Berty vs Hebbot
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
Hebbot
Matrix bot that generates news summaries from chat
| Feature | Berty | Hebbot |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | ISC |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,268 | ★ 64 |
| First released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | Slack workflows |
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 Hebbot if…
- Released under the ISC license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Berty or Hebbot better?
Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while Hebbot is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Berty and Hebbot free and open-source?
Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Hebbot under ISC. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Berty and Hebbot with Docker?
Berty: check the project docs for container support. Hebbot: yes.