Agones vs GeyserMC

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureAgonesGeyserMC
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageGoJava
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB256 MB
Deploymentkubernetes, helmdocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 6,967★ 5,734
First released20182019
ReplacesGameLiftMinecraft cross-play workarounds

Why pick each one

Choose Agones if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Mature project with 7k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
Agones details

Choose GeyserMC if…

  • Enables cross-play
  • Works as plugin or proxy
GeyserMC details

Frequently asked questions

Is Agones or GeyserMC better?

Neither is universally better. Agones has the larger community, while GeyserMC is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Agones and GeyserMC free and open-source?

Yes. Agones is licensed under Apache-2.0 and GeyserMC under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Agones and GeyserMC with Docker?

Agones: check the project docs for container support. GeyserMC: yes.

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