Pterodactyl
Management panel for game servers, with an intuitive UI for end users.
Pterodactyl vs RomM
Two self-hosted Games - Administrative Utilities & Control Panels apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Pterodactyl | RomM | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Management panel for game servers, with an intuitive UI for end users. | ROM manager for organizing, enriching, and playing retro games, with support for 400+ platforms. |
| GitHub stars | 9,468 | 14,225 |
| Forks | – | – |
| Open issues | – | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 94 | 5.8k |
| Last activity | 2026-10-21 | 2026-11-04 |
| Latest release | v1.15.2 (2026-10-21) | 5.4.1 (2026-10-22) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language / platform | PHP | Docker |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $5/mo | $5/mo |
| Categories | Games - Administrative Utilities & Control Panels | Games - Administrative Utilities & Control Panels |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- RomM is more popular on GitHub: 14.2k stars vs 9.5k for Pterodactyl.
- RomM had more commits in the last 12 months (5,822 vs 94).
- RomM has more recent repository activity (2026-11-04 vs 2026-10-21).
- RomM published a release more recently (5.4.1 on 2026-10-22; Pterodactyl's latest is v1.15.2 on 2026-10-21).
- Pterodactyl is licensed under MIT, RomM under AGPL-3.0. Pterodactyl's license is permissive; RomM's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
- Pterodactyl is written in PHP; the language of RomM is not listed upstream.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Pterodactyl: none listed; RomM: Docker.
Summary: RomM leads on GitHub popularity, commit activity and recent activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pterodactyl or RomM more popular?
RomM has more GitHub stars (14,225 vs 9,468 for Pterodactyl, as of 2026-11-05). Stars measure interest, not quality.
Which is more actively maintained, Pterodactyl or RomM?
RomM had more commits over the last 12 months (5,822 vs 94). The last recorded activity was 2026-10-21 for Pterodactyl and 2026-11-04 for RomM. Our health labels: Pterodactyl is “Active”, RomM is “Active”.
What licenses do Pterodactyl and RomM use?
Pterodactyl: MIT. RomM: AGPL-3.0. Pterodactyl's license is permissive; RomM's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
Can I run Pterodactyl and RomM with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for RomM. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
RomM
ROM manager for organizing, enriching, and playing retro games, with support for 400+ platforms.
Browse all self-hosted Games - Administrative Utilities & Control Panels apps.