head to head · open source
Godot vs raylib
Godot has 119,457 GitHub stars, 27,336 forks, 18,870 open issues and last shipped yesterday. raylib has 35,538 stars, 3,370 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Godot leads on adoption by 236% (119,457 vs 35,538 stars). Godot is written in C++ under MIT; raylib is written in C under Zlib. Godot has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, raylib 9%. Godot 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Godot | raylib | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 119K | ★ 36K |
| License | MIT | Zlib |
| Written in | C++ | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 27K | ⑂ 3.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Godot if
- You weight community size — 119K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick raylib if
- You want the raylib feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Zlib license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and raylib fits your workflow better
About Godot
Godot Engine 2D and 3D cross platform game engine Godot Engine is a feature packed, cross platform game engine to create 2D and 3D games from a unified interface. It provides a comprehensive set of common tools, so that users can focus on making games without having to reinvent the wheel. Games can be exported with one click to a number of platforms, including the major desktop platforms (Linux, macOS, Windows), mobile platforms (Android, iOS), as well as Web based platforms and consoles. Free, open source and community driven Godot is completely free and open source under the very permissive MIT license. No…
read the full Godot overview →
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 →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Gaming projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Gaming field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Godot or raylib more popular?
Godot has 119,457 GitHub stars and raylib has 35,538. Godot has the larger community by that measure.
Are Godot and raylib free?
Both are open source. Godot is licensed under MIT and raylib under Zlib. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Godot and raylib?
Godot is written in C++ and raylib 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, Godot or raylib?
Choose Godot if you want the larger community (119,457 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose raylib if its feature set, stack or Zlib licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.