Mindustry vs Naev

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?
FeatureMindustryNaev
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageJavaC
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binary, sourcebinary, source
GitHub stars★ 28,532★ 941
First released20172009
ReplacesFactorioEscape Velocity

Why pick each one

Choose Mindustry if…

  • Lightweight server
  • Large active community
Mindustry details

Choose Naev if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Mindustry or Naev 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 Mindustry and Naev free and open-source?

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

Can I run Mindustry and Naev with Docker?

Mindustry: yes. Naev: check the project docs for container support.

Related comparisons