ESX, QBCore, Qbox or 5MCustoms: which FiveM framework fits your server?

The framework is the one decision you can hardly take back later. Every script you install is written for a specific framework, and switching means buying and setting up almost everything again. This comparison is written by us, meaning by a vendor (who we are), and we say openly where our framework is the better choice and where it is not.

The four candidates at a glance

ESX: the incumbent

ESX is the oldest framework and therefore has the most scripts, the most tutorials and the most developers who know it. ESX Legacy, the current line, is lean and fast. If you are looking for a specific niche script, you will most likely find it for ESX. The price: script quality varies enormously, many have been unmaintained for years, and you spend a lot of time connecting scripts from different developers into a whole. ESX is the right choice if you have experience, write Lua yourself and want the largest selection.

QBCore: big, but without a future

QBCore did a lot better than ESX of its time from 2020 onwards and built a huge script market. Development of the core has, however, largely come to a halt after part of the team continued with Qbox. For a new server in 2026 QBCore is therefore no longer a recommendation: you would be building on a base that gets no more updates. Anyone already running a QBCore server need not panic, but should keep an eye on Qbox.

Qbox: the modern successor

Qbox is the continuation of QBCore by former developers, built on the ox ecosystem (ox_lib, ox_inventory, oxmysql). It is cleanly written, actively maintained and runs most QBCore scripts through a bridge. For someone assembling an open server themselves in 2026, Qbox is our recommendation among the free frameworks. What is missing is the same as with ESX: nobody guarantees that twenty scripts from twenty developers fit together, and when problems arise you depend on the community.

5MCustoms: a framework from one source

5MCustoms takes the other route. Instead of a core on which everyone puts their own scripts, there is a core and over 70 modules from the same maker: inventory, phone, banking, jobs, factions, police with MDT, medics, garage, housing, drugs, gangs, mechanic shop, admin menu. They know each other because they are developed together. On top of that come the Sentinel anti-cheat in every licence, a customer portal with updates and licence management, admin documentation and 5MC Forge, the tool we use to build vehicles, clothing and interiors.

That has a price, literally: Core from 29.99 euros a month, Pro from 49.99 euros, Ultimate 749 euros one-off, or modules individually from 7.99 euros. And it has limits we do not hide: the selection of third-party scripts is smaller than for ESX because 5MCustoms is younger. If you want to rewrite your framework down to the core, open source serves you better. If you want a server that runs out of the box and prefer spending time with players rather than hunting bugs, you are in the right place with us.

How to decide

• You code yourself, have time and want the largest selection: ESX.
• You are building new in 2026 (here is how), want open source and modern code: Qbox.
• You have a running QBCore server: stay, plan the move to Qbox.
• You want modules that fit together, vendor support and anti-cheat included, and you are willing to pay for it: 5MCustoms.

Justin Beil

Founder of 5MCustoms

Justin has been building FiveM servers, vehicles and scripts for years. 5MCustoms is the framework that grew out of it. What you read here comes from practice, not from a product sheet.

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