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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteChoose Godot if eliminating engine royalties, keeping a permissive open-source license, and modifying the engine are your priorities. Choose Unity for a broad desktop, mobile, web, XR, and console workflow with predictable per-seat pricing. Choose Unreal Engine when its capabilities and platform ecosystem justify either a 5% royalty above its threshold or a paid seat license for an applicable commercial use. The right decision depends on your revenue model, team size, target platforms, graphics requirements, and tolerance for licensing changes—not on a single “best” engine.
Start with the cost question that actually matters
Game-engine pricing is not just the number shown on a subscription page. There are three different economic models:
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- Seat subscription: You pay for each qualifying user, usually monthly or annually. The bill is predictable, but it continues while the team uses the engine.
- Revenue share: You may pay nothing at the beginning, then owe a percentage of qualifying revenue after a threshold. The cost rises with commercial success.
- No engine fee: The engine is free under its license, but platform access, specialist ports, certification, contractors, hosting, payment processing, and your own engineering time still cost money.
Compare these models against the same project forecast. A small team with uncertain sales may prefer avoiding a recurring bill. A studio expecting substantial revenue may prefer a fixed subscription over an uncapped percentage of sales. A console-first team must budget for platform-holder approval and porting regardless of which engine it selects.
Current licensing snapshot
| Engine | Engine charge | Revenue or eligibility trigger | Platform notes | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unreal Engine | Free for game developers below $1 million USD in gross product revenue under Epic’s stated terms; a $1,850 per-seat annual license is listed for specified commercial uses that do not run engine code at runtime for third-party end users. | Qualifying products owe 5% on lifetime gross revenue above $1 million, directly attributable to the Unreal Engine product, regardless of who collects it. Epic says sales in the Epic Games Store are royalty-free under the listed terms. | Console use has no Unreal Engine fee, but platform-holder approval and access to the required SDKs are necessary. | Qualifying products must submit a release notification and report royalties quarterly after shipping. |
| Unity | Unity Personal is free for hobbyists and small indie teams. Unity Pro is listed at $210 per seat per month or $2,310 per seat per year prepaid in 2026. | Unity says Pro is required for businesses with more than $200,000 USD in funding or annual revenue. Enterprise is required above $25 million USD in annual revenue. | Unity Pro includes the ability to build and publish for game consoles and Apple Vision Pro. The system-requirements documentation lists mobile, desktop, web, server, XR, and closed-console targets. | For PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, platform-holder requirements still apply. The cited documentation supports console builds only on Windows versions of Unity. |
| Godot | Free and open source under the permissive MIT license. | No engine royalty or revenue threshold is imposed by the engine license. | Desktop, mobile, and web projects can use the open engine workflow. Console export is not provided as an open-source feature by the Godot team. | Console manufacturers’ licensing terms mean console export and closed SDK access may require an external porting provider or a direct platform-holder arrangement. |
These figures and terms were current on October 17, 2026, when the cited official pages were accessed. Prices, thresholds, platform modules, and royalty language can change; confirm the terms that apply to your legal entity, territory, product, and release date before signing a contract or committing to production.
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How each engine charges you
Unreal Engine: a threshold followed by a royalty
Epic’s current game-licensing terms state that developers are free below $1 million USD in gross product revenue. For a qualifying product, “all lifetime gross revenue above $1M that is directly attributable to the UE product, regardless of who collects it” is subject to a 5% royalty. The threshold is lifetime and the revenue base is gross product revenue, so do not treat it as a $1 million annual allowance or as profit after expenses.
For example, if a qualifying product reaches $1.4 million in the relevant lifetime gross revenue base, the amount above the threshold is $400,000; 5% of that illustrative excess is $20,000. This arithmetic is only an example of the stated formula. Your actual reporting base can depend on how revenue is attributable under Epic’s terms, refunds and other defined adjustments.
Epic also lists a $1,850 per-seat annual license for specified commercial uses that do not use engine code at runtime for third-party end users. That is not a general substitute for the game-product royalty license: confirm that your use case fits the stated category before treating it as an alternative.
After shipping, qualifying products must submit a release notification and report royalties quarterly. Build your accounting process before launch rather than trying to reconstruct lifetime gross revenue later.
Unity: predictable seats with business thresholds
Unity Personal is listed as free for hobbyists and small indie teams. Unity’s plans page says Pro is required when a business has more than $200,000 USD in funding or annual revenue. Enterprise is required above $25 million USD in annual revenue. These are business eligibility thresholds, not a promise that every feature or platform approval is included in the free tier.
For 2026, Unity lists Pro at $210 per seat per month or from $2,310 per seat per year prepaid. The annual figure is per seat; multiply it by the number of seats that need Pro access. Three annual seats, for instance, would be $6,930 at the listed price before taxes and currency effects. Monthly billing provides flexibility but costs more over a full year at the listed rates.
Unity announced a 5% Pro and Enterprise price increase effective January 12, 2026. Regional taxes, currency conversion, and rounding can change the checkout total, so the published US-dollar figure is not necessarily the amount charged to every studio.
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Godot: no engine fee, with obligations in the license
Godot Engine is free and open source software released under the permissive MIT license. The license permits use, modification, and commercial distribution. If you redistribute copies of the engine, you must include the required copyright notice and license statement.
The engine license does not control the content you create. Godot states that developers retain ownership of their game content, and its FAQ says the engine may be used for personal, non-profit, or commercial purposes. “Free” therefore describes the engine license; it does not make development, distribution, console access, localization, customer support, or compliance free.
Platform support: separate editor support from shipping permission
Desktop
All three engines are viable candidates for desktop releases, but the business question is whether your chosen renderer, middleware, plug-ins, and team skills fit the project. Confirm operating-system requirements, graphics APIs, controller support, storefront integration, anti-cheat needs, and your own testing matrix during a technical prototype.
Mobile
Unity’s system-requirements documentation lists mobile targets. Godot’s open license permits commercial mobile distribution without an engine royalty. Unreal can target mobile, but the cost decision should include device-performance work, build size, shader and memory constraints, and any third-party services you need. Do not infer mobile suitability from licensing alone.
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Web
Unity’s documentation lists web targets, including WebGL workflows. Godot can be used for web projects, subject to the capabilities and limitations of the specific renderer and export path you choose. Check browser support, download size, input behavior, audio restrictions, and platform-store policies with a small playable build before locking the production pipeline.
XR and spatial platforms
Unity’s Pro plan explicitly includes the ability to build and publish for Apple Vision Pro, and Unity’s requirements list XR targets. For any XR project, also verify the headset SDK version, operating-system support, input model, performance budget, and store approval process. An engine’s target list is not the same as a guarantee that a particular headset, runtime, or distribution channel will accept your build.
Consoles
Console support has two layers. First, the engine must provide a supported console workflow. Second, the platform holder must approve your developer account and provide access to proprietary SDKs, development hardware, and certification requirements.
Epic states that there is no Unreal Engine fee or cost related to using Unreal Engine on a console, but you need platform-holder approval to access the necessary SDKs. Unity’s documentation lists closed-console targets and says PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch developers must follow platform-holder requirements; the cited Unity documentation supports console builds only on Windows versions of Unity. Unity Pro includes the ability to build and publish for game consoles, but that feature does not replace registration, SDK access, certification, or porting work.
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Godot’s FAQ explains that its team cannot provide an open-source console export because console manufacturers’ licensing terms prevent it. A Godot console release may therefore require a third-party porting provider or a direct arrangement with the platform holder. Treat that external relationship as a schedule, legal, and budget dependency from the beginning.
A practical decision process
- List every launch target. Write down desktop operating systems, mobile platforms, browsers, XR devices, and each closed console. Mark which are required at launch and which are post-launch possibilities.
- Classify your product and revenue. Estimate funding, annual business revenue, launch price, lifetime gross sales, subscriptions, downloadable content, advertising, and licensing income. Separate gross revenue from profit.
- Choose your acceptable payment model. Decide whether a recurring per-seat bill, a 5% royalty after a threshold, or no engine fee with external costs best matches your cash flow.
- Check eligibility before prototyping. Verify Unity’s $200,000 Pro threshold and $25 million Enterprise threshold for your business, and confirm whether an Unreal commercial use fits the $1,850 seat-license category or the game-product royalty terms.
- Prototype the riskiest platform. If a console, browser, low-end phone, or XR headset is essential, test that target early. Do not wait until content production is complete to discover an SDK, operating-system, or renderer constraint.
- Confirm access and approvals. Apply for platform-holder programs, obtain SDK access, identify development hardware, and map certification requirements. An engine selector cannot grant those permissions.
- Audit redistribution obligations. For Godot, plan to include the MIT copyright notice and license statement when redistributing the engine. For commercial engines, retain the applicable terms, invoices, release notifications, and royalty reports in your project records.
- Model a term-change scenario. Recalculate the project if subscription prices rise, revenue crosses a threshold, or a planned platform module becomes unavailable. Record which migration or porting costs would follow.
Which engine fits common project profiles?
Solo developer or small team below Unity’s threshold
Unity Personal can minimize upfront engine cost while offering a broad mainstream target list. It is a sensible starting point when your team already knows the workflow and you need desktop, mobile, web, or XR reach. Before promising a console launch, check whether your chosen workflow requires Pro and complete the platform-holder registration steps.
Godot is the alternative when avoiding vendor fees and retaining the ability to modify the engine matter more than turnkey closed-platform access. Its MIT license is straightforward for commercial distribution, but a console plan may need an outside porting partner.
Funded studio approaching or exceeding $200,000
Once a business exceeds Unity’s stated $200,000 funding or annual-revenue threshold, include Pro seats in the operating budget rather than assuming the free Personal plan will remain eligible. Compare the number of seats and years of development with the potential cost of a 5% Unreal royalty above its $1 million lifetime threshold. The break-even point depends on your expected revenue, team size, and whether the game qualifies for any alternative Unreal license category.
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High-revenue commercial game
For a successful product, calculate Unity’s per-seat cost over the entire team and production period, then calculate Unreal’s royalty on the portion of lifetime gross revenue above $1 million. A royalty can exceed several years of subscriptions for a hit game, while subscriptions can be more expensive than a royalty for a small team with modest sales. Include taxes, regional pricing, additional seats, accounting work, and porting in both models.
Open-source or heavily customized pipeline
Godot is the clearest fit when source access, engine modification, and redistribution freedom are core requirements. You can adapt the engine under MIT terms and keep ownership of your game content. The trade-off is responsibility: your team or contractors must maintain changes, validate upgrades, and solve platform integrations that a commercial vendor or approved partner might otherwise provide.
Console-first release
Start with platform access, not editor preference. Contact each platform holder, determine eligibility, obtain the SDK and hardware requirements, and get a realistic certification schedule. Unreal and Unity both document console workflows, but approval and SDK access remain mandatory. With Godot, obtain a written plan and estimate from an experienced porting provider or secure a platform-holder arrangement before building the game around console delivery.
Worked cost comparisons
Three-person Unity team
At the listed 2026 Unity Pro annual price, three seats cost $6,930 per year before taxes, currency conversion, or any different regional checkout total. A two-year production budget at that same listed price would be $13,860. This is a subscription estimate, not a prediction of future pricing.
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Suppose a qualifying product records $2 million in the lifetime gross revenue base defined by Epic. The amount above $1 million is $1 million, so the stated 5% rate would produce an illustrative $50,000 royalty. Epic’s terms determine what is directly attributable and how reporting works; this example does not account for any contractual adjustments.
Godot commercial release
The engine license contributes no engine subscription or royalty. Your budget still needs developer time, build infrastructure, art and audio tools, platform fees, testing devices, localization, customer support, legal review, and—if targeting a closed console—porting and platform access. Omitting those costs creates a misleading “zero-cost” forecast.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Confusing a free plan with unrestricted publishing: Unity Personal is free for its stated audience, but business thresholds and platform-specific features still matter.
- Treating $1 million as an annual Unreal allowance: Epic describes a lifetime gross-revenue threshold for qualifying products.
- Calculating royalties from profit: The stated Unreal formula uses lifetime gross revenue above the threshold, not your remaining profit.
- Assuming console support is a checkbox: Approval, SDK access, hardware, certification, and porting capacity are separate dependencies.
- Calling Godot entirely cost-free: The engine fee is zero, but engineering and closed-platform services are not.
- Ignoring operating-system restrictions: The cited Unity console documentation supports console builds only on Windows versions of Unity.
- Using stale prices: Unity’s Pro and Enterprise prices increased 5% on January 12, 2026, and regional checkout totals can differ.
- Failing to preserve license records: Keep the terms in force at release, invoices, notices, and royalty reports with your build and accounting records.
What to verify before signing off
Use this final checklist with your producer, technical lead, and legal or finance contact:
- Every required launch platform is named, including its approval path.
- The project’s revenue forecast states whether figures are gross, net, annual, or lifetime.
- Unity eligibility is checked against the $200,000 and $25 million thresholds where relevant.
- Any Unreal royalty model uses the $1 million lifetime threshold and 5% rate stated in the applicable terms.
- Any proposed $1,850 Unreal seat license has been confirmed as an eligible specified commercial use.
- Godot redistribution includes the MIT copyright notice and license statement.
- Console SDK access, development hardware, certification, and porting quotes are in the schedule and budget.
- Windows requirements for the chosen Unity console workflow are accounted for.
- Price and license pages are rechecked immediately before production lock and release.
The decision
Pick Godot for maximum licensing freedom and engine customization when you can solve closed-platform access yourself. Pick Unity when a predictable seat subscription and wide mainstream platform workflow outweigh the need to avoid recurring fees. Pick Unreal Engine when its capabilities and ecosystem justify reporting a 5% royalty above $1 million in qualifying lifetime gross revenue, or when your specified commercial use fits Epic’s separate per-seat license.
No engine removes the need to plan for platform-holder approval, SDKs, certification, testing, and changing terms. Make the decision with a platform prototype and a project-specific five-year cost model, then recheck the official licensing pages before launch.
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