Best Photon Server Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 tools from game networking middleware ranked against Photon Server on the same published basis.
- 1Photon Server vs Photon Fusion
- 2Photon Server vs Photon Quantum
- 3Photon Server vs Photon Realtime
- 4Photon Server vs Normcore
- 5Photon Server vs Colyseus
- 6Photon Server vs FishNet
- 7Photon Server vs Netick
- 8Photon Server vs Mirror Networking
- 9Photon Server vs SmartFoxServer
- 10Photon Server vs Naia
- 11Photon Server vs LiteNetLib
- 12Photon Server vs Amazon GameLift Servers
- 13Photon Server vs coherence
- 14Photon Server vs Steam Input
- 15Photon Server vs Netcode for GameObjects
- 16Photon Server vs Riptide Networking
- 17Photon Server vs GameNetworkingSockets
- 18Photon Server vs Open Match
- 19Photon Server vs Renet
- 20Photon Server vs netcode.io
Photon Server alternatives compared
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Photon Fusion | 8.0 | Free plan | $0.50/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 2 | Photon Quantum | 8.0 | Free plan | $0.50/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 3 | Photon Realtime | 8.0 | Free plan | $0.29/mo | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 4 | Normcore | 7.8 | Free plan | $49/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 5 | Colyseus | 7.7 | Free plan | $15/mo | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 6 | FishNet | 7.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 7 | Netick | 7.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 8 | Mirror Networking | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 9 | SmartFoxServer | 7.6 | Free plan | €32.50/mo | Android, API, Browser, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 10 | Naia | 7.4 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 11 | LiteNetLib | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 12 | Amazon GameLift Servers | 7.2 | No | $1/mo | Android, API, iOS, Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 13 | coherence | 7.1 | No | $666.67/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 14 | Steam Input | 6.9 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 15 | Netcode for GameObjects | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 16 | Riptide Networking | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 17 | GameNetworkingSockets | 6.2 | Free plan | Free | API, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 18 | Open Match | 6.1 | Free plan | Free | API, self-hosted |
| 19 | Renet | 6.1 | No | — | — |
| 20 | netcode.io | 6.0 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
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Questions about Photon Server alternatives
What is the best alternative to Photon Server?
Photon Fusion, number 1 in game networking middleware with a score of 8.0 out of 10. The others here: Photon Quantum, Photon Realtime, Normcore and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Photon Server?
Photon Fusion is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 14 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing.