Conduit vs Dendrite Lite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Conduit
Simple, fast and reliable Matrix homeserver in Rust
VS
Dendrite Lite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
| Feature | Conduit | Dendrite Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,200 | ★ 969 |
| First released | 2020 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord |
What are Conduit and Dendrite Lite?
Conduit
Conduit is a lightweight Matrix homeserver written in Rust that aims to be easy to set up and run on small servers. It uses an embedded database and requires minimal configuration.
- Embedded database, no external DB
- Very low resource usage
- Single binary deployment
- Matrix federation support
Dendrite Lite
A Matrix homeserver implementation in Go designed to be efficient and easy to run for small to medium communities. It speaks the Matrix federation protocol so users can chat across the wider network.
- Matrix federation
- End-to-end encryption
- Lower resource use
- Single binary deployment
Conduit vs Dendrite Lite: key differences
Conduit is written in Rust, while Dendrite Lite is built with Go. Conduit is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Dendrite Lite. Dendrite Lite is the more established project (first released 2017), while Conduit arrived in 2020. Conduit has the considerably larger community, at 2,200 GitHub stars versus 969.
Why pick each one
Choose Conduit if…
- Extremely easy to deploy
- Runs on a Raspberry Pi
Watch out for
- Not all Matrix features implemented
- Smaller ecosystem
Choose Dendrite Lite if…
- Lighter than Synapse
- Open standard protocol
Watch out for
- Some features still maturing
- Smaller deployment base
Frequently asked questions
Is Conduit or Dendrite Lite better?
Conduit is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Dendrite Lite if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Conduit and Dendrite Lite free and open-source?
Yes. Conduit is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Dendrite Lite under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Conduit and Dendrite Lite with Docker?
Conduit: yes. Dendrite Lite: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Conduit or Dendrite Lite?
Conduit has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Dendrite Lite. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.