Defold vs Stride
Defold
defold.comStride
stride3d.netSide by side
| Figure | Defold | Stride |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Engine Software | 8.9 (#8) | 8.8 (#13) |
| Spec score · Game Development Software | 8.7 (#8) | 8.2 (#25) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Officially supported integrations include Firebase Analytics, AdMob, in-app purchases, push notifications, Google Play services, and game backends such as Nakama and PlayFab. | The site lists Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, and Rider as C# scripting environments for Stride. |
| Mobile export | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | Games can be deployed to desktop, mobile, web, and consoles; the editor runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux. | Stride 4.4 says non-Windows platform support is no longer experimental and that projects can be built on Linux and macOS; the download FAQ lists Windows as supported and Android, iOS, Linux, and macOS as experimental. |
| Product | Defold is an all-in-one game engine for building cross-platform 2D and 3D games. | Stride is a free, open-source C# game engine for creating 2D and 3D games and other interactive content for desktop and VR. |
| Scripting languages | Lua,Teal,C,C++,C#,Objective-C,Java,JavaScript | C# |
| Source code model | source_available | open_source |
| Support | Defold offers community help through its forum and says technical support contracts are available if needed. | Users can seek help through the Discord community, GitHub Discussions, and the documentation. |
| Target platforms | Windows,macOS,Linux,iOS,Android,HTML5,PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,Nintendo Switch | Windows is currently supported; Android, iOS, Linux, and macOS are listed as experimental, and the engine supports most popular VR devices. |
Plans
In their own words
Defold
Defold is a game engine for building cross-platform 2D and 3D games. Its toolchain combines an editor, runtime, scripting workflow, build pipeline, and deployment flow. Game logic is written in Lua; native extensions can use C, C++, Objective-C, Java, or JavaScript. Visual editors, a debugger, profiler, particle effects, animation, and integrated 2D and 3D physics are included. Target platforms listed are Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, HTML5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. Integrations include Firebase Analytics, AdMob, in-app purchases, push notifications, Google Play services, Nakama, and PlayFab. The Asset Portal offers reusable components and extensions. Live Update can provide additional game content after the initial download, with customizable content verification. Source code for the engine, editor, and build tools is available on GitHub under a developer-friendly license derived from Apache 2.0. Defold costs nothing, with no licensing fees, royalties, or runtime fees. Community help is available through a forum, and technical support contracts are available if needed.
Stride
Stride is a free, open-source C# engine for building 2D and 3D games and interactive content on desktop and VR. Game Studio manages assets, scenes, sprites, interfaces and curves. The engine provides physics, navigation meshes, visual scripting, physically based materials, light probes, particles, post effects and customizable shaders, with DirectX 12 and Vulkan graphics APIs. C# 14, .NET 10, asynchronous scripting and hot reload are supported. Native Oculus and HTC Vive support includes VR previewing from the scene editor. Stride exports to Windows, Linux, Android and iOS, and is free to use, modify and distribute under the MIT license. Listed development requirements include Windows 10 or 11, an x64 CPU, a Direct3D 10-or-newer GPU, 4 GB RAM and 5 GB disk space. The project describes itself as community-driven, without full-time developers dedicated solely to its advancement.