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.
SimpleX Chat
Private messenger without any user identifiers
| Feature | Berty | SimpleX Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,305 | ★ 19,470 |
| First released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram |
What are Berty and SimpleX Chat?
Berty
Berty is a secure peer-to-peer messaging application built on the IPFS-based Wesh protocol. It can operate without internet access using local networks and Bluetooth.
- Works without internet via P2P
- End-to-end encryption
- No account or phone number
- Built on IPFS
SimpleX Chat
SimpleX Chat is a privacy-focused messaging platform that has no user profiles or identifiers, routing messages through self-hostable relay servers. Users can run their own SMP relay servers for full control.
- No user identifiers at all
- Self-hostable SMP relay servers
- End-to-end encryption
- Decentralized message routing
Berty vs SimpleX Chat: key differences
Berty is written in TypeScript, while SimpleX Chat is built with Haskell. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Berty versus AGPL-3.0 for SimpleX Chat. Berty is the more established project (first released 2018), while SimpleX Chat arrived in 2021. SimpleX Chat has the considerably larger community, at 19,470 GitHub stars versus 9,305. SimpleX Chat lists first-class Docker deployment; Berty does not.
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
Watch out for
- Still considered experimental
- P2P discovery limitations
Choose SimpleX Chat if…
- Best-in-class metadata privacy
- Run your own relays
Watch out for
- Newer protocol
- Group features still maturing
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.