SHSelfHostIndex

AnyCable vs SimpleX Chat

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?
AN AnyCable Real-time WebSocket server for in-app messaging VS SI SimpleX Chat Private messenger without any user identifiers
FeatureAnyCableSimpleX Chat
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageGoHaskell
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 2,368★ 19,211
First released20162021
ReplacesPusher, AblySignal, WhatsApp, Telegram

Why pick each one

Choose AnyCable if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Go
AnyCable details

Choose SimpleX Chat if…

  • Best-in-class metadata privacy
  • Run your own relays
SimpleX Chat details

Frequently asked questions

Is AnyCable or SimpleX Chat better?

Neither is universally better. SimpleX Chat has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are AnyCable and SimpleX Chat free and open-source?

Yes. AnyCable is licensed under MIT and SimpleX Chat under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run AnyCable and SimpleX Chat with Docker?

AnyCable: yes. SimpleX Chat: yes.

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