head to head · open source
imgui vs permafrost-engine
imgui has 76,766 GitHub stars, 12,074 forks, 1,227 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. permafrost-engine has 2,768 stars, 121 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. imgui leads on adoption by 2,673% (76,766 vs 2,768 stars). imgui is written in C++ under MIT; permafrost-engine is written in C under GPL-3.0. imgui has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, permafrost-engine 4%. 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| imgui | permafrost-engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 2.8K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | C |
| Last push | 2026-10-16 | 2026-10-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 12K | ⑂ 121 |
| 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 permafrost-engine if
- You want the permafrost-engine 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 permafrost-engine 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 permafrost-engine
Support the Development Wishlist EVERGLORY on Steam Permafrost Engine is an OpenGL 3.3 Real Time Strategy game engine written in C. It is made in the image of old classics, but incorporating some modern ideas. Engine Showcase EVERGLORY is the flagship game developed using Permafrost Engine. Download the free demo on Steam. With the demo you also get access to all the scripts powering the gameplay to learn from and modify as you wish. Engine Summary OpenGL 3.3 programmable pipeline (more modern extensions used where available) Custom text model format for interoperability with tools; baked binary format for fast…
read the full permafrost-engine overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Gaming projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Gaming field.
Frequently asked questions
Is imgui or permafrost-engine more popular?
imgui has 76,766 GitHub stars and permafrost-engine has 2,768. imgui has the larger community by that measure.
Are imgui and permafrost-engine free?
Both are open source. imgui is licensed under MIT and permafrost-engine under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between imgui and permafrost-engine?
imgui is written in C++ and permafrost-engine 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 permafrost-engine?
Choose imgui if you want the larger community (76,766 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose permafrost-engine if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.