head to head · open source
raylib vs colyseus
raylib has 35,538 GitHub stars, 3,370 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped yesterday. colyseus has 7,506 stars, 683 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. raylib leads on adoption by 373% (35,538 vs 7,506 stars). raylib is written in C under Zlib; colyseus is written in TypeScript under MIT. raylib has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, colyseus 9%. raylib was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | colyseus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 7.5K |
| License | Zlib | MIT |
| Written in | C | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 683 |
| 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 colyseus if
- You want the colyseus feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and colyseus 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 colyseus
Multiplayer Framework for Node.js. View documentation Colyseus is an Authoritative Multiplayer Framework for Node.js, with SDKs available for all major platforms and engines. Client SDKs The project focuses on providing synchronizable data structures for realtime and turn based games, matchmaking, and ease of usage both on the server side and client side. The mission of the framework is to be a standard netcode & matchmaking solution for any kind of project you can think of! Why developers choose Colyseus: ⚡️ Real time state sync that just works → Define your state on the server and it automatically synchronizes…
read the full colyseus overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is raylib or colyseus more popular?
raylib has 35,538 GitHub stars and colyseus has 7,506. raylib has the larger community by that measure.
Are raylib and colyseus free?
Both are open source. raylib is licensed under Zlib and colyseus under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between raylib and colyseus?
raylib is written in C and colyseus 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 colyseus?
Choose raylib if you want the larger community (35,538 stars) or its Zlib licence terms. Choose colyseus if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.