Unciv vs Widelands
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 Unciv with
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Compare Widelands with
choose an app… Mindustry Lichess OpenRCT2 papermc-docker ArchiSteamFarm Cytopia Note - games browser alt 2048 Nakama Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead Paper Note - PaperMC server alt Spigot
Feature Unciv Widelands Category Game Servers Game Servers License MPL-2.0 GPL-2.0 Language Kotlin C++ Setup difficulty Easy Medium Min. RAM 512 MB 1,024 MB Deployment bare-metal, binary, docker binary, source GitHub stars ★ 11,071 ★ 2,924 First released 2018 2001 Replaces Civilization V The Settlers
Why pick each one
Choose Unciv if… Released under the MPL-2.0 license Easy to set up — beginner-friendly First-class Docker support for quick deployment Mature project with 11.1k GitHub stars Unciv details Choose Widelands if… Released under the GPL-2.0 license Active community (2.9k GitHub stars) Written in C++ Widelands details
Frequently asked questions Is Unciv or Widelands better? Unciv is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Widelands if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Unciv and Widelands free and open-source? Yes. Unciv is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Widelands under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Unciv and Widelands with Docker? Unciv: yes. Widelands: check the project docs for container support.