jabberd2 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?
jabberd2
Lightweight C implementation of the XMPP server
VS
Dendrite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
| Feature | jabberd2 | Dendrite |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 443 | ★ 5,632 |
| First released | 2004 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Slack | Slack, Discord |
Why pick each one
Choose jabberd2 if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is jabberd2 or Dendrite better?
Dendrite is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider jabberd2 if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are jabberd2 and Dendrite free and open-source?
Yes. jabberd2 is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Dendrite under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run jabberd2 and Dendrite with Docker?
jabberd2: yes. Dendrite: yes.