MonoGamevs
DragonBones
DragonBones: Free 2D skeletal animation solution
MonoGame
Create games using C# and MonoGame
As of 30 August 2026, MonoGame is free to use. MonoGame is a free, open-source framework for creating games using C#. Softwr lists it under Game Development. MonoGame is made by MonoGame Community, launched in 2009, available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS.
Overview
What MonoGame does
MonoGame is a free, open-source framework for creating games using C#. It supports multiple platforms including desktop, mobile, and console.
What people use it for
- Cross-platform game development in C# and .NET
- Shipping to Windows, macOS and Linux from one codebase
- Mobile releases on Android, iOS and iPadOS
- Commercial indie titles with no royalty or runtime fee
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about MonoGame.
- Console targets for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch require platform authorisation rather than being openly available
- A code-first framework in C# with no bundled editor or visual scene tooling
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of MonoGame
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- MonoGamevsUnity
Unity: Create beautiful interactive content with the world's leading real-time engine
- MonoGamevsAseprite
Aseprite: Animated sprite editor and pixel art tool
- MonoGamevsGodot Engine
Godot Engine: Free and open-source 2D and 3D game engine
Pricing
What MonoGame costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Full framework
- C# support
- Cross-platform
- Graphics pipeline
- Audio engine
- Community support
Capabilities
Features
C# language support
Graphics rendering
Audio engine
Physics integration
Content pipeline
Input handling
Sprite system
2D and 3D support
Visual Studio
Integration with Visual Studio
C#
Integration with C#
.NET
Integration with .NET
Open-source
Open-source security feature
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
How much does MonoGame cost?
MonoGame is completely free with no subscription model, royalty payments, licensing costs, or runtime fees.
SourceWhat funding model does MonoGame use?
MonoGame Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization supported by voluntary community donations rather than user fees.
SourceBehind it
Who makes MonoGame
- Company
- MonoGame Community
- Based in
- Community-driven
Keep looking
Where to go from MonoGame
- MonoGame alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- MonoGame pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- MonoGame badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Game Development softwareThe full category
- Best Game Development softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Game Development software for
Compare MonoGame with
- DragonBones
- Aseprite
- Godot Engine
- libGDX
- LÖVE
- Flax Engine
- Raylib
- Stride
- Phaser
- Stencyl
- Pico-8
- Armory3D
- Bevy
- Buildbox
- Clickteam Fusion
- Cocos Creator
- Cocos2d-x
- CryEngine
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for MonoGame, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on MonoGame
MonoGame alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
MonoGame pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare MonoGame
Put it head to head with anything we hold
MonoGame badge
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Best Game Development software alternatives
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