Mindustry vs Nakama

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?
FeatureMindustryNakama
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguageJavaGo
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binary, sourcedocker, kubernetes, binary
GitHub stars★ 28,532★ 13,121
First released20172017
ReplacesFactorioPlayFab, Firebase

Why pick each one

Choose Mindustry if…

  • Lightweight server
  • Large active community
Mindustry details

Choose Nakama if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Mature project with 13.1k GitHub stars
Nakama details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mindustry or Nakama better?

Mindustry is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Nakama if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Mindustry and Nakama free and open-source?

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

Can I run Mindustry and Nakama with Docker?

Mindustry: yes. Nakama: yes.

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