Berty vs Delta 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?
FeatureBertyDelta Chat
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0MPL-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptRust
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcebare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 9,268★ 916
First released20182017
ReplacesWhatsApp, SignalWhatsApp, Signal, Telegram

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
Berty details

Choose Delta Chat if…

  • Leverages decentralized email
  • No new server protocol
Delta Chat details

Frequently asked questions

Is Berty or Delta Chat better?

Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while Delta Chat is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Berty and Delta Chat free and open-source?

Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Delta Chat under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Berty and Delta Chat with Docker?

Berty: check the project docs for container support. Delta Chat: check the project docs for container support.

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