SHSelfHostIndex

MCSManager vs Pterodactyl

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?
MC MCSManager Web control panel for managing game servers VS PT Pterodactyl Free game server management panel
FeatureMCSManagerPterodactyl
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageTypeScriptPHP
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 4,900★ 9,115
First released20172015
ReplacesMulticraft, PterodactylTCAdmin, Multicraft

Why pick each one

Choose MCSManager if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (4.9k GitHub stars)
  • Written in TypeScript
MCSManager details

Choose Pterodactyl if…

  • Secure container isolation
  • Huge supported game library
Pterodactyl details

Frequently asked questions

Is MCSManager or Pterodactyl better?

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

Are MCSManager and Pterodactyl free and open-source?

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

Can I run MCSManager and Pterodactyl with Docker?

MCSManager: yes. Pterodactyl: yes.

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