CTFd vs Pterodactyl
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?
CTFd
Open-source capture the flag framework for hacking competitions
VS
Pterodactyl
Free game server management panel
| Feature | CTFd | Pterodactyl |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Game Servers | Game Servers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,776 | ★ 9,115 |
| First released | 2017 | 2015 |
| Replaces | HackerRank CTF | TCAdmin, Multicraft |
Why pick each one
Choose CTFd if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is CTFd or Pterodactyl better?
Neither is universally better. Pterodactyl has the larger community, while CTFd is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are CTFd and Pterodactyl free and open-source?
Yes. CTFd is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Pterodactyl under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CTFd and Pterodactyl with Docker?
CTFd: yes. Pterodactyl: yes.