Conduit vs JSXC
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
JSXC
JavaScript XMPP client for the browser
| Feature | Conduit | JSXC |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Rust | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,200 | ★ 731 |
| First released | 2020 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack |
What are Conduit and JSXC?
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
JSXC
JSXC is a real-time XMPP chat application that runs in the browser and can be integrated into web platforms like Nextcloud and SOGo. It supports OTR and OMEMO encryption.
- Browser-based XMPP client
- OTR and OMEMO encryption
- Integrates with Nextcloud
- Audio and video via WebRTC
Conduit vs JSXC: key differences
Conduit is written in Rust, while JSXC is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Conduit versus MIT for JSXC. JSXC is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Conduit. JSXC is the more established project (first released 2013), while Conduit arrived in 2020. Conduit has the considerably larger community, at 2,200 GitHub stars versus 731. Conduit lists first-class Docker deployment; JSXC 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
Choose JSXC if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Needs an XMPP backend
- Integration-focused
Frequently asked questions
Is Conduit or JSXC better?
Conduit is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider JSXC if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Conduit and JSXC free and open-source?
Yes. Conduit is licensed under Apache-2.0 and JSXC under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Conduit and JSXC with Docker?
Conduit: yes. JSXC: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Conduit or JSXC?
JSXC has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Conduit. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.