melonJS vs Phaser
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game engines & frameworks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | melonJS | Phaser |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Game Engines & Frameworks | Game Engines & Frameworks |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,399 | ★ 40,352 |
| First released | 2011 | 2013 |
| Replaces | GameMaker, Construct | Construct, GameMaker |
What are melonJS and Phaser?
melonJS
melonJS is a free, lightweight, open-source HTML5 game engine for building 2D games that run in the browser. Games built with melonJS can be self-hosted as static web applications.
- Lightweight 2D game engine
- Tiled map editor support
- Self-hostable web games
- WebGL and Canvas rendering
Phaser
Phaser is a fast, free, and open-source HTML5 game framework for building 2D games that run in a web browser. Games made with Phaser are self-hostable as static sites and playable on desktop and mobile.
- HTML5 2D game framework
- Self-hostable static games
- Desktop and mobile support
- Large ecosystem
melonJS vs Phaser: key differences
Both projects are written in JavaScript. MelonJS is the more established project (first released 2011), while Phaser arrived in 2013. Phaser has the considerably larger community, at 40,352 GitHub stars versus 6,399.
Why pick each one
Choose melonJS if…
- Small and fast
- Good tooling integration
Watch out for
- Engine, not a game
- Smaller community than Phaser
Choose Phaser if…
- Huge community
- Easy to deploy games
Watch out for
- Framework, build your own game
- 2D only
Frequently asked questions
Is melonJS or Phaser better?
Neither is universally better. Phaser has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are melonJS and Phaser free and open-source?
Yes. melonJS is licensed under MIT and Phaser under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run melonJS and Phaser with Docker?
melonJS: check the project docs for container support. Phaser: check the project docs for container support.