Chatmail vs MongooseIM
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?
Chatmail
Minimal, instant-onboarding mail server for Delta Chat
VS
MongooseIM
Scalable, robust XMPP messaging platform
| Feature | Chatmail | MongooseIM |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mail Servers | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Erlang |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 476 | ★ 1,748 |
| First released | 2023 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Slack, WhatsApp |
Why pick each one
Choose Chatmail if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose MongooseIM if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Erlang
Frequently asked questions
Is Chatmail or MongooseIM better?
Neither is universally better. MongooseIM has the larger community, while Chatmail is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Chatmail and MongooseIM free and open-source?
Yes. Chatmail is licensed under MPL-2.0 and MongooseIM under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Chatmail and MongooseIM with Docker?
Chatmail: yes. MongooseIM: yes.