This page contains a comprehensive breakdown of the differences between each of the default project templates that can be created via the new project window within Unity Hub, including all dependencies, packages, assets, and project settings.
The following information was gathered from an installation of Unity 2021.1.7f1. I hope you will be able to use it to compare and contrast each template to find which is a best fit for your project.
Packages
| Package | 2D | 2D (Mobile) | 3D | 3D Mobile | HDRP | URP | VR | AR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2D Animation | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| 2D Pixel Perfect | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| 2D PSD Importer | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| 2D SpriteShape | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| 2D Tilemap Editor | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| Android Logcat | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| AR Foundation | ✔ | |||||||
| ARCore XR Plugin | ✔ | |||||||
| ARKit XR Plugin | ✔ | |||||||
| Cinemachine | ✔ | |||||||
| High Definition RP | ✔ | |||||||
| Input System | ✔ | |||||||
| JetBrains Rider Editor | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Magic Leap XR Plugin | ✔ | |||||||
| Mobile Notifications | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| Oculus XR Plugin | ✔ | |||||||
| Test Framework | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| TextMeshPro | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Timeline | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Tutorial Framework | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| Unity Collaborate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Unity UI | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Universal RP | ✔ | |||||||
| Visual Scripting | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Visual Studio Code Editor | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Visual Studio Editor | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Windows XR Plugin | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| XR Plugin Management | ✔ | ✔ |
Dependencies
The following is a chart of all dependencies listed in the package.json file within each of the default project template archives, with the exception of the 3D template which has none.
| Dependency | 2D | 2D (Mobile) | 3D (Mobile) | HDRP | URP | VR | AR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2d.animation | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| 2d.pixel-perfect | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| 2d.psdimporter | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| 2d.sprite | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| 2d.spriteshape | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| 2d.tilemap | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| cinemachine | ✔ | ||||||
| ide.rider | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| ide.vscode | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| inputsystem | ✔ | ||||||
| learn.iet-framework | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| mobile.android-logcat | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| mobile.notifications | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.androidjni | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.animation | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.assetbundle | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.audio | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.imageconversion | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.imgui | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.jsonserialize | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.particlesystem | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| modules.physics | ✔ | ||||||
| modules.physics2d | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| modules.screencapture | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.tilemap | ✔ | ||||||
| modules.ui | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.uielements | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.umbra | ✔ | ||||||
| modules.unityanalytics | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.unitywebrequest | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| modules.unitywebrequestassetbundle | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.unitywebrequestaudio | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.unitywebrequesttexture | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.unitywebrequestwww | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.video | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| modules.vr | ✔ | ||||||
| modules.xr | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| render-pipelines.high-definition | ✔ | ||||||
| render-pipelines.universal | ✔ | ||||||
| test-framework | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| textmeshpro | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| ugui | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| xr.arcode | ✔ | ||||||
| xr.arfoundation | ✔ | ||||||
| xr.arkit | ✔ | ||||||
| xr.magicleap | ✔ | ||||||
| xr.management | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| xr.oculus | ✔ | ||||||
| xr.windowsmr | ✔ | ✔ |
Project settings
This section is a comprehensive list of all of the differences in project settings between templates. If a setting is not listed here it’s because that setting is consistent across all templates. If a cell is blank, it is only because that setting is not represented in the ProjectSettings folder within the template archive, and not overridden from the default value.
Audio
| Project setting | 2D | 2D (Mobile) | 3D | 3D (Mobile) | HDRP | URP | VR | AR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RequestedDSPBufferSize | 0 | 0 | 1024 | 1024 | 0 | 0 | 1024 | 0 |
Physics
| Project setting | 2D | 2D (Mobile) | 3D | 3D (Mobile) | HDRP | URP | VR | AR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClothInterCollisionDistance | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .1 | 0 | .1 |
| ClothInterCollisionStiffness | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .2 | 0 | .2 |
| DefaultMaxAngularSpeed | 50 | 50 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 50 |
Editor
| Project setting | 2D | 2D (Mobile) | 3D | 3D (Mobile) | HDRP | URP | VR | AR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DefaultBehaviorMode | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SpritePackerMode | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EtcTextureCompressorBehavior | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| EtcTextureFastCompressor | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| EtcTextureBestCompressor | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | |
| LineEndingsForNewScripts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| SerializeInlineMappingsOnOneLine | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Additional extensions to include
| Template | Value |
|---|---|
| 2D | txt;xml;fnt;cd;asmdef;asmref;rsp |
| 2D (Mobile) | txt;xml;fnt;cd;asmdef;asmref;rsp |
| 3D | txt;xml;fnt;cd;asmdef;rsp;asmref |
| 3D (Mobile) | txt;xml;fnt;cd;asmdef;rsp;asmref |
| HDRP | txt;xml;fnt;cd;asmdef;asmref;rsp;asmref |
| URP | txt;xml;fnt;cd;asmdef;asmref;rsp |
| VR | txt;xml;fnt;cd;asmdef;rsp;asmref |
| AR | txt;xml;fnt;cd;asmdef;asmref;rsp |
Quality
| Project setting | 2D | 2D (Mobile) | 3D | 3D (Mobile) | HDRP | URP | VR | AR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CustomRenderPipeline | HDRP | URP | ||||||
| LightmapKeepPlain | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| LightmapKeepDynamicPlain | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| LightmapKeepDynamicDirCombined | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| LightmapKeepShadowMask | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| LightmapKeepSubtractive | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| FogKeepLinear | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| FogKeepExp | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| FogKeepExp2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| LightsUseLinearIntensity | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| LightsUseColorTemperature | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DefaultRenderingLayerMask | 1 | 257 | ||||||
| AllowEnlightenSupportForUpgradedProject | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Always included shaders
| Shader | 2D | 2D (Mobile) | 3D | 3D (Mobile) | HDRP | URP | VR | AR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy Shaders/Diffuse | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Hidden/CubeBlur | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Hidden/CubeCopy | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Hidden/CubeBlend | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Sprites/Default | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| UI/Default | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| UI/DefaultETC1 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Hidden/VideoComposite | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Hidden/VideoDecode | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Hidden/Compositing | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Hidden/VideoDecodeOSX | ✔ |
This is a work in progress. I will be adding more data every week until it’s done. (So much for that promise!)
Assets
Coming soon.
Further reading
I’ve written a few articles on Unity Project Templates, check them out if you’re interested!
