Berty vs matrix-commander
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
matrix-commander
Command-line tool for sending and receiving Matrix messages
| Feature | Berty | matrix-commander |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,268 | ★ 745 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | Slack CLI |
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 matrix-commander if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Berty or matrix-commander better?
Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while matrix-commander is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Berty and matrix-commander free and open-source?
Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and matrix-commander under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Berty and matrix-commander with Docker?
Berty: check the project docs for container support. matrix-commander: check the project docs for container support.