SHSelfHostIndex

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead vs Xonotic

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?
CA Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead Open-source turn-based survival roguelike VS XO Xonotic Fast-paced free arena first-person shooter
FeatureCataclysm: Dark Days AheadXonotic
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseCC-BY-SA-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageC++C
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binary, sourcebare-metal, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 12,896★ 700
First released20132011
ReplacesNetHackQuake, Unreal Tournament

Why pick each one

Choose Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead if…

  • Enormous depth
  • Active development
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead details

Choose Xonotic if…

  • Lightweight dedicated server
  • Completely free assets
Xonotic details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead or Xonotic better?

Neither is universally better. Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead has the larger community, while Xonotic is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead and Xonotic free and open-source?

Yes. Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 and Xonotic under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead and Xonotic with Docker?

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead: check the project docs for container support. Xonotic: check the project docs for container support.

Related comparisons