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Prism Launcher vs Shard Launcher

Prism Launcher

prismlauncher.org

Shard Launcher

shard.thomas.md

Side by side

FigurePrism LauncherShard Launcher
Price fromFreeFree
Free planYesYes
Free trial——
Open source——
WindowsYesYes
macOSYesYes
LinuxYesYes
Self-hosted—Yes
Plans published11
Spec score · Minecraft Launchers8.9 (#4)8.7 (#9)
Mod integrationsIt interfaces directly with Modrinth and CurseForge to install and update individual mods.Shard lets users browse and install mods from Modrinth and CurseForge and handles compatibility and dependencies.
Mod loader supportmultiplemultiple
Modpack importbothfile
Separate instancesYesYes

Plans

Prism Launcher

  • Prism LauncherFree

Prism Launcher pricing →

Shard Launcher

  • FreeFree

Shard Launcher pricing →

In their own words

Prism Launcher

Prism Launcher is a free, open-source Minecraft launcher for creating and managing multiple installations on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Separate instances can keep their own settings, mods, and resource packs. It installs modpacks from CurseForge, Modrinth, Technic, FTB, and FTB Legacy, and can update them. Individual mods from CurseForge and Modrinth can be installed with loader and game-version matching. Forge, Fabric, Quilt, and LiteLoader support one-click installation. Prism includes a built-in modpack catalog, Java runtime management, game log access, menu customization, and themes. On Windows, macOS, and Linux, version 9.0+ can detect and download an appropriate Java version, though availability varies by package. The macOS build requires Monterey or later; older versions are unsupported. Flathub is the primary Linux distribution method, and official AppImage builds are listed for x86_64 and ARM64. Prism is licensed under GPL-3 and supports free redistribution; the project states that it is not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.

Visit prismlauncher.org

Shard Launcher

Shard Launcher has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.

Visit shard.thomas.md

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