OpenGL Alternatives

    OpenGL is described as 'is the premier environment for developing portable, interactive 2D and 3D graphics applications' and is a well-known app in the Development category. There are more than 10 alternatives to OpenGL for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, the Web and Android. The best alternative is Vulkan, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like OpenGL are WebGL (Free, Open Source), Microsoft DirectX (Free), Allegro (Free, Open Source) and GDI (Free, Open Source).

    The list of alternatives was last updated Feb 15, 2021
    OpenGL info, screenshots & reviewsAlternatives to OpenGL
    • 10 alternatives

    • Vulkan

      Vulkan is a new generation graphics and compute API that provides high-efficiency, cross-platform access to modern GPUs used in a wide variety of devices from PCs and consoles to mobile phones and embedded platforms. View 10 alternatives to Vulkan
      Most users think Vulkan is a great alternative to OpenGL.
      No screenshots yet
      • Free • Open Source
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Android
      • Chrome OS
      • Tizen OS
      • SteamOS
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      Vulkan vs OpenGL
      pros, cons and recent comments
      I spent half a year studying this wretched API and was very disappointed, it is not designed to work with graphics. This API is made only for implementation in ready-made solutions on opengl to slightly increase the number of frames per second (+5 - +10) in exchange for really titanic efforts (unreadable code in> 10,000 lines). Unfortunately, Vulkan API - fail. Better try DirectX.
      Negative comment • almost 2 years ago

      Because Vulkan is OpenGL's successor.
      Positive comment • about 3 years ago

    • WebGL

      WebGL is a cross-platform, royalty-free web standard for a low-level 3D graphics API based on OpenGL ES 2. View 13 alternatives to WebGL
      No screenshots yet
      • Free • Open Source
      • Online
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    • Microsoft DirectX

      Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft... View 12 alternatives to Microsoft DirectX

      Bundleware

      Bundled with Bing Bar.

      • Free • Proprietary
      • Windows
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      • Allegro

        Allegro 4 and Allegro 5 are cross-platform, libraries mainly aimed at video game and multimedia programming. View 25 alternatives to Allegro
        No screenshots yet
        • Free • Open Source
        • Mac
        • Windows
        • Linux
        • iPhone
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      • GDI

        GDI++.dll is a replacement for the Windows default font rasterizer, which gives you a better font-smoothing capability, just like Mac OS X. View 7 alternatives to GDI

        Discontinued

        Abandoned since 2006... : http://drwatson.nobody.jp/gdi /download-en.html

        • Free • Open Source
        • Windows
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        • Bevy Game Engine

          A refreshingly simple data-driven game engine built in Rust. Free and Open Source Forever! View 116 alternatives to Bevy Game Engine
          • Free • Open Source
          • Mac
          • Windows
          • Linux
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        • Metal

          Metal provides near-direct access to the graphics processing unit (GPU), enabling you to maximize the graphics and compute potential of your apps on iOS, macOS, and tvOS. View 10 alternatives to Metal
          • Mac
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          • Amethyst Game Engine

            Amethyst uses gfx-rs to render graphics with Vulkan or Metal. It is meant to be used for 2D and 3D, with various utilities for both types of games. View 24 alternatives to Amethyst Game Engine
            No screenshots yet
            • Free • Open Source
            • Windows
            • Linux
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          • Mantle

            Mantle is a graphics API specification; the software component that makes it easy to apply programming techniques and optimizations written for consoles to PCs with Graphics Core... View 1 alternatives to Mantle
            No screenshots yet
            • Windows
            • Linux
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          • Crystal Space

            Crystal Space is a mature, full-featured Software Development Kit (SDK) providing real-time 3D graphics for applications such as games and virtual reality. View 10 alternatives to Crystal Space

            Discontinued

            Discontinued since July 2012 : http://www.crystalspace3d.org/main/Download

            • Free • Open Source
            • Mac
            • Windows
            • Linux
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            Crystal Space vs OpenGL
            pros, cons and recent comments
            Crystal Space is a software using 3D rendering/drawing APIs. OpenGL is a rendering/drawing API.
            Negative comment • about 3 years ago

          Showing 10 of 10 alternatives