head to head · open source
raylib vs aframe
raylib has 35,559 GitHub stars, 3,376 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. aframe has 17,687 stars, 4,408 forks, 338 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. raylib leads on adoption by 101% (35,559 vs 17,687 stars). raylib is written in C under Zlib; aframe is written in JavaScript under MIT. raylib has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, aframe 25%. raylib was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (game-development, game-engine, 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
| raylib | aframe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 18K |
| License | Zlib | MIT |
| Written in | C | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-07-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 4.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick raylib if
- You weight community size — 36K stars and counting
- You want the Zlib license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick aframe if
- You want the aframe feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and aframe fits your workflow better
About raylib
raylib is a simple and easy to use library to enjoy videogames programming. raylib is highly inspired by Borland BGI graphics lib and by XNA framework and it's especially well suited for prototyping, tooling, graphical applications, embedded systems and education. NOTE for ADVENTURERS: raylib is a programming library to enjoy videogames programming; no fancy interface, no visual helpers, no debug button... just coding in the most pure spartan programmers way. Ready to learn? Jump to code examples! features NO external dependencies , all required libraries are included in raylib Multiple platforms supported…
read the full raylib overview →
About aframe
A Frame A web framework for building browser based 3D, AR and VR experiences. Site — Docs — Examples — School — Community Examples Find more examples on the homepage, A Week of A Frame, and WebVR Directory. Features :eyeglasses: Virtual Reality Made Simple : A Frame handles the 3D and WebXR boilerplate required to get running across platforms including mobile, desktop, and all headsets (compatible with a WebXR capable browser) just by dropping in . :heart: Declarative HTML : HTML is easy to read and copy and paste. Since A Frame can be used from HTML, A Frame is accessible to everyone…
read the full aframe overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is raylib or aframe more popular?
raylib has 35,559 GitHub stars and aframe has 17,687. raylib has the larger community by that measure.
Are raylib and aframe free?
Both are open source. raylib is licensed under Zlib and aframe under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between raylib and aframe?
raylib is written in C and aframe in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, raylib or aframe?
Choose raylib if you want the larger community (35,559 stars) or its Zlib licence terms. Choose aframe if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.