Nakama vs SuperTux

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeatureNakamaSuperTux
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseApache-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageGoC++
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, binarybinary, source
GitHub stars★ 13,121★ 3,116
First released20172003
ReplacesPlayFab, FirebaseSuper Mario Bros

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 SuperTux if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
  • Written in C++
SuperTux details

Frequently asked questions

Is Nakama or SuperTux better?

Neither is universally better. Nakama has the larger community, while SuperTux is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Nakama and SuperTux free and open-source?

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

Can I run Nakama and SuperTux with Docker?

Nakama: yes. SuperTux: check the project docs for container support.

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