Mindustry vs Terraforming Mars
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?
Compare Mindustry with
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Compare Terraforming Mars with
choose an app… Lichess OpenRCT2 papermc-docker ArchiSteamFarm Cytopia Note - games browser alt 2048 Nakama Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot Unciv
Feature Mindustry Terraforming Mars Category Game Servers Game Servers License GPL-3.0 GPL-3.0 Language Java TypeScript Setup difficulty Easy Easy Min. RAM 512 MB 50 MB Deployment docker, bare-metal, binary, source bare-metal GitHub stars ★ 28,532 ★ 939 First released 2017 2023 Replaces Factorio —
Why pick each one
Choose Terraforming Mars if… Released under the GPL-3.0 license Easy to set up — beginner-friendly Written in TypeScript Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM Terraforming Mars details
Frequently asked questions Is Mindustry or Terraforming Mars 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 Terraforming Mars free and open-source? Yes. Mindustry is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Terraforming Mars under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mindustry and Terraforming Mars with Docker? Mindustry: yes. Terraforming Mars: check the project docs for container support.