a lifetime." ryg (This library is available under a free and permissive license, but needs financial support to sustain its continued improvements. In addition to maintenance and stability there are many desirable features yet to be added. If your company is using Dear ImGui, please consider reaching out.) Businesses: support continued development and maintenance via invoiced sponsoring/support contracts: E mail: contact @…
read the full imgui overview →
About OpenRA
OpenRA A Libre/Free Real Time Strategy game engine supporting early Westwood classics. Website: Chat: openra on Libera (web) or Discord Repository: Please read the FAQ in our Wiki and report problems at Join the Forum for discussion. Play Distributed mods include a reimagining of Command & Conquer: Red Alert Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn Dune 2000 EA has not endorsed and does not support this product. Check our Playing the Game Guide to win multiplayer matches. Contribute Please read INSTALL.md and Compiling on how to set up an OpenRA development environment. See Hacking for a (now very outdated) overview of…
read the full OpenRA overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is imgui or OpenRA more popular?
imgui has 76,990 GitHub stars and OpenRA has 17,736. imgui has the larger community by that measure.
Are imgui and OpenRA free?
Both are open source. imgui is licensed under MIT and OpenRA under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between imgui and OpenRA?
imgui is written in C++ and OpenRA 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 OpenRA?
Choose imgui if you want the larger community (76,990 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose OpenRA if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.