Cinny vs Zulip
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Cinny
Simple, elegant and secure Matrix client
VS
Zulip
Threaded team chat that combines email and chat
| Feature | Cinny | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Team Chat |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,826 | ★ 25,619 |
| First released | 2021 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Microsoft Teams |
Why pick each one
Choose Zulip if…
- Excellent conversation organization
- Strong async workflow
- Fully open source
Frequently asked questions
Is Cinny or Zulip better?
Neither is universally better. Zulip has the larger community, while Cinny is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Cinny and Zulip free and open-source?
Yes. Cinny is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zulip under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cinny and Zulip with Docker?
Cinny: yes. Zulip: yes.