Best Game Backend Services in 2026
Updated
In short: brainCloud is ranked #1 of 26 as of 3 October 2026, ahead of Metaplay and Colyseus. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Metaplay. The lowest first paid tier on this page is brainCloud at $15/mo.
26 game backend services ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | Multiplayer networking | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | brainCloud | 8.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $15/mo | Yes | 5 /mo | Yes | View |
| 2 | Metaplay | 8.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | €195/mo | Yes | — | Yes | View |
| 3 | Colyseus | 8.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $15/mo | Yes | 15 /mo | Yes | View |
| 4 | AccelByte Gaming Services | 8.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $1,500/mo | Yes | 1,500 /mo | Yes | View |
| 5 | Photon Engine | 8.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $125/mo | Yes | — | Yes | View |
| 6 |  SmartFoxServer | 8.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | €32.50/mo | Yes | — | Yes | View |
| 7 | Epic Online Services | 7.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 8 | Beamable | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | Yes | View |
| 9 | Nakama | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Yes | View |
| 10 | Normcore | 6.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $49/mo | Yes | 49 /mo | Yes | View |
| 11 |  Talo | 6.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Yes | View |
| 12 |  GamePush | 6.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | 5.99 /mo | Yes | View |
| 13 |  SpacetimeDB | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | 25 /mo | Yes | View |
| 14 | LootLocker | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | — | View |
| 15 |  Heroic Cloud | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | Yes | View |
| 16 | Amazon GameLift Servers | 5.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | Yes | View |
| 17 | Unity | 5.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 18 |  Pragma Engine | 5.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | 6,000 /mo | Yes | View |
| 19 | Steamworks | 5.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | Yes | View |
| 20 |  Open Match | 5.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | No | View |
| 21 | Gameye | 5.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | Yes | View |
| 22 |  Satori | 5.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | 600 /mo | — | View |
| 23 |  Hiro | 5.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | Yes | View |
| 24 | Edgegap | 4.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | — | View |
| 25 | GameFabric | 4.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Yes | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which game backend service is ranked first on Inferse?
brainCloud is ranked #1 of 26 with a score of 8.9. Metaplay is second and Colyseus third.
How many of these have a free plan?
9 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, brainCloud has the lowest first paid tier we found: $15/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.