Cinny vs Conduit
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Conduit
Simple, fast and reliable Matrix homeserver in Rust
| Feature | Cinny | Conduit |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,903 | ★ 2,200 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord |
What are Cinny and Conduit?
Cinny
Cinny is a Matrix client focused on a clean, simple and modern user interface. It can be self-hosted as a static web app to connect to any Matrix homeserver.
- Clean and minimal UI
- End-to-end encryption
- Static web app deployment
- Desktop builds available
Conduit
Conduit is a lightweight Matrix homeserver written in Rust that aims to be easy to set up and run on small servers. It uses an embedded database and requires minimal configuration.
- Embedded database, no external DB
- Very low resource usage
- Single binary deployment
- Matrix federation support
Cinny vs Conduit: key differences
Cinny is written in TypeScript, while Conduit is built with Rust. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Cinny versus Apache-2.0 for Conduit. Cinny is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Conduit.
Why pick each one
Choose Cinny if…
- Lightweight to host
- Attractive interface
Watch out for
- Fewer features than Element
- Matrix-only
Choose Conduit if…
- Extremely easy to deploy
- Runs on a Raspberry Pi
Watch out for
- Not all Matrix features implemented
- Smaller ecosystem
Frequently asked questions
Is Cinny or Conduit better?
Neither is universally better. Cinny has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Cinny and Conduit free and open-source?
Yes. Cinny is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Conduit under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cinny and Conduit with Docker?
Cinny: yes. Conduit: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Cinny or Conduit?
Cinny has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Conduit. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.