head to head · open source
MonoGame vs Pumpkin
MonoGame has 14,602 GitHub stars, 3,121 forks, 766 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Pumpkin has 12,827 stars, 986 forks, 452 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MonoGame leads on adoption by 14% (14,602 vs 12,827 stars). MonoGame is written in C# under a custom or non-standard licence; Pumpkin is written in Rust under GPL-3.0. MonoGame has attracted 21% 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
| MonoGame | Pumpkin | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 13K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C# | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 986 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick MonoGame if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- 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 MonoGame
MonoGame One framework for creating powerful cross platform games Supported Platforms • Resources • Samples • Support and Contributions • Source Code • Helpful Links • License Overview MonoGame is a simple and powerful .NET framework for creating games for desktop PCs, video game consoles, and mobile devices using the C programming language. It has been successfully used to create games such as Streets of Rage 4, Carrion, Celeste, Stardew Valley, and many others. It is an open source re implementation of the discontinued Microsoft's XNA Framework. Supported Platforms We support a growing list of platforms across…
read the full MonoGame 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 MonoGame or Pumpkin more popular?
MonoGame has 14,602 GitHub stars and Pumpkin has 12,827. MonoGame has the larger community by that measure.
Are MonoGame and Pumpkin free?
Both are open source. MonoGame has no licence declared in this registry, and Pumpkin is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between MonoGame and Pumpkin?
MonoGame is written in C# 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, MonoGame or Pumpkin?
Choose MonoGame if you want the larger community (14,602 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Pumpkin if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.