Candy 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?
Candy
JavaScript-based multi-user XMPP chat client
VS
SimpleX Chat
Private messenger without any user identifiers
| Feature | Candy | SimpleX Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,314 | ★ 19,211 |
| First released | 2011 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Chatango | Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram |
Why pick each one
Choose Candy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Candy or SimpleX Chat better?
Neither is universally better. SimpleX Chat has the larger community, while Candy is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Candy and SimpleX Chat free and open-source?
Yes. Candy is licensed under MIT and SimpleX Chat under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Candy and SimpleX Chat with Docker?
Candy: check the project docs for container support. SimpleX Chat: yes.