Mindustry vs Waterfall

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?
FeatureMindustryWaterfall
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageJavaShell
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binary, sourcebare-metal, docker
GitHub stars★ 28,532★ 751
First released20172016
ReplacesFactorioBungeeCord

Why pick each one

Choose Mindustry if…

  • Lightweight server
  • Large active community
Mindustry details

Choose Waterfall if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Shell
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Waterfall details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mindustry or Waterfall better?

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

Are Mindustry and Waterfall free and open-source?

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

Can I run Mindustry and Waterfall with Docker?

Mindustry: yes. Waterfall: yes.

Related comparisons