The Best Open Source Steam AlternativesTop Game Stores & Game Library Managers like Steam

The best open source alternative to Steam is itch.io. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Steam and 19 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Steam are Lutris, Playnite, Heroic Games Launcher and Game Jolt.

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Steam alternatives are mainly Game Library Managers, but if you're looking for Game Stores or Compatibility Layer Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Linux, Windows, Free, Mac, Open Source, EU and App Store. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Steam.
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Alternatives list

  1. itch.io icon
     303 likes

    Indie game marketplace and community platform providing customizable pricing, pay-what-you-want options, game file hosting, stats tracking, and an app managing downloads and updates across Windows, macOS, and Linux, plus support for non-game digital content.

    46 itch.io alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Epic Games Store
     
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    5
    itch.io vs Steam Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    16

    Quite possibly the best place available to lose an afternoon digging through both free and paid indie games ever since Desura kicked the bucket.

    RemovedUser
    Positive
    0

    Live life, breathe air. I know somehow we're gonna get there, and it'll be so wonderful.

    thebenmix11
    Positive
    1

    In my experience, it's one of the few that are both user-friendly and developer-friendly at the same time.

    3 of 5 comments
    • itch.io is Free and Open SourceSteam is Free and Proprietary
  2. Lutris icon
     251 likes

    Lutris is an open source gaming platform for GNU/Linux. It allows you to gather and manage (install, configure and launch) all your games acquired from any source, in a single interface.

    68 Lutris alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
    • Flathub
     
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    2
    Lutris vs Steam Comments
    Conner Vieira
    Positive
    6

    Lutris isn't exactly a store, the way Steam is, but it's great for managing large game libraries, and even supports seamless emulation.

    ab1
    Negative
    -2

    Many Installers are broken and users are welcomed to guess which and how... Mix of minefield and junkyard in practice. Just save your time.

    • Lutris is Free and Open SourceSteam is Free and Proprietary
    • Lutris is LightweightSteam is not according to our users
  3. Playnite icon
     255 likes

    Open-source launcher and manager organizing PC, emulated, and custom games from platforms such as Steam, GOG, Origin, and Uplay under a single customizable interface, supporting metadata, controller mode, plugins, themes, playtime tracking, and multi-language options.

    55 Playnite alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    1
    Playnite vs Steam Comments
    DL300
    Positive
    2

    Way, way better than Steam in every single way. Even has exotic console features like quick-resume. Steam is an absolute first-year-coder joke compared to this. Playnite's devs work hard and are talented.

    • Playnite is Free and Open SourceSteam is Free and Proprietary
    • Playnite is Customizable and LightweightSteam is not according to our users
  4. Heroic is an Open Source Game Launcher for Linux, Windows and macOS (10.15+, won't work properly on High sierra and older versions). Right now it supports launching games from the .

    41 Heroic Games Launcher alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • AppImageHub
    • Flathub
     
  5. Game Jolt icon
     70 likes

    Experience a vibrant community for gamers and creators, offering challenges, rewards, and a shop for collectibles. Share and sell personal creations, explore anime and fan art, connect in a global cosplay realm, and more.

    26 Game Jolt alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
     
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    2
    Game Jolt vs Steam Comments
    Sebastian
    Positive
    0

    good for finding indies titles

    Sparky dev
    Positive
    0

    Most of indie titles are born here before going to steam

    • Game Jolt is Freemium and Open SourceSteam is Free and Proprietary
  6. Hydra Launcher icon
     23 likes

    Game launcher with integrated BitTorrent client enables automatic repack scraping from Megathread sources, How Long To Beat integration, moveable download paths, frequent notifications on repack updates, cross-platform Windows and Linux support, and consistent updates.

    50 Hydra Launcher alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  7. Ascendara icon
     9 likes

    Ascendara simplifies your game management experience by providing a seamless way to discover, organize, and test pre-installed games. No more hassle with extracting, installing, or moving files. The game library is powered by a custom webscraper, currently featuring titles...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  8. Pegasus icon
     29 likes

    Pegasus is a graphical frontend for browsing your game library (especially retro games) and launching them from one place. It's focusing on customizability, cross platform support (including embedded devices) and high performance.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Raspberry Pi
     
  9. Arcadia is a game launcher and manager designed as a libre replacement for Steam. Arcadia uses flatpak as its packaging system and pulls all data from flathub currently.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
12 of 19 Steam alternatives