SHSelfHostIndex

Conduit vs Dino

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?
Conduit Simple, fast and reliable Matrix homeserver in Rust VS DI Dino Modern XMPP chat client for the desktop
FeatureConduitDino
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupRead-the-docs project
CategoryMatrix & XMPPMatrix & XMPP
LicenseApache-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageRustVala
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcebinary, source
GitHub stars★ 2,200★ 2,492
First released20202017
ReplacesSlack, DiscordSkype, Slack

What are Conduit and Dino?

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

Read the full Conduit guide →

Dino

Dino is a free desktop XMPP client built with GTK that focuses on a clean, modern interface. It supports end-to-end encryption with OMEMO, file transfer, and audio and video calls.

  • Modern GTK interface
  • OMEMO encryption
  • Audio and video calls
  • Multiple account support

Conduit vs Dino: key differences

Conduit is written in Rust, while Dino is built with Vala. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Conduit versus GPL-3.0 for Dino. Dino is the more established project (first released 2017), while Conduit arrived in 2020. Conduit lists first-class Docker deployment; Dino does not.

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
Conduit details

Choose Dino if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Vala
Dino details

Frequently asked questions

Is Conduit or Dino better?

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

Are Conduit and Dino free and open-source?

Yes. Conduit is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Dino under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Conduit and Dino with Docker?

Conduit: yes. Dino: check the project docs for container support.

Related comparisons