head to head · open source
imgui vs osu-framework
imgui has 77,026 GitHub stars, 12,105 forks, 1,227 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. osu-framework has 2,031 stars, 514 forks, 467 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. imgui leads on adoption by 3,693% (77,026 vs 2,031 stars). imgui is written in C++ under MIT; osu-framework is written in C# under MIT. imgui has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, osu-framework 25%. osu-framework 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 | osu-framework | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-05 | 2026-11-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 12K | ⑂ 514 |
| 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 osu-framework if
- You want the osu-framework feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and osu-framework 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 osu-framework
osu!framework A game framework written with osu! in mind. Developing a game using osu!framework If you are interested in creating a project using the framework, please start from the getting started wiki resources (or jump straight over to the project templates). You can either start off from an empty project, or take a peek at a working sample game. Either way, full project structure, cross platform support, and a testing setup are included! The rest of the information on this page is related to working on the framework, not using it! Objectives This framework is intended to take steps beyond what you would…
read the full osu-framework overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is imgui or osu-framework more popular?
imgui has 77,026 GitHub stars and osu-framework has 2,031. imgui has the larger community by that measure.
Are imgui and osu-framework free?
Both are open source. imgui is licensed under MIT and osu-framework under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between imgui and osu-framework?
imgui is written in C++ and osu-framework 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 osu-framework?
Choose imgui if you want the larger community (77,026 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose osu-framework if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.