Flax Engine vs jMonkeyEngine
Flax Engine
flaxengine.comjMonkeyEngine
jmonkeyengine.orgSide by side
| Figure | Flax Engine | jMonkeyEngine |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Engine Software | 8.9 (#10) | 8.8 (#12) |
| Founded | 2012 | 2004 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile export | Yes | Yes |
| Multiplayer tools | Yes | Yes |
| Networking | The engine provides low-level and high-level networking APIs for multiplayer games. | Its multiplayer foundations include TCP, UDP, RPC, and synchronization patterns. |
| Rendering | The feature set includes realtime global illumination, reflections with custom software ray tracing, and GPU lightmap baking. | It offers a GLES 3.0 backend and direct OpenGL support from versions 3.2 through 4.5. |
| Scripting languages | C#,C++ | Java |
| Source code model | source_available | open_source |
| Support | The feature page promises direct communication and help from engine developers, and the site provides a contact form. | The maker directs support questions to its community hub and also lists Discord, email, and GitHub issues as contact channels. |
| Target platforms | Windows,Linux,Android,iOS,PlayStation 4/5,Xbox One/Series,Nintendo Switch | Windows,macOS,Linux,Android,iOS |
Plans
In their own words
Flax Engine
Flax Engine is a 3D game engine written in C++ and C#, with visual scripting and full Editor source code available. It supports C++, C#, and visual scripting, with hot-reloading for both programming languages in the Editor. Rendering features include real-time global illumination, reflections using custom software ray tracing, and GPU lightmap baking. World-building tools cover terrain, foliage, fog, nested prefabs, level streaming, and large-world 64-bit coordinates. Multiplayer projects can use low- and high-level networking APIs. Its Online system supports services such as Steam, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network for profiles, friends, achievements, presence, and cloud saves. Supported targets include Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, macOS, web, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series, and Nintendo Switch. Web support is experimental and lacks C# scripting, video playback, and some other engine features. NDA-protected platform support is excluded from the public repository. The engine is free for non-commercial or educational use; commercial releases pay a 4% royalty on earnings exceeding $250,000 per calendar quarter.
jMonkeyEngine
jMonkeyEngine is a free, open-source Java game engine for developers. It targets Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, with mobile export and multiplayer foundations. Rendering includes a GLES 3.0 backend and direct OpenGL support from versions 3.2 through 4.5. Java 11 through Java 21, Gradle builds, JVM tooling, and direct Java-library use are listed. Networking foundations cover TCP, UDP, RPC, and synchronization patterns. Physics options include rigid-body, soft-body, and vehicle simulation through Bullet, Box2D, or Jolt Physics integration. Graphics features include PBR, custom materials and shaders, bloom, FXAA, SSAO, and tone mapping. A glTF workflow is described for moving Blender materials, lighting choices, and scene setup. The BSD 3-Clause License includes no runtime fees, royalties, splash-screen requirement, or requirement to mention the engine. Setup uses an initializer, NetBeans-based SDK, or direct Java-library configuration. SDK integrations are maintained separately and may lag engine features.