SHSelfHostIndex

Metronome IM vs Tinode

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?
ME Metronome IM Lightweight, fork-based XMPP communication server VS TI Tinode Open-source instant messaging server
FeatureMetronome IMTinode
CategoryMatrix & XMPPMatrix & XMPP
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguageLuaGo
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM128 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 175★ 13,452
First released20122016
ReplacesSlack, WhatsAppWhatsApp, Slack

Why pick each one

Choose Metronome IM if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Lua
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Metronome IM details

Choose Tinode if…

  • Good developer foundation
  • Multiple clients
  • Lightweight
Tinode details

Frequently asked questions

Is Metronome IM or Tinode better?

Neither is universally better. Tinode has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Metronome IM and Tinode free and open-source?

Yes. Metronome IM is licensed under MIT and Tinode under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Metronome IM and Tinode with Docker?

Metronome IM: yes. Tinode: yes.

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