head to head · open source
OpenRA vs colyseus
OpenRA has 17,736 GitHub stars, 3,112 forks, 1,598 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. colyseus has 7,518 stars, 683 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenRA leads on adoption by 136% (17,736 vs 7,518 stars). OpenRA is written in C# under GPL-3.0; colyseus is written in TypeScript under MIT. OpenRA has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, colyseus 9%. colyseus was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | colyseus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 7.5K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C# | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-28 | 2026-11-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 683 |
| 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 colyseus if
- You want the colyseus feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and colyseus 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 See Hacking for a (now very outdated) overview of…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 colyseus
Multiplayer Framework for Node.js. View documentation Colyseus is an Authoritative Multiplayer Framework for Node.js, with SDKs available for all major platforms and engines. Client SDKs The project focuses on providing synchronizable data structures for realtime and turn based games, matchmaking, and ease of usage both on the server side and client side. The mission of the framework is to be a standard netcode & matchmaking solution for any kind of project you can think of! Why developers choose Colyseus: ⚡️ Real time state sync that just works → Define your state on the server and it automatically synchronizes…
read the full colyseus overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenRA or colyseus more popular?
OpenRA has 17,736 GitHub stars and colyseus has 7,518. OpenRA has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenRA and colyseus free?
Both are open source. OpenRA is licensed under GPL-3.0 and colyseus under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenRA and colyseus?
OpenRA is written in C# and colyseus in TypeScript. 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 colyseus?
Choose OpenRA if you want the larger community (17,736 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose colyseus if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.