Berty vs Candy
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
Candy
JavaScript-based multi-user XMPP chat client
| Feature | Berty | Candy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,268 | ★ 1,314 |
| First released | 2018 | 2011 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | Chatango |
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 Candy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Berty or Candy better?
Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while Candy is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Berty and Candy free and open-source?
Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Candy under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Berty and Candy with Docker?
Berty: check the project docs for container support. Candy: check the project docs for container support.