Pterodactyl vs Pelican, and where Zelie fits
Pterodactyl and Pelican share the same foundation: a PHP and Laravel web panel paired with Wings and Docker on the game machine. Zelie takes a different path for a single Linux server: one Go binary with its own containerd, the same community eggs, and apps and databases beside the game servers.
Updated November 2026
Pterodactyl, Pelican and Zelie side by side
Install and upkeep
Install
- Zelie
- YesOne command, a few minutes
- Pterodactyl
- PartlyA long manual guide
- Pelican
- PartlyA manual guide
No PHP stack to run
- Zelie
- YesOne Go binary
- Pterodactyl
- NoPHP, Laravel, a web server, MySQL and Redis
- Pelican
- NoPHP, Laravel and a web server
Runs without Docker
- Zelie
- YesIts own containerd
- Pterodactyl
- NoWings needs Docker
- Pelican
- NoWings needs Docker
Updates from the panel
- Zelie
- YesOne click, rolls back by itself if it fails
- Pterodactyl
- NoBy hand, with commands
- Pelican
- NoBy hand, with commands
Security fixes for app packages
- Zelie
- YesEvery night, tested on its own branch first
- Pterodactyl
- NoDoes not look at app packages
- Pelican
- NoDoes not look at app packages
Game servers
Pterodactyl and Pelican eggs
- Zelie
- Yes21 games ready, any other by its link
- Pterodactyl
- Yes
- Pelican
- Yes
Console, files, SFTP, schedules
- Zelie
- Yes
- Pterodactyl
- Yes
- Pelican
- Yes
Players and RCON tools
- Zelie
- YesRust and Minecraft, a player list for some Steam games
- Pterodactyl
- NoNot built in
- Pelican
- NoNot built in
Safe passwords by default
- Zelie
- YesRCON and admin passwords get a random value
- Pterodactyl
- PartlyAs the egg sets them
- Pelican
- PartlyAs the egg sets them
Steam updates
- Zelie
- YesChecks each hour, updates when nobody plays
- Pterodactyl
- PartlyOn start, if the egg does it
- Pelican
- PartlyOn start, if the egg does it
Apps and databases
Deploy from GitHub on push
- Zelie
- Yes
- Pterodactyl
- No
- Pelican
- No
Deploys without downtime, one-click rollback
- Zelie
- YesLast five versions kept
- Pterodactyl
- No
- Pelican
- No
Automatic HTTPS for apps
- Zelie
- Yes
- Pterodactyl
- No
- Pelican
- No
Databases
- Zelie
- YesPostgreSQL, MariaDB, Redis, with a data browser, linkable to game servers too
- Pterodactyl
- PartlyMySQL for game servers
- Pelican
- PartlyMySQL for game servers
Metrics
- Zelie
- YesRequests, errors, memory and CPU for a day
- Pterodactyl
- PartlyLive memory and CPU
- Pelican
- PartlyLive memory and CPU
Security
Nothing on the network runs as root
- Zelie
- YesThe root part has no port
- Pterodactyl
- NoWings runs as root on a public port
- Pelican
- NoWings runs as root on a public port
Secrets the panel cannot read back
- Zelie
- Yes
- Pterodactyl
- No
- Pelican
- No
Encrypted backups to S3
- Zelie
- YesEncrypted on the server
- Pterodactyl
- PartlyTo S3, not encrypted
- Pelican
- PartlyTo S3, not encrypted
Sub-users with their own permissions
- Zelie
- Yes
- Pterodactyl
- Yes
- Pelican
- Yes
Coming later
Several machines from one panel
- Zelie
- Planned
- Pterodactyl
- Yes
- Pelican
- Yes
- Yes
- Partly
- Planned
- No
Pterodactyl and Pelican are described as their official guides install them. Pelican’s idle memory was measured by Caria Core on a live server: about 231 MB for the panel and 38 MB for Wings, excluding the database server and Docker. Zelie’s own processes stay under 66 MB when idle, checked in CI on every release, with about 57 MB for containerd.
How Pterodactyl and Pelican differ from each other
Pelican started as a fork of Pterodactyl and keeps its two-part architecture: a Laravel panel in PHP for the browser, and the Wings daemon (running as root on a network port) to manage game containers through Docker.
- Fewer moving parts in Pelican’s setup. Pterodactyl’s install guide walks through eight components: the panel, PHP, Composer, MySQL or MariaDB, Redis, a web server, Wings and Docker. Pelican drops the separate Redis requirement and can use SQLite instead of a standalone database server, bringing the install down to six parts.
- Shared egg ecosystem. Both panels run game servers from the same egg format, with console access, file editing, SFTP and scheduled tasks.
- Multi-node today. Both Pterodactyl and Pelican manage several machines from one panel. If you run a cluster of nodes today, both already do that.
When a single-binary panel makes more sense
On one VPS or dedicated machine, installing and patching PHP, Composer, a web server, Wings and Docker is often more upkeep than the game servers themselves. Zelie was written from scratch in Go for that case.
- One binary, no PHP, no Docker. Zelie is a ~50 MB binary with its state in SQLite and its own containerd. You install it from your account on Debian or Ubuntu (
amd64orarm64). - Same eggs, plus built-in player tools. Zelie reads Pterodactyl and Pelican eggs as they are — 21 games ready to pick, any other imported by link — and adds live player lists, chat, notes and timed bans for Minecraft and Rust.
- Apps and databases under the same login. Run your community website or Discord bot from GitHub with automatic HTTPS, and link PostgreSQL, MariaDB or Redis without running a second panel.
- Updates itself, root has no port. Updating Zelie takes one click or runs in the nightly round without stopping game servers, rolling back automatically if the new version fails. The root core listens on no network port. See the full comparison for every source.
Which one fits your setup
- Pterodactyl
- Fits established multi-node setups and commercial hosts that rely on existing Pterodactyl billing modules, sub-users and documentation.
- Pelican
- Fits game-only servers that want the familiar Wings + egg workflow with SQLite support, active egg repositories, multi-node and sub-users.
- Zelie
- Fits a single Linux server where you want game servers, web apps, bots and databases in one light panel that updates and backs itself up.
Questions
Do Pterodactyl and Pelican eggs work in Zelie?
Yes. Zelie reads both Pterodactyl and Pelican egg files directly. Twenty-one games are included out of the box from Pelican’s egg repositories, and any other egg can be imported by pasting its URL.
When should I pick Pterodactyl or Pelican over Zelie?
Pick Pterodactyl or Pelican if you need to manage multiple machines from one panel today. That is planned for Zelie later, while Zelie focuses on making a single server simple right now.
How do I get Zelie?
Zelie Free is open to everyone for up to 3 game servers, 3 apps and 3 databases on your own server. Make an account and follow the three steps on Install Zelie.
Install Zelie
Zelie is in early development, and Free is open to everyone: make an account and install it on a server of your own. Pro and Business follow: Pro for your own server too, Business for those who sell hosting.