Lichess vs OpenDungeons

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?
FeatureLichessOpenDungeons
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageScalaC++
Setup difficultyHardEasy
Min. RAM4,096 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcebare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 18,557★ 501
First released20102011
ReplacesChess.comDungeon Keeper

Why pick each one

Choose Lichess if…

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

Choose OpenDungeons if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in C++
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
OpenDungeons details

Frequently asked questions

Is Lichess or OpenDungeons better?

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

Are Lichess and OpenDungeons free and open-source?

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

Can I run Lichess and OpenDungeons with Docker?

Lichess: yes. OpenDungeons: check the project docs for container support.

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