Is Solar2D worth the price?
Solar2D offers an incredibly generous pricing model, as it is completely free with no hidden fees or royalties.
This makes it an exceptionally fair and accessible option compared to most game engines on the market. It's best for independent developers, hobbyists, and small studios looking to create 2D games without any financial barriers.
Pricing Plans
Completely free
Free
- No hidden fees, charges, or royalties
- Cross-platform development (iOS, tvOS, Android, Android TV, macOS, Windows, Linux, HTML5)
- Fast build and instant-update Simulator
- Live Builds
- Numerous plugins for in-app advertising, analytics, media, etc.
- Call any native library (C/C++/Obj-C/Java) using Solar2D Native
- Production ready (fork of Corona SDK)
- Lua-based
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Potential costs for third-party plugins
Development time for custom native libraries
Marketing and distribution costs
Hardware for development and testing
Which Plan Do You Need?
Indie game developers
Hobbyist game creators
Small studios on budget
How Solar2D Compares to Competitors
Compared to engines like Unity and Unreal Engine, which offer free tiers but often include royalty structures or feature limitations for commercial projects, Solar2D stands out by being entirely free and open-source. GameMaker Studio 2, another 2D engine, has a free trial but requires paid licenses starting around $39/year for exports, making Solar2D significantly more cost-effective.
Solar2D Pricing FAQ
How much does Solar2D cost?
Solar2D is free to use. No subscription or one-time fee is required for the core product.
Does Solar2D have a free plan?
Yes. Solar2D offers a free plan called "Completely free". It includes: No hidden fees, charges, or royalties, Cross-platform development (iOS, tvOS, Android, Android TV, macOS, Windows, Linux, HTML5), Fast build and instant-update Simulator.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Solar2D?
Yes. Popular alternatives to Solar2D include Unity, Phaser, Defold. Free alternatives include Unity, Phaser, Defold. Compare them side-by-side on Toolradar.
Cheaper alternatives to Solar2D
3 of 3 direct competitors below offer a free plan. Per-seat pricing varies up to 60% across this set.
