Commet vs Dendrite
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?
Commet
Cross-platform Matrix client built with Flutter
VS
Dendrite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
| Feature | Commet | Dendrite |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Dart | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 100 | ★ 5,632 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Discord, Slack | Slack, Discord |
Why pick each one
Choose Commet if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Dart
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Commet or Dendrite better?
Neither is universally better. Dendrite has the larger community, while Commet is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Commet and Dendrite free and open-source?
Yes. Commet is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Dendrite under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Commet and Dendrite with Docker?
Commet: check the project docs for container support. Dendrite: yes.