Berty vs Mailman3

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?
FeatureBertyMailman3
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0-or-later
LanguageTypeScript
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM256 MB800 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 9,268
First released20182023
ReplacesWhatsApp, SignalGoogle Groups

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 Mailman3 if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
Mailman3 details

Frequently asked questions

Is Berty or Mailman3 better?

Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while Mailman3 is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Berty and Mailman3 free and open-source?

Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mailman3 under AGPL-3.0-or-later. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Berty and Mailman3 with Docker?

Berty: check the project docs for container support. Mailman3: check the project docs for container support.

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