LinCity-NG vs Mindustry

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?
FeatureLinCity-NGMindustry
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageC++Java
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcedocker, bare-metal, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 620★ 28,532
First released20052017
ReplacesSimCityFactorio

Why pick each one

Choose LinCity-NG if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in C++
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
LinCity-NG details

Choose Mindustry if…

  • Lightweight server
  • Large active community
Mindustry details

Frequently asked questions

Is LinCity-NG or Mindustry better?

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

Are LinCity-NG and Mindustry free and open-source?

Yes. LinCity-NG is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Mindustry under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run LinCity-NG and Mindustry with Docker?

LinCity-NG: check the project docs for container support. Mindustry: yes.

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