head to head · open source
OpenRA vs aframe
OpenRA has 17,736 GitHub stars, 3,112 forks, 1,598 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. aframe has 17,689 stars, 4,409 forks, 338 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. OpenRA leads on adoption by 0% (17,736 vs 17,689 stars). OpenRA is written in C# under GPL-3.0; aframe is written in JavaScript under MIT. OpenRA has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, aframe 25%. OpenRA 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
| OpenRA | aframe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 18K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C# | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-28 | 2026-07-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 4.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenRA if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick aframe if
- You want the aframe feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and aframe fits your workflow better
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 See Hacking for a (now very outdated) overview of…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 →
About aframe
A Frame A web framework for building browser based 3D, AR and VR experiences. Site — Docs — Examples — School — Community Examples Find more examples on the homepage, A Week of A Frame, and WebVR Directory. Features :eyeglasses: Virtual Reality Made Simple : A Frame handles the 3D and WebXR boilerplate required to get running across platforms including mobile, desktop, and all headsets (compatible with a WebXR capable browser) just by dropping in . :heart: Declarative HTML : HTML is easy to read and copy and paste. Since A Frame can be used from HTML, A Frame is accessible to everyone…
read the full aframe overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenRA or aframe more popular?
OpenRA has 17,736 GitHub stars and aframe has 17,689. OpenRA has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenRA and aframe free?
Both are open source. OpenRA is licensed under GPL-3.0 and aframe under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenRA and aframe?
OpenRA is written in C# and aframe in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenRA or aframe?
Choose OpenRA if you want the larger community (17,736 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose aframe if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.