Game Development · head to head
Unity vs GDevelop
Unity
Game Development
Create beautiful interactive content with the world's leading real-time engine
- 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; GDevelop the free tier allows 3 cloud projects and one desktop or Android build per day
- They diverge on capability: Unity covers Visual editor, GDevelop covers Visual event editor.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Unity and GDevelop actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 GDevelop
- Visual event editor
- Drag-and-drop interface
- Physics engine
- Particle effects
- Sprite editor
- Sound editor
- Scene editor
- Extensions support
Both cover
- GitHub
- 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 GDevelop
- Shipping console titles under a Pro or Enterprise licencenot GDevelop
- Real time 3D for manufacturing, automotive and retail visualisationnot GDevelop
- Live operations and in-app purchase management for mobile gamesnot GDevelop
GDevelop
- Building 2D games with visual event logic rather than codenot Unity
- Exporting one project to web, desktop, Android and iOSnot 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
GDevelop
- The free tier allows 3 cloud projects and one desktop or Android build per day
- Free accounts get one leaderboard per game
- Publishing to the iOS App Store requires the Gold plan, which caps those exports at 15 a month
- AI credits are metered per tier, from 40 a month on free to 3,000 a week on Pro
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
GDevelop
Free- FreeFree
- Full editor
- Cross-platform export
- Asset library
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 GDevelop if
- You need visual event editor.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Web.
- You also want drag-and-drop interface.
Questions people ask
- Is Unity or GDevelop better?
- Neither clearly leads. Unity starts at Free and GDevelop at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Unity or GDevelop?
- Unity starts at Free and GDevelop at Free.
- Does Unity or GDevelop run on more platforms?
- Unity runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Webgl. GDevelop runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Web.
- 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 GDevelop is typically brought in for.
- What can Unity do that GDevelop cannot?
- Unity covers Visual editor, Physics engine (PhysX), Animation system, Particle system. GDevelop covers Visual event editor, Drag-and-drop interface, Physics engine, Particle effects. Both handle GitHub, Local deployment.