3CX vs Papercups
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
3CX
Full-featured PABX system, with call queues, built-in web
VS
Papercups
Open-source live chat and customer messaging
| Feature | 3CX | Papercups |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | ⊘ Proprietary | MIT |
| Language | Unknown | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | — | ★ 6,097 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | — | Intercom, Drift |
Why pick each one
Choose 3CX if…
- Released under the ⊘ Proprietary license
- Written in Unknown
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Papercups if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Elixir
Frequently asked questions
Is 3CX or Papercups better?
Neither is universally better. Papercups has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are 3CX and Papercups free and open-source?
Yes. 3CX is licensed under ⊘ Proprietary and Papercups under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run 3CX and Papercups with Docker?
3CX: check the project docs for container support. Papercups: yes.