Pygamevs
DragonBones
DragonBones: Free 2D skeletal animation solution
Pygame
Python library for game development
As of 30 August 2026, Pygame is free to use. Pygame is a free, open-source Python library for creating games. Softwr lists it under Game Development. Pygame is made by Pygame Community, launched in 2000, available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.
Overview
What Pygame does
Pygame is a free, open-source Python library for creating games. It provides graphics, sound, and game development utilities.
What people use it for
- Game development
- 2D graphics
- Python-based game creation
- Educational programming
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 Pygame.
- Licensed under GNU LGPL v2.1, free to use even in closed-source and commercial games, no paid tier
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Pygame
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.
- PygamevsUnity
Unity: Create beautiful interactive content with the world's leading real-time engine
- PygamevsAseprite
Aseprite: Animated sprite editor and pixel art tool
- PygamevsGodot Engine
Godot Engine: Free and open-source 2D and 3D game engine
Pricing
What Pygame costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Full library
- Python support
- Graphics rendering
- Audio support
- Community support
- Open-source
Capabilities
Features
Graphics rendering
Audio playback
Input handling
Sprite system
Collision detection
Font rendering
Animation support
Event system
Python
Integration with Python
NumPy
Integration with NumPy
Matplotlib
Integration with Matplotlib
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 Pygame cost?
Pygame is free and open source software with no cost to use or distribute.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Pygame
- Company
- Pygame Community
- Based in
- Community-driven
Keep looking
Where to go from Pygame
- Pygame alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Pygame pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Pygame 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 Pygame with
- DragonBones
- Aseprite
- Godot Engine
- Raylib
- Panda3D
- CryEngine
- OGRE
- RPG Maker MZ
- Wwise
- Cascadeur
- Construct 3
- GameMaker Studio 2
- O3DE
- Perforce Helix Core
- Phaser
- Photon Engine
- Panda3D
- OGRE
Other Game Development software
Build worlds, break limits. Professional game development engine.
Free plan16 researched notesCentralised version control for multi-terabyte binary game projects
Free plan9 researched notesFast, free, and fun open source framework for Canvas and WebGL
Free, then $12/mo15 researched notesHosted multiplayer networking billed by concurrent users, not by seat or by player
Free, then $9/mo9 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Pygame, 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 Pygame
Pygame alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Pygame pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Pygame
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Pygame badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best Game Development software alternatives
Hosted multiplayer networking billed by concurrent users, not by seat or by player
Per month by peak concurrent users
Free 2D and 3D engine with no royalties, dominant in Chinese mini-game platforms
Open source, no licence fee
