I recently switched to Gdevelop from a very similar engine (Construct 3) and I couldn’t find much adequately comparing and contrasting them, so here are the reasons I chose Gdevelop.
#1. Price
There is no contest here whatsoever. The main reason I love Gdevelop is it’s free. And if you say, “It’s not free! There are subscriptions!” Consider this. First off, there is no limit to the engine on PC without a subscription. You are free to make any game you choose. Second, there are no limits to exporting to any platform based on subscription status.
Now let’s pretend you have $40 and are looking for a subscription to one of the engines. Here is what you could buy.
Two months of Construct 3
Four months of Gdevelop Gold
Eight months of Gdevelop Silver
This divide is increased even further when you consider that Construct 3 requires the subscription, while Gdevelop does not. There is no contest here.
#2. Physics
The built in physics behavior in Gdevelop is AMAZING. The customization of the behavior is amazing, and the ability to bind inputs and forces in events is essential to creating custom movement. While Construct 3 has more behaviors, Gdevelop more than makes up for that with more triggers and actions in events and community extensions, meaning the engine’s community can improve it even further.
#3. Integrated menu items
Integrated buttons and sliders make it easier than ever to make menus and buttons, as well as user interfaces. Things like this allow novice developers like me to put their ideas into games rather than focusing on how to make the game come into existence.
#4. Little things
I like app based products over web based ones, Gdevelop does that. I’m also excited to try the new mobile app which will help me greatly. The integrated pixel art and sound tools are amazing, and I just find the event sheet to be more intuitive. Things like this just make Gdevelop better overall.
In conclusion:
Gdevelop 5:
Pros:
Far cheaper and can be used for free
Open source
Better custom behaviors
Integrated menus
Cons:
Harder to learn
Construct 3:
Pros:
Easier to learn
More 3D items (I think, I haven’t tried 3D in this engine yet)
Cons:
More expensive
Browser-based only
Thank you for reading if you read through all of this, and please share your opinions on this with me as I am new to game development in general. Let me know if I missed anything that should be included.
6 Likes
I also come from the construct family (construct 2) and despite having already tried several engines like Unreal, Unity, Godot etc… none of them hooked me as much as Gdevelop. I agree with your points and would like to add a few more:
• Easy learning.
• Frequent updates.
• Community extensions (this really helps a lot to save time).
• Easy export to different platforms.
among many other things…
I’m really excited now about the arrival of 3D in Gdevelop
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I also forgot to mention the integrated pixel art editor. I was messing around with this today and it blew me away, especially compared to Construct 3. The “art” “editor” there is a joke.
you made a great choice 
2 Likes
The more I use this engine the more it becomes apparent.