Berty vs Draupnir
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
Draupnir
Moderation bot for Matrix communities
| Feature | Berty | Draupnir |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,268 | ★ 240 |
| First released | 2018 | 2022 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | Discord moderation bots |
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 Draupnir if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Berty or Draupnir better?
Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while Draupnir is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Berty and Draupnir free and open-source?
Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Draupnir under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Berty and Draupnir with Docker?
Berty: check the project docs for container support. Draupnir: yes.