Pterodactyl vs shapez.io
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?
| Feature | Pterodactyl | shapez.io |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Game Servers | Game Servers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,115 | ★ 6,932 |
| First released | 2015 | 2020 |
| Replaces | TCAdmin, Multicraft | Factorio |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Pterodactyl or shapez.io better?
Neither is universally better. Pterodactyl has the larger community, while shapez.io is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pterodactyl and shapez.io free and open-source?
Yes. Pterodactyl is licensed under MIT and shapez.io under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pterodactyl and shapez.io with Docker?
Pterodactyl: yes. shapez.io: check the project docs for container support.