SHSelfHostIndex

Gameap vs PufferPanel

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?
GA Gameap Open-source game server control panel VS PU PufferPanel Open-source game server management panel for many games
FeatureGameapPufferPanel
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score74 · Good85 · Excellent
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageGoGo
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 155★ 1,748
First released20142015
ReplacesAMP, TCAdminAMP, Multicraft

What are Gameap and PufferPanel?

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

PufferPanel

Pufferpanel is a free, open-source game server management panel that provides a web interface to install, configure, and control dedicated game servers. It supports a wide range of games through its template system.

  • Web-based game server panel
  • Multi-game template support
  • User and subuser permissions
  • OAuth login

Read the full PufferPanel guide →

Gameap vs PufferPanel: key differences

Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Gameap versus Apache-2.0 for PufferPanel. PufferPanel has the considerably larger community, at 1,748 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
Gameap details

Choose PufferPanel if…

  • Lightweight panel
  • Supports many games

Watch out for

  • Smaller than Pterodactyl ecosystem
  • Templates need tuning
PufferPanel details

Frequently asked questions

Is Gameap or PufferPanel better?

Neither is universally better. PufferPanel has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Gameap and PufferPanel free and open-source?

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

Can I run Gameap and PufferPanel with Docker?

Gameap: yes. PufferPanel: yes.

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