head to head · open source
raylib vs MonoGame
raylib has 35,538 GitHub stars, 3,370 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. MonoGame has 14,602 stars, 3,119 forks, 766 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. raylib leads on adoption by 143% (35,538 vs 14,602 stars). raylib is written in C under Zlib; MonoGame is written in C# under a custom or non-standard licence. raylib has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, MonoGame 21%. MonoGame was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (game-development, game-engine, gamedev, graphics), 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 | MonoGame | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 15K |
| License | Zlib | Custom / other |
| Written in | C | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 3.1K |
| 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 MonoGame if
- You want the MonoGame feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and MonoGame 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 MonoGame
MonoGame One framework for creating powerful cross platform games Supported Platforms • Resources • Samples • Support and Contributions • Source Code • Helpful Links • License Overview MonoGame is a simple and powerful .NET framework for creating games for desktop PCs, video game consoles, and mobile devices using the C programming language. It has been successfully used to create games such as Streets of Rage 4, Carrion, Celeste, Stardew Valley, and many others. It is an open source re implementation of the discontinued Microsoft's XNA Framework. Supported Platforms We support a growing list of platforms across…
read the full MonoGame 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 MonoGame more popular?
raylib has 35,538 GitHub stars and MonoGame has 14,602. raylib has the larger community by that measure.
Are raylib and MonoGame free?
Both are open source. raylib is licensed under Zlib, and MonoGame has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between raylib and MonoGame?
raylib is written in C and MonoGame 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 MonoGame?
Choose raylib if you want the larger community (35,538 stars) or its Zlib licence terms. Choose MonoGame if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.