Game Development · head to head
Unity vs Bevy
Unity
Game Development
Create beautiful interactive content with the world's leading real-time engine
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Bevy
Game Development
A refreshingly simple data-driven game engine built in Rust
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Unity unity Personal is free only for businesses with under $200,000 in funding or annual revenue; above that a Pro subscription is required; Bevy rust only, so it assumes a language most game teams do not already use
- They diverge on capability: Unity covers Visual editor, Bevy covers Entity Component System.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Unity and Bevy actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Game Development).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Unity
- Visual editor
- Physics engine (PhysX)
- Animation system
- Particle system
- Built-in audio engine
- Scripting with C#
- Asset Store
- Version control integration
Only in Bevy
- Entity Component System
- 2D/3D rendering
- Audio system
- Asset pipeline
- Hot reloading
- Cross-platform
- Modular architecture
- Parallel systems
Both cover
- Local deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Unity
- Building 2D and 3D games for desktop, mobile, web, AR and VRnot Bevy
- Shipping console titles under a Pro or Enterprise licencenot Bevy
- Real time 3D for manufacturing, automotive and retail visualisationnot Bevy
- Live operations and in-app purchase management for mobile gamesnot Bevy
Bevy
- 2D and 3D game development in Rustnot Unity
- Data-driven design using an entity component systemnot Unity
- Shipping to Windows, macOS, Linux, web, iOS and Android from one codebasenot Unity
- Projects wanting a permissive licence with no royalties or feesnot Unity
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Unity
- Unity Personal is free only for businesses with under $200,000 in funding or annual revenue; above that a Pro subscription is required
- Unity Pro costs $210.00 per month or $2,310.00 per year per seat
- Businesses with more than $25M in annual revenue are required to be on Unity Enterprise, which is custom priced and requires contacting sales
- Deploying to game consoles and to Apple Vision Pro requires Unity Pro or above
- Splash screen customization is not available on Unity Personal
- Unity Personal is licensed for gaming and entertainment applications only
- Read-only engine source code access is an Enterprise feature and carries an additional cost
- Asset Manager storage on Personal is capped at 10 GB per organization
- Unity AI tools are free for a 14 day trial on Personal, after which a paid subscription is required
- Enterprise terms note that minimum subscription or spending commitments may apply
Bevy
- Rust only, so it assumes a language most game teams do not already use
- No visual editor of the kind Unity or Godot provide, so scenes and logic are written in code
- Built around ECS, which is a different mental model from the scene-graph engines most developers come from
Pricing, plan by plan
Unity
Free- PersonalFree
- Full engine access
- Asset Store access
- Community support
- Professional$399/month
- All Personal features
- Priority support
- Advanced analytics
Bevy
Free- Open SourceFree
- Full engine access
- ECS architecture
- Hot reloading
Which should you pick?
Choose Unity if
- You need visual editor.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Webgl.
- You also want physics engine (physx).
Choose Bevy if
- You need entity component system.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Webgl.
- You also want 2d/3d rendering.
Questions people ask
- Is Unity or Bevy better?
- Neither clearly leads. Unity starts at Free and Bevy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Unity or Bevy?
- Unity starts at Free and Bevy at Free.
- Does Unity or Bevy run on more platforms?
- Unity runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Webgl. Bevy runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Webgl.
- Can I use Unity for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Unity best used for?
- Unity is most often used for building 2d and 3d games for desktop, mobile, web, ar and vr, shipping console titles under a pro or enterprise licence, real time 3d for manufacturing, automotive and retail visualisation, live operations and in-app purchase management for mobile games. Of those, building 2d and 3d games for desktop, mobile, web, ar and vr and shipping console titles under a pro or enterprise licence are not what Bevy is typically brought in for.
- What can Unity do that Bevy cannot?
- Unity covers Visual editor, Physics engine (PhysX), Animation system, Particle system. Bevy covers Entity Component System, 2D/3D rendering, Audio system, Asset pipeline. Both handle Local deployment.