Built to sell hosting
Plans with limits, suspension for non-payment, a client panel and passwordless access from billing. Includes a WHMCS module, REST API and webhooks.
Comparison
GameNodeX vs Pterodactyl, Pelican, TCAdmin and AMP
An honest look at the game-server panels hosting companies choose from: what each one costs, what it runs on and what you would have to add yourself.
| Feature | GameNodeX | Pterodactyl | Pelican | TCAdmin | AMP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licence and price | Subscription by nodes and game servers; free plan for 1 node | Free | Free | Per machine: from $7.95/mo (Community, 4 services), $15.95/mo (Professional); one-time purchase available | One-time per edition: $10–40 for 5–50 instances; Enterprise for hosts by subscription |
| Source code | Closed; binaries and images | Open, MIT | Open, AGPL-3.0 | Closed | Closed |
| Game servers in Docker containers | Every server, with CPU, memory and disk limits | Docker services alongside classic ones | Optional, on Linux | ||
| Many nodes from one panel | Join token, mTLS issued by the panel | Wings daemon on each node | Master and remote licences | Professional edition and up | |
| Windows game servers | Linux nodes only | ||||
| Billing integration | REST API, signed webhooks, one-time login links | API; WHMCS, Paymenter, HostBill through third-party modules | API; billing through third-party tools | WHMCS module: provisioning, suspension, auto-login | Enterprise edition for hosting providers |
| Mod and game-content catalogs | 8 sources: Modrinth, CurseForge, Steam Workshop, Thunderstore, uMod, GameBanana, mod.io, Factorio | Via extensions or file uploads | Via plugins, including Modrinth and CurseForge for Minecraft | Steam Workshop, CurseForge, Modrinth, Nexus, uMod and modpacks | Store with Modrinth, CurseForge and Steam Workshop |
| Backups to S3-compatible storage | Files and database dumps; selective restore in the panel | S3 backup driver for server files | S3 backup driver for server files | Local, FTP, SFTP and S3 storage | Upload backups to S3 |
| Scheduled operations | Commands, restarts, backups and webhooks; skip a step while players are online | Server schedules | Server schedules | Scheduled tasks | Task scheduler |
| Panel branding | Name, logo, colors and favicon in settings; no Powered by badge on higher plans | Brand settings and visual themes | Themes and styling plugins | Themes with logo, colors and favicon | Themes from the AMP store |
| Support | Included in the subscription | Community: Discord, GitHub | Community | Included while the licence is current | Community; priority from the Advanced edition |
Prices checked in October and features in November 2026 against vendor websites and documentation. If anything is out of date, write to us and we’ll correct it. Product names are trademarks of their owners.
Vendor documentation: Pterodactyl · Pelican · TCAdmin · AMP
What you get with GameNodeX out of the box
Master features for running a hosting business, from selling servers to everyday operations.
Mods from where players get them
Modrinth, CurseForge, Steam Workshop, Thunderstore, uMod, GameBanana, mod.io and the Factorio Mod Portal. Installation checks dependencies, compatibility and updates.
Your brand without code
Name, logo, colors, favicon and support links are settings. The “Powered by” badge comes off on higher plans.
Backups to your S3
Archives stream from the node straight to S3-compatible storage; restore files and game databases in one step.
English and Russian
Both languages out of the box, plus a translation editor for adding your own.
Updates and support included
Releases, a one-command installer and help from the team that writes the panel — in one subscription.
Automatic node placement
The panel chooses a node by location and free memory. Drain a node or close a location during maintenance to stop new placements there.
Live console and files
Send commands and read output in real time. A web file editor, archive uploads and SFTP sit alongside the server controls.
Resource history
CPU, memory, network and disk charts for nodes and servers; player-count history for games that support queries.
Databases for games
Run MySQL, MariaDB and PostgreSQL on your own nodes, provision customer databases and bind credentials to server settings.
Scheduled operations
Schedule restarts, commands, start and stop, backups and webhooks; skip a step while players are online.
FastDL for players
Serve maps, models and sounds from nodes over HTTP for GoldSrc and Source games. Configure URLs and allowed file types in the panel.
When another panel fits better
You need Windows game servers
GameNodeX nodes run Linux. TCAdmin and AMP manage Windows machines.
You want free and open source
Pterodactyl and Pelican cost nothing — if you are ready to assemble billing, mods and branding from add-ons and maintain them yourself.
A few servers for yourself and friends
AMP Standard or Pterodactyl are cheaper for that. GameNodeX is made for hosting companies.
Try it on your own hardware
Free forever: one node, three servers, add-ons and backups. No card required.