Pelican Panel vs Pterodactyl
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?
Pelican Panel
Modern open-source game server control panel
VS
Pterodactyl
Free game server management panel
| Feature | Pelican Panel | Pterodactyl |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Game Servers | Game Servers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,229 | ★ 9,115 |
| First released | 2024 | 2015 |
| Replaces | TCAdmin, Multicraft | TCAdmin, Multicraft |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Pelican Panel or Pterodactyl better?
Neither is universally better. Pterodactyl has the larger community, while Pelican Panel is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pelican Panel and Pterodactyl free and open-source?
Yes. Pelican Panel is licensed under MIT and Pterodactyl under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pelican Panel and Pterodactyl with Docker?
Pelican Panel: yes. Pterodactyl: yes.