Crux vs Nakama
Crux
crux.supercraft.hostNakama
heroiclabs.comSide by side
| Figure | Crux | Nakama |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $10/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 0 |
| Spec score · Game Leaderboard Software | 8.6 (#12) | 7.3 (#33) |
| Spec score · Game LiveOps Software | 8.6 (#12) | 7.3 (#25) |
| Integrations | The maker lists Unity, Roblox, Godot, and custom game servers as supported integrations, and publishes JavaScript, Godot, Unity, and Roblox client SDKs. | The product page names Facebook, Steam, and Google for social sign-in and says external services can be integrated through custom authentication and its REST API. |
| Intended users | Crux says it is best suited to dedicated-server and multiplayer survival or co-op games, including indie and mid-size studios, and less suited to offline single-player games. | The product is presented for game developers, studios, and publishers building online multiplayer games, from hobbyists and indie teams to AAA studios. |
| Product | Crux provides multiplayer game backend services including player authentication, persistent data, leaderboards, server registry, live config, economy, and matchmaking. | Nakama is an open-source game backend for online games with real-time multiplayer, social systems, and competitive features. |
| Security | Crux describes PostgreSQL row-level security, environment isolation, and separate API key, server token, and player JWT access modes. | Heroic Labs states that its cloud infrastructure and services are SOC 2 Type II compliant. |
| Support | Dev includes community support, Launch includes email support, and Scale includes priority email support. | Heroic Labs lists studio support packages with dedicated email support, response SLAs, and, for some packages, uptime guarantees and developer hours. |
Plans
In their own words
Crux
Crux provides multiplayer game backend services for player authentication, persistent data, leaderboards, server registration, live configuration, game economies, and matchmaking. Authentication supports email and password, guest sessions, Google, GitHub, and Discord OAuth, as well as Roblox verification. Developers can store player- or project-scoped JSON documents and configure ranked or seasonal leaderboards with recurring resets. Economy tools handle currencies, virtual items, and inventories through atomic, server-authoritative updates. Matchmaking queues players by game mode and region, then assigns them to live servers from the dedicated server registry. The maker lists Unity, Roblox, Godot, and custom game servers as integrations, with client SDKs for JavaScript, Godot, Unity, and Roblox. The hosted API is documented with OpenAPI, and client SDKs are MIT-licensed; the managed backend is proprietary. Crux has a free Dev plan and paid plans from $10.00 per month. Runtime is a capacity-gated closed alpha for Godot 4 Linux dedicated-server exports, with Dev evaluation limited to admitted projects. Crux says it best suits dedicated-server multiplayer survival or co-op games.