Berty vs Mollysocket
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
Mollysocket
Server for unified push support in Molly chat application
| Feature | Berty | Mollysocket |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0-or-later |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,268 | ★ 375 |
| First released | 2018 | 2024 |
| 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 Mollysocket if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Berty or Mollysocket better?
Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while Mollysocket is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Berty and Mollysocket free and open-source?
Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mollysocket under AGPL-3.0-or-later. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Berty and Mollysocket with Docker?
Berty: check the project docs for container support. Mollysocket: check the project docs for container support.