Berty vs Cactus Comments
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?
Berty
Peer-to-peer messaging app that works offline
VS
Cactus Comments
Federated commenting system built on Matrix
| Feature | Berty | Cactus Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,268 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | Disqus |
Why pick each one
Choose Berty if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 9.3k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Cactus Comments if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Elixir
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Berty or Cactus Comments better?
Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while Cactus Comments is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Berty and Cactus Comments free and open-source?
Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Cactus Comments under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Berty and Cactus Comments with Docker?
Berty: check the project docs for container support. Cactus Comments: yes.