Nakama vs Zero-K
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 Zero-K 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 Zero-K Category Game Servers Game Servers License Apache-2.0 GPL-2.0 Language Go Lua Setup difficulty Medium Hard Min. RAM 512 MB 2,048 MB Deployment docker, kubernetes, binary bare-metal, binary, source GitHub stars ★ 13,121 ★ 820 First released 2017 2010 Replaces PlayFab, Firebase Supreme Commander
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
Frequently asked questions Is Nakama or Zero-K better? Nakama is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Zero-K if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Nakama and Zero-K free and open-source? Yes. Nakama is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Zero-K under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Nakama and Zero-K with Docker? Nakama: yes. Zero-K: check the project docs for container support.