head to head · open source
three.js vs colyseus
three.js has 117,439 GitHub stars, 36,894 forks, 386 open issues and last shipped yesterday. colyseus has 7,506 stars, 683 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. three.js leads on adoption by 1,465% (117,439 vs 7,506 stars). three.js is written in JavaScript under MIT; colyseus is written in TypeScript under MIT. three.js has attracted 31% as many forks as stars, colyseus 9%. three.js 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
| three.js | colyseus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 117K | ★ 7.5K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 37K | ⑂ 683 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick three.js if
- You weight community size — 117K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- 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 three.js
three.js [![NPM Package][npm]][npm url] [![Build Size][build size]][build size url] [![NPM Downloads][npm downloads]][npmtrends url] [![jsDelivr Downloads][jsdelivr downloads]][jsdelivr url] [![Discord][discord]][discord url] JavaScript 3D library The aim of the project is to create an easy to use, lightweight, cross browser, general purpose 3D library. The current builds only include WebGL and WebGPU renderers but SVG and CSS3D renderers are also available as addons. Examples — Docs — Manual — Wiki — Migrating — Questions — Forum — Discord Usage This code creates a…
read the full three.js 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 three.js or colyseus more popular?
three.js has 117,439 GitHub stars and colyseus has 7,506. three.js has the larger community by that measure.
Are three.js and colyseus free?
Both are open source. three.js is licensed under MIT and colyseus under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between three.js and colyseus?
three.js is written in JavaScript 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, three.js or colyseus?
Choose three.js if you want the larger community (117,439 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose colyseus if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.