Nakama vs NextGBA
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 Nakama with
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Compare NextGBA with
choose an app… Mindustry Lichess OpenRCT2 papermc-docker ArchiSteamFarm Cytopia Note - games browser alt 2048 Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot Unciv
Feature Nakama NextGBA Category Game Servers Game Servers License Apache-2.0 free Language Go TypeScript Setup difficulty Medium Easy Min. RAM 512 MB 512 MB Deployment docker, kubernetes, binary docker, one-click GitHub stars ★ 13,121 ★ 45 First released 2017 2023 Replaces PlayFab, Firebase —
Why pick each one
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 Choose NextGBA if… Easy to set up — beginner-friendly First-class Docker support for quick deployment One-click install on common self-host platforms Written in TypeScript NextGBA details
Frequently asked questions Is Nakama or NextGBA better? Neither is universally better. Nakama has the larger community, while NextGBA is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Nakama and NextGBA free and open-source? Yes. Nakama is licensed under Apache-2.0 and NextGBA under free. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Nakama and NextGBA with Docker? Nakama: yes. NextGBA: yes.