head to head · open source
Pumpkin vs azerothcore-wotlk
Pumpkin has 12,827 GitHub stars, 986 forks, 452 open issues and last shipped yesterday. azerothcore-wotlk has 9,142 stars, 3,943 forks, 2,445 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Pumpkin leads on adoption by 40% (12,827 vs 9,142 stars). Pumpkin is written in Rust under GPL-3.0; azerothcore-wotlk is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. Pumpkin has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, azerothcore-wotlk 43%. Pumpkin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (game-server), 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
| Pumpkin | azerothcore-wotlk | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 13K | ★ 9.1K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 986 | ⑂ 3.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Pumpkin if
- You weight community size — 13K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick azerothcore-wotlk if
- You want the azerothcore-wotlk feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and azerothcore-wotlk fits your workflow better
About Pumpkin
Pumpkin Pumpkin is a Minecraft server built entirely in Rust, offering a fast, efficient, and customizable experience. It prioritizes performance and player enjoyment while adhering to the core mechanics of the game. Goals Performance : Leveraging multi threading for maximum speed and efficiency. Compatibility : Supports the latest Java & Bedrock Minecraft server version while adhering to Vanilla game mechanics. Security : Prioritizes security by preventing known security exploits. Flexibility : Highly configurable, with the ability to disable unnecessary features. Extensibility : Provides a foundation for…
read the full Pumpkin overview →
About azerothcore-wotlk
AzerothCore Build Status Introduction AzerothCore is an open source game server application and framework designed for hosting massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs). It is based on the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW) and seeks to recreate the gameplay experience of the original game from patch 3.3.5a. The original code is based on MaNGOS, TrinityCore, and SunwellCore and has since then had extensive development to improve stability, in game mechanics, and modularity to the game. AC has also grown into a community driven project with a significant number of contributors and developers…
read the full azerothcore-wotlk overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Gaming projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Gaming field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pumpkin or azerothcore-wotlk more popular?
Pumpkin has 12,827 GitHub stars and azerothcore-wotlk has 9,142. Pumpkin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Pumpkin and azerothcore-wotlk free?
Both are open source. Pumpkin is licensed under GPL-3.0 and azerothcore-wotlk under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Pumpkin and azerothcore-wotlk?
Pumpkin is written in Rust and azerothcore-wotlk 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, Pumpkin or azerothcore-wotlk?
Choose Pumpkin if you want the larger community (12,827 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose azerothcore-wotlk if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.