Conduit vs Movim
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
Movim
Social and chat platform built on XMPP
| Feature | Conduit | Movim |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,200 | ★ 2,055 |
| First released | 2020 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Facebook, Slack |
What are Conduit and Movim?
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
Movim
Movim is a federated social networking and instant messaging platform built on the XMPP protocol. It provides a modern web interface for chat, group conversations, and a publish-subscribe news feed.
- XMPP-based federation
- Modern web chat interface
- Built-in blogging and news feed
- OMEMO end-to-end encryption
Conduit vs Movim: key differences
Conduit is written in Rust, while Movim is built with PHP. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Conduit versus AGPL-3.0 for Movim. Conduit is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Movim. Movim is the more established project (first released 2010), while Conduit arrived in 2020.
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 Movim if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Watch out for
- Requires an XMPP server
- Smaller ecosystem
Frequently asked questions
Is Conduit or Movim better?
Conduit is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Movim if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Conduit and Movim free and open-source?
Yes. Conduit is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Movim under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Conduit and Movim with Docker?
Conduit: yes. Movim: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Conduit or Movim?
Conduit has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Movim. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.