Game Development · alternatives
Alternatives to RPG Maker MV
21 game development tools sit alongside RPG Maker MV in this directory. Below is what separates each from RPG Maker MV on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 19
- Cheaper to start
- 16
- RPG Maker MV starts at
- $79.99/one-time
Why people look past RPG Maker MV
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the RPG Maker MV entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
RPG Maker MV starts at $79.99/one-time. Across the 3 game development tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $19.99/month.
There is no free tier
The record for RPG Maker MV carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 19 of the 21 alternatives below can be used without paying.
There is only one tier
RPG Maker MV publishes a single plan, Standard at $79.99/one-time. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Free 2D skeletal animation solution
- Can be used without paying; RPG Maker MV cannot.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than subscription.
Create beautiful interactive content with the world's leading real-time engine
- Can be used without paying; RPG Maker MV cannot.
- Starts $79.99 a month cheaper, at Free.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
- 2 tiers to RPG Maker MV's 1.
Animated sprite editor and pixel art tool
- Starts $60 a once cheaper, at $19.99/once.
- Sold on a one-time model rather than subscription.
Free and open-source 2D and 3D game engine
- Can be used without paying; RPG Maker MV cannot.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than subscription.
Centralised version control for multi-terabyte binary game projects
- Can be used without paying; RPG Maker MV cannot.
- Sold on a quote model rather than subscription.
Hosted multiplayer networking billed by concurrent users, not by seat or by player
- Can be used without paying; RPG Maker MV cannot.
- Starts $70.99 a month cheaper, at $9/month.
- Sold on a Per month by peak concurrent users model rather than subscription.
- 3 tiers to RPG Maker MV's 1.
Every RPG Maker MV alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RPG Maker MV (this page) | $79.99/one-time | Subscription | 1 | |
| DragonBonesFree 2D skeletal animation solution | Free | Open-source | - | vs RPG Maker MV |
| UnityCreate beautiful interactive content with the world's leading real-time engine | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| AsepriteAnimated sprite editor and pixel art tool | $19.99/once | One-time | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Godot EngineFree and open-source 2D and 3D game engine | Free | Open-source | - | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Perforce Helix Core | Free | Quote | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Photon Engine | Free, then $9/month | Per month by peak concurrent users | 3 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Cocos Creator | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| GDevelop | Free | Free | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| GameMaker Studio 2 | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Cocos2d-x | Free | Free | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| AppGameKit | Free | Free | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Bevy | Free | Free | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| CryEngine | Free | Free | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Defold | Free | Free | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Fyrox | Free | Free | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Gamesparks | Free | Usage-based | 2 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Buildbox | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Flax Engine | Free | Free | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Construct 3 | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Adventure Game Studio | Free | Free | 1 | vs RPG Maker MV |
| Clickteam Fusion | $99/one-time | Subscription | 2 | vs RPG Maker MV |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the RPG Maker MV badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (19)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- DragonBones , Free
- Unity , Free
- Godot Engine , Free
- Perforce Helix Core , Free
- Photon Engine , Free, then $9/month
- Cocos Creator , Free
- GDevelop , Free
- GameMaker Studio 2 , Free
Cheaper than RPG Maker MV (16)
Entry price under RPG Maker MV's $79.99/one-time. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Unity , Free
- Aseprite , $19.99/once
- Photon Engine , Free, then $9/month
- GDevelop , Free
- GameMaker Studio 2 , Free
- Cocos2d-x , Free
- AppGameKit , Free
- Bevy , Free
What you would be giving up
RPG Maker MV is most often brought in for making 2d role playing games and exporting to windows, macos, android, ios and html5, beginner game development with bundled art, audio and a database driven editor, side view battle system rpgs with mouse and touch input. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If RPG Maker MV is broadly right and the question is cost, the RPG Maker MV pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Game Development category lists everything the directory holds, and best game development tools ranks them.
RPG Maker MV runs on windows, macos, linux, ios, android, web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about RPG Maker MV alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to RPG Maker MV?
- 21 other game development tools are listed in this directory, led by DragonBones, Unity, Aseprite, Godot Engine. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to RPG Maker MV?
- 19 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: DragonBones, Unity, Godot Engine, Perforce Helix Core, Photon Engine.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to RPG Maker MV?
- Yes. 16 of the alternatives below start under RPG Maker MV's $79.99/one-time: Unity at Free, Aseprite at $19.99/once, Photon Engine at Free, then $9/month, GDevelop at Free.
- Why do people look for an alternative to RPG Maker MV?
- On the figures on record, 3 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; there is no free tier; there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from RPG Maker MV?
- RPG Maker MV is most often brought in for making 2d role playing games and exporting to windows, macos, android, ios and html5, beginner game development with bundled art, audio and a database driven editor, side view battle system rpgs with mouse and touch input. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to RPG Maker MV?
- DragonBones, Godot Engine are recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these RPG Maker MV alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Game Development, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare RPG Maker MV against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against RPG Maker MV covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every game development tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Game Development category, 21 tools beside RPG Maker MV. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.