head to head · open source
Pumpkin vs pokerth
Pumpkin has 11,292 GitHub stars, 813 forks, 452 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pokerth has 657 stars, 252 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Pumpkin leads on adoption by 1,619% (11,292 vs 657 stars). Pumpkin is written in Rust under GPL-3.0; pokerth is written in C++ under AGPL-3.0. Pumpkin has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, pokerth 38%. 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.
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Side by side
| Pumpkin | pokerth | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 11K | ★ 657 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 813 | ⑂ 252 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Pumpkin if
- You weight community size — 11K 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 pokerth if
- You want the pokerth feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and pokerth fits your workflow better
About Pumpkin
Pumpkin is a Minecraft server implementation written entirely in Rust that aims to let anyone host fast and efficient Java and Bedrock Edition servers, and it is built for server operators and plugin developers who want vanilla compatible gameplay without the official Java server.
read the full Pumpkin overview →
About pokerth
PokerTH is an open source Texas Hold'em poker game and engine written in C++ with Qt, for players who want to play against computer opponents or against other people over the internet, and for hosts who want to run the multiplayer server themselves.
read the full pokerth overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Pumpkin or pokerth more popular?
Pumpkin has 11,292 GitHub stars and pokerth has 657. Pumpkin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Pumpkin and pokerth free?
Both are open source. Pumpkin is licensed under GPL-3.0 and pokerth under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Pumpkin and pokerth?
Pumpkin is written in Rust and pokerth 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 pokerth?
Choose Pumpkin if you want the larger community (11,292 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose pokerth if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.