MCSManager vs PufferPanel
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | MCSManager | PufferPanel |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Game Servers | Game Servers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,969 | ★ 1,748 |
| First released | 2017 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Multicraft, Pterodactyl | AMP, Multicraft |
What are MCSManager and PufferPanel?
MCSManager
MCSManager is an open-source web control panel for deploying and managing Minecraft and other game servers from a browser. It supports multiple instances, scheduled tasks, and a daemon-based distributed setup.
- Browser server console
- Multi-instance management
- Scheduled tasks
- Distributed daemons
PufferPanel
Pufferpanel is a free, open-source game server management panel that provides a web interface to install, configure, and control dedicated game servers. It supports a wide range of games through its template system.
- Web-based game server panel
- Multi-game template support
- User and subuser permissions
- OAuth login
MCSManager vs PufferPanel: key differences
MCSManager is written in TypeScript, while PufferPanel is built with Go. PufferPanel is the more established project (first released 2015), while MCSManager arrived in 2017. MCSManager has the considerably larger community, at 4,969 GitHub stars versus 1,748.
Why pick each one
Choose MCSManager if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (5k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose PufferPanel if…
- Lightweight panel
- Supports many games
Watch out for
- Smaller than Pterodactyl ecosystem
- Templates need tuning
Frequently asked questions
Is MCSManager or PufferPanel better?
Neither is universally better. MCSManager has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are MCSManager and PufferPanel free and open-source?
Yes. MCSManager is licensed under Apache-2.0 and PufferPanel under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MCSManager and PufferPanel with Docker?
MCSManager: yes. PufferPanel: yes.