New check

Comparison

Moddb vs itch.io

Moddb lands on Worth it, and itch.io lands on Depends.

Moddb

Worth it

Confidence: Medium

ModDB is a free community site for downloading and hosting game mods . ideal for PC gamers and hobbyist mod authors.

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itch.io

Depends

Confidence: Medium

Buy it if you're an indie dev publishing free or experimental games, or hosting jams . it costs nothing and PCMag rates it well.

Read the full report

Moddb versus itch.io
Compare	Moddb	itch.io
Verdict	Worth it	Depends
Best for	PC gamers hunting mods	Indie devs releasing free or experimental games
Who it's not for	Businesses shopping for software . this is a fan site, not a vendor	Studios relying on it as their main revenue channel
Privacy	No known ModDB breaches found; the real risk is third-party mod content, as with any mod site.^⁸	Solid posture: CyStack scores 88.8/100, 2FA and upload malware scanning available . but fake-update malware campaigns have targeted users.
Support quality	No evidence found	Slow responses, payout delay complaints
Public sentiment	Gamers trust ModDB as a safe, free mod source but find its design dated compared to rivals.^⁴	Users like as a free, friendly home for indie games but complain about slow payouts, slow support, and weak discoverability.¹²
Biggest gotcha	Antivirus sometimes blocks ModDB downloads; usually false positives, but scan files.^⁷	Payout delays documented . one dev waited over 100 days¹³

Pick Moddb when

PC gamers hunting mods
Hobbyist mod authors hosting releases
Niche and legacy game communities
Anyone avoiding Steam Workshop lock-in

When Moddb is not a fit

Businesses shopping for software . this is a fan site, not a vendor
Mod authors who want paid downloads or revenue share
Enterprises needing SLAs, vendor support, or a security page
Console or mobile-only players

Pick itch.io when

Indie devs releasing free or experimental games
Game jam hosts and participants
Hobbyists selling pay-what-you-want titles
Players hunting niche indie games

When itch.io is not a fit

Studios relying on it as their main revenue channel
Devs needing fast, predictable payouts
Anyone expecting strong organic discoverability
Teams needing enterprise support or SLAs

Sources

ModDB - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
official
ModDB homepagemoddb.com
official
Mod DB Reviews - Trustpilottrustpilot.com
review
Is ModDB safe to download from? - Steam Communitysteamcommunity.com
review
ModDB 2021 Mod of the Year Awards Winners - Reddit r/Gamesreddit.com
review
The Pros and Cons of Steam Workshop, Nexus Mods, ModDBgnd-tech.com
review
Moddb and GameBanana Downloads Blocked - Avast Communitycommunity.avast.com
security
CVE-2009-10006 advisory - UFO: Alien Invasiongithub.com
security
The uncertain future of paid mods - ModDB newsmoddb.com
news
How to Submit to Moddb (DR 74, 2026)ideaproof.io
news
itch.io Review - PCMagpcmag.com
review
itch.io Reviews - Trustpilottrustpilot.com
review
itch.io is no longer viable - over 100 days waiting for payoutsreddit.com
review
Does anyone actually play anything uploaded to itch.io?reddit.com
review
r/itchio - Redditreddit.com
review
Creator FAQitch.io
official