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This is the first real decision when building a FiveM roleplay server, and the most expensive to change later. ESX and QBCore do broadly the same thing: they manage players, money, inventory, jobs and vehicles. They do it differently, and above all they do not have the same script ecosystem.
1. What a framework is for
On its own, FiveM knows nothing about characters, money or jobs: it only provides a game server and a resource system. A framework adds the common layer that all scripts build on. The choice therefore matters less for what the framework does than for everything written for it.
2. ESX Legacy
ESX is the older of the two. The Legacy version is the one to use today: guides based on versions 1.1 and 1.2 are out of date.
- Strengths: a very large number of free and paid scripts, and plenty of community documentation, especially in French.
- Weaknesses: a code base inherited from several generations, with quality that varies widely between resources. Old ESX scripts are often poorly optimized.
3. QBCore
QBCore is newer, more uniform in its structure and very present in the English-speaking community.
- Strengths: a more consistent architecture, a more modern inventory and job system out of the box, and often better-written resources.
- Weaknesses: part of the community has moved to other recent bases, which makes the landscape harder to read.
4. The comparison
| ESX Legacy | QBCore | |
|---|---|---|
| Available scripts | Very many, uneven quality | Fewer, often cleaner |
| Community | Dominant among French speakers | Strong among English speakers |
| Getting started | Many tutorials, many of them outdated | Clearer documentation |
| Included inventory | Basic, almost always replaced | More complete from the start |
| Performance | Depends entirely on installed scripts | Depends entirely on installed scripts |
Be wary of clear-cut performance claims: neither is inherently faster. What slows a roleplay server is the resources added on top, not the framework itself.
5. How to decide
Choose ESX if your team is French-speaking, you want the widest choice of existing scripts, or you are starting from a pack already built on ESX.
Choose QBCore if you are starting from scratch and want a more uniform base, you prefer a complete inventory and job system from installation, or you are aiming at an international audience.
One decisive point often goes unnoticed: the paid scripts you plan to buy. List them before choosing. If three quarters exist for only one framework, the decision is already made.
6. What if you want to change later?
Moving from ESX to QBCore, or the reverse, on a live server is not a migration but a rebuild. Every script has to be rewritten or replaced, the database schema redone and player data converted. Many servers lose their population along the way.
Take a few days to test both on a development server before opening. It costs far less than changing six months later.
7. What it changes on the server
Technically, almost nothing: both need a MariaDB database, the oxmysql resource and a properly sized server. Plan at least 8 GB of memory for an active roleplay server, and more as scripts accumulate. See how many players by RAM and CPU, securing MariaDB and our FiveM server plans.
Frequently asked questions
Is QBCore faster than ESX?
Neither is inherently faster. Performance mainly depends on the resources you install on top of the framework and how well they are written.
Which framework should a beginner choose?
Test both on a development server for a few days. Your language, the scripts you plan to use and your team's experience matter more than the framework itself.
Can I switch from ESX to QBCore later?
Yes, but it is effectively a rebuild: scripts must be rewritten or replaced, and the database and player data converted.