head to head · open source
raylib vs JoltPhysics
raylib has 34,883 GitHub stars, 3,315 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped yesterday. JoltPhysics has 11,616 stars, 980 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped yesterday. raylib leads on adoption by 200% (34,883 vs 11,616 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%. raylib 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 | ★ 35K | ★ 12K |
| License | Zlib | MIT |
| Written in | C | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-27 | 2026-09-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 980 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick raylib if
- You weight community size — 35K 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 an open source, Zlib licensed C programming library for building videogames and graphical applications, aimed at programmers who would rather write code directly than work inside a visual game engine editor.
read the full raylib overview →
About JoltPhysics
Jolt Physics is an MIT licensed, multi core friendly rigid body physics and collision detection library written in C++, intended for games and VR applications and used by Horizon Forbidden West and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
read the full JoltPhysics overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is raylib or JoltPhysics more popular?
raylib has 34,883 GitHub stars and JoltPhysics has 11,616. 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 (34,883 stars) or its Zlib licence terms. Choose JoltPhysics if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.