Game Development · pricing
Pygame pricing
Pygame publishes a single tier. Below is what it costs, what it covers, and how that compares with the game development tools listed alongside it.
- Entry price
- Free
- Model
- Free
- Tiers
- 1
- Free tier
- Yes
Pygame plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 6 | Entry tier |
Where Pygame stops being free
Free, Free
- Full library
- Python support
- Graphics rendering
- Audio support
- Community support
- Open-source
No paid tier on record
Pygame lists a free tier and no priced tier above it in the record we hold.
What the product covers
The full Pygame feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Core
- Graphics rendering
- Audio playback
- Input handling
- Sprite system
- Collision detection
- Font rendering
- Animation support
- Event system
Integrations
- Python
- NumPy
- Matplotlib
Security
- Open-source
Deployment
- Local deployment
- Desktop deployment
Platform
- Windows support
- Macos support
- Linux support
- Android support
Localization
- Python language support
People bring Pygame in for 2d game development, game prototyping, educational games, learning game development. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to Pygame are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in Game Development
Too few game development tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pygame (this page) | Free | free | - | |
| Clickteam Fusion | $99/one-time | subscription | - | vs Pygame |
| Bevy | Free | free | - | vs Pygame |
| AppGameKit | Free | free | - | vs Pygame |
| Aseprite | $19.99/once | one-time | - | vs Pygame |
| Buildbox | Free | freemium | - | vs Pygame |
| Adventure Game Studio | Free | free | - | vs Pygame |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the Pygame badges page.
Before you pay for Pygame
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: a single tier at Free. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
Pygame runs on windows, macos, linux, android, and is published by Pygame Community of Community-driven. The full record is on the Pygame review, and the rest of the category is under best game development tools.
Pygame pricing questions
- How much does Pygame cost?
- Pygame publishes a single tier, Free, at Free.
- Does Pygame have a free plan?
- Yes. The Free tier costs nothing and covers full library, python support, graphics rendering.
- Which game development tools can I use without paying?
- 6 of the 8 game development tools listed alongside Pygame have a free tier: Bevy, AppGameKit, Buildbox, Adventure Game Studio, Armory3D.
- What am I actually paying for with Pygame?
- The record lists 19 features across 6 areas: core, integrations, security, deployment, platform, localization. In practice it is brought in for 2d game development, game prototyping, educational games.
- Does Pygame charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 1 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these Pygame prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare Pygame against before paying?
- The closest game development tools in this directory are Clickteam Fusion, Bevy, AppGameKit, Aseprite. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Pygame covering price, platforms and features.