Conduit vs Prose
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Conduit | Prose |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,200 | ★ 59 |
| First released | 2020 | 2025 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Discord, Facebook Messenger, Signal |
What are Conduit and Prose?
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
Prose
Prose Web application. XMPP client for team messaging.
Conduit vs Prose: key differences
Conduit is written in Rust, while Prose is built with Vue. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Conduit versus MPL-2.0 for Prose. Prose is the lighter option, starting around 50 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Conduit. Conduit is the more established project (first released 2020), while Prose arrived in 2025. Conduit has the considerably larger community, at 2,200 GitHub stars versus 59. Conduit lists first-class Docker deployment; Prose 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 Prose if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Vue
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Conduit or Prose better?
Neither is universally better. Conduit has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Conduit and Prose free and open-source?
Yes. Conduit is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Prose under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Conduit and Prose with Docker?
Conduit: yes. Prose: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Conduit or Prose?
Prose has the smaller minimum footprint at 50 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Conduit. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.