head to head · open source
engine vs Pumpkin
engine has 17,229 GitHub stars, 2,051 forks, 471 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Pumpkin has 12,867 stars, 998 forks, 452 open issues and last shipped yesterday. engine leads on adoption by 34% (17,229 vs 12,867 stars). engine is written in JavaScript under MIT; Pumpkin is written in Rust under GPL-3.0. engine has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Pumpkin 8%. Pumpkin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| engine | Pumpkin | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 13K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-07 | 2026-11-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 998 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick engine if
- You weight community size — 17K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Pumpkin if
- You want the Pumpkin feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Pumpkin fits your workflow better
About engine
PlayCanvas Engine PlayCanvas is an open source game engine built on WebGL2 and WebGPU. Use it to create interactive 3D apps, games and visualizations that run in any browser on any device. English 中文 日本語 한글 Install Or scaffold a full project in seconds with create playcanvas : Usage Here's a super simple Hello World example a spinning cube! Want to play with the code yourself? Edit it on CodePen. A full guide to setting up a local development environment based on the PlayCanvas Engine can be found here. Features PlayCanvas is a fully featured game engine. 🧊 Graphics Advanced 2D + 3D graphics engine built on…
read the full engine overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is engine or Pumpkin more popular?
engine has 17,229 GitHub stars and Pumpkin has 12,867. engine has the larger community by that measure.
Are engine and Pumpkin free?
Both are open source. engine is licensed under MIT and Pumpkin under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between engine and Pumpkin?
engine is written in JavaScript and Pumpkin in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, engine or Pumpkin?
Choose engine if you want the larger community (17,229 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Pumpkin if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.