ink vs OpenRCT2

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?
FeatureinkOpenRCT2
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguageC#C++
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM128 MB512 MB
Deploymentsource, binarybare-metal, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 4,891★ 16,049
First released20162014
ReplacesYarn SpinnerRollerCoaster Tycoon

Why pick each one

Choose ink if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Active community (4.9k GitHub stars)
  • Written in C#
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
ink details

Choose OpenRCT2 if…

  • Faithful modern remake
  • Active community
OpenRCT2 details

Frequently asked questions

Is ink or OpenRCT2 better?

Neither is universally better. OpenRCT2 has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are ink and OpenRCT2 free and open-source?

Yes. ink is licensed under MIT and OpenRCT2 under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run ink and OpenRCT2 with Docker?

ink: check the project docs for container support. OpenRCT2: check the project docs for container support.

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