Factorio: 2 Open Source Clones Compared
Jactorio is the original author's personal, from-scratch attempt at recreating Factorio's building and automation gameplay in C++, built with SDL2/ImGui and requiring the player to compile it themselves from source; its development has become sporadic. Mindustry instead blends factory-automation gameplay with real-time tower-defense combat and is written in Java, with a far larger and more active development base (1,070 contributors versus Jactorio's one) and native support for desktop, Android, and iOS rather than Windows alone.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX, Android, iOS
- Play in browser
- Mobile
- Android, iOS
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- today
- Stars
- 28,996
- Contributors
- 1070
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoOriginal game by Anuken; no original assets required.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows
- Play in browser
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 6mo ago
- Stars
- 101
- Contributors
- 1
- License
- —
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
| Title | Mindustry | Jactorio |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux, OSX, Android, iOS | Windows |
| Play in browser | ||
| Mobile | Android, iOS | No |
| Project health | ||
| Development status | Active | Sporadic |
| Last updated | today | 6mo ago |
| Stars | 28,996 | 101 |
| Contributors | 1070 | 1 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | — |
| Engine | — | SDL2 |
| Compatibility | ||
| Requires original assets | NoOriginal game by Anuken; no original assets required. | — |
| Preview | | |
Frequently asked questions
Are the Factorio clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Factorio clones use?
Mindustry (GPL-3.0).
Do I need to own the original Factorio to play these clones?
Mindustry runs standalone, no original files needed.
Can I play any of these Factorio clones directly in a browser?
Yes — Mindustry and Jactorio have a browser-playable build linked in the comparison table above, no install required.
Which Factorio clone is the most actively maintained?
Mindustry is currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Factorio.