Briar vs Papercups
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?
Briar
Peer-to-peer encrypted messaging that works offline
VS
Papercups
Open-source live chat and customer messaging
| Feature | Briar | Papercups |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Java | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 800 | ★ 6,097 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Signal, WhatsApp | Intercom, Drift |
Why pick each one
Choose Briar if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in Java
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Papercups if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Elixir
Frequently asked questions
Is Briar or Papercups better?
Neither is universally better. Papercups has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Briar and Papercups free and open-source?
Yes. Briar is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Papercups under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Briar and Papercups with Docker?
Briar: check the project docs for container support. Papercups: yes.