head to head · open source
raylib vs boardgame.io
raylib has 35,629 GitHub stars, 3,383 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped yesterday. boardgame.io has 12,486 stars, 833 forks, 67 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. raylib leads on adoption by 185% (35,629 vs 12,486 stars). raylib is written in C under Zlib; boardgame.io is written in TypeScript under MIT. raylib has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, boardgame.io 7%. raylib was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (game-engine), 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
| raylib | boardgame.io | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 12K |
| License | Zlib | MIT |
| Written in | C | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-11 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 833 |
| 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 boardgame.io if
- You want the boardgame.io feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and boardgame.io 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 boardgame.io
Read the Documentation boardgame.io is an engine for creating turn based games using JavaScript. Write simple functions that describe how the game state changes when a particular move is made. This is automatically converted into a playable game complete with online multiplayer features, all without requiring you to write a single line of networking or storage code. Features State Management : Game state is managed seamlessly across clients, server and storage automatically. Multiplayer : Game state is kept in sync in realtime and across platforms. AI : Automatically generated bots that can play your game. Game…
read the full boardgame.io overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Gaming projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Gaming field.
Frequently asked questions
Is raylib or boardgame.io more popular?
raylib has 35,629 GitHub stars and boardgame.io has 12,486. raylib has the larger community by that measure.
Are raylib and boardgame.io free?
Both are open source. raylib is licensed under Zlib and boardgame.io under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between raylib and boardgame.io?
raylib is written in C and boardgame.io in TypeScript. 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 boardgame.io?
Choose raylib if you want the larger community (35,629 stars) or its Zlib licence terms. Choose boardgame.io if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.