Berty vs SimpleX Chat

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?
FeatureBertySimpleX Chat
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptHaskell
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 9,268★ 19,211
First released20182021
ReplacesWhatsApp, SignalSignal, WhatsApp, Telegram

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 SimpleX Chat if…

  • Best-in-class metadata privacy
  • Run your own relays
SimpleX Chat details

Frequently asked questions

Is Berty or SimpleX Chat better?

SimpleX Chat is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Berty if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Berty and SimpleX Chat free and open-source?

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

Can I run Berty and SimpleX Chat with Docker?

Berty: check the project docs for container support. SimpleX Chat: yes.

Related comparisons