Lichess vs AzuraCast Games

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?
FeatureLichessAzuraCast Games
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageScalaJavaScript
Setup difficultyHardEasy
Min. RAM4,096 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcebare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 18,557★ 1,192
First released20102019
ReplacesChess.comCookie Clicker, Universal Paperclips

Why pick each one

Choose Lichess if…

  • Full-featured chess platform
  • Completely ad-free
Lichess details

Choose AzuraCast Games if…

  • Trivial to host
  • Extremely lightweight
AzuraCast Games details

Frequently asked questions

Is Lichess or AzuraCast Games better?

Neither is universally better. Lichess has the larger community, while AzuraCast Games is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Lichess and AzuraCast Games free and open-source?

Yes. Lichess is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and AzuraCast Games under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Lichess and AzuraCast Games with Docker?

Lichess: yes. AzuraCast Games: check the project docs for container support.

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