head to head · open source
raylib vs JoltPhysics
raylib has 35,644 GitHub stars, 3,387 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. JoltPhysics has 12,276 stars, 1,015 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped yesterday. raylib leads on adoption by 190% (35,644 vs 12,276 stars). raylib is written in C under Zlib; JoltPhysics is written in C++ under MIT. raylib has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, JoltPhysics 8%. JoltPhysics was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (game-development, 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.
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Side by side
| raylib | JoltPhysics | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 12K |
| License | Zlib | MIT |
| Written in | C | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-11 | 2026-11-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| 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 JoltPhysics if
- You want the JoltPhysics feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and JoltPhysics 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 JoltPhysics
Jolt Physics A multi core friendly rigid body physics and collision detection library. Suitable for games and VR applications. Used by Horizon Forbidden West and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. For more demos and videos go to the Samples section. Design considerations Why create yet another physics engine? Firstly, it has been a personal learning project. Secondly, I wanted to address some issues that I had with existing physics engines: Games do more than simulating physics. These things happen across multiple threads. We emphasize on concurrently accessing physics data outside of the main simulation update…
read the full JoltPhysics overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is raylib or JoltPhysics more popular?
raylib has 35,644 GitHub stars and JoltPhysics has 12,276. raylib has the larger community by that measure.
Are raylib and JoltPhysics free?
Both are open source. raylib is licensed under Zlib and JoltPhysics under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between raylib and JoltPhysics?
raylib is written in C and JoltPhysics 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, raylib or JoltPhysics?
Choose raylib if you want the larger community (35,644 stars) or its Zlib licence terms. Choose JoltPhysics if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.