Berty vs YunoHost Mail Relay
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
YunoHost Mail Relay
Continuously relays a remote IMAP inbox into a YunoHost mailbox
| Feature | Berty | YunoHost Mail Relay |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 30 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,268 | ★ 1 |
| First released | 2018 | 2026 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | — |
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 YunoHost Mail Relay if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0-or-later license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 30 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Berty or YunoHost Mail Relay better?
Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while YunoHost Mail Relay is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Berty and YunoHost Mail Relay free and open-source?
Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and YunoHost Mail Relay under GPL-3.0-or-later. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Berty and YunoHost Mail Relay with Docker?
Berty: check the project docs for container support. YunoHost Mail Relay: check the project docs for container support.