head to head · open source
imgui vs Terasology
imgui has 76,560 GitHub stars, 12,076 forks, 1,227 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Terasology has 3,898 stars, 1,376 forks, 462 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. imgui leads on adoption by 1,864% (76,560 vs 3,898 stars). imgui is written in C++ under MIT; Terasology is written in Java under Apache-2.0. imgui has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, Terasology 35%. Terasology 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
| imgui | Terasology | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Java |
| Last push | 2026-10-07 | 2026-10-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 12K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| 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 Terasology if
- You want the Terasology feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and Terasology 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 Terasology
Terasology is an open source voxel world game engine written in Java for players, modders, and developers who want a Minecraft inspired platform they can build on, host, and modify themselves.
read the full Terasology overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is imgui or Terasology more popular?
imgui has 76,560 GitHub stars and Terasology has 3,898. imgui has the larger community by that measure.
Are imgui and Terasology free?
Both are open source. imgui is licensed under MIT and Terasology under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between imgui and Terasology?
imgui is written in C++ and Terasology in Java. 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 Terasology?
Choose imgui if you want the larger community (76,560 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Terasology if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.