Cinny vs ZNC

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureCinnyZNC
CategoryMatrix & XMPPMatrix & XMPP
LicenseAGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptC++
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 3,826★ 2,123
First released20212004
ReplacesSlack, DiscordIRCCloud

Why pick each one

Choose Cinny if…

  • Lightweight to host
  • Attractive interface
Cinny details

Choose ZNC if…

  • Very stable and mature
  • Highly configurable
ZNC details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cinny or ZNC better?

Cinny is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider ZNC if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Cinny and ZNC free and open-source?

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

Can I run Cinny and ZNC with Docker?

Cinny: yes. ZNC: yes.

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