CMaNGOS vs TrinityCore
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game engines & frameworks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
CMaNGOS
Continued MaNGOS World of Warcraft server emulator
VS
TrinityCore
MMORPG server emulator for World of Warcraft
| Feature | CMaNGOS | TrinityCore |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Game Engines & Frameworks | Game Engines & Frameworks |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 550 | ★ 10,703 |
| First released | 2013 | 2008 |
| Replaces | official WoW servers | official WoW servers |
Why pick each one
Choose TrinityCore if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Mature project with 10.7k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is CMaNGOS or TrinityCore better?
Neither is universally better. TrinityCore has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are CMaNGOS and TrinityCore free and open-source?
Yes. CMaNGOS is licensed under GPL-2.0 and TrinityCore under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CMaNGOS and TrinityCore with Docker?
CMaNGOS: check the project docs for container support. TrinityCore: check the project docs for container support.