Gameap vs lodestone
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Gameap | lodestone |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 74 · Good | 15 · At risk |
| Category | Game Servers | Game Servers |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 155 | ★ 1,308 |
| First released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Replaces | AMP, TCAdmin | AMP, Pterodactyl |
What are Gameap and lodestone?
Gameap
GameAP is a free, open-source game server control panel that lets administrators manage multiple dedicated game servers from a single web interface. It supports remote daemons, scheduled tasks, and per-game configuration.
- Multi-server management
- Remote daemon architecture
- Scheduled task automation
- Per-game settings
lodestone
Lodestone is a free, open-source game server hosting tool that provides a clean web dashboard to deploy and manage Minecraft and other game servers. It is designed to be simple to install on a home server.
- Web game server dashboard
- One-click Minecraft setup
- Macro automation
- Lightweight install
Gameap vs lodestone: key differences
Gameap is written in Go, while lodestone is built with Rust. Licensing differs — MIT for Gameap versus AGPL-3.0 for lodestone. Gameap is the more established project (first released 2014), while lodestone arrived in 2022. Lodestone has the considerably larger community, at 1,308 GitHub stars versus 155.
Why pick each one
Choose Gameap if…
- Mature panel
- Free and open
Watch out for
- Documentation partly Russian
- Daemon setup needed
Choose lodestone if…
- Beginner-friendly
- Self-contained
Watch out for
- Fewer games than Pterodactyl
- Project pace varies
Frequently asked questions
Is Gameap or lodestone better?
lodestone is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Gameap if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Gameap and lodestone free and open-source?
Yes. Gameap is licensed under MIT and lodestone under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gameap and lodestone with Docker?
Gameap: yes. lodestone: yes.