Continuwuity vs Convos
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Continuwuity
Community-maintained Rust Matrix homeserver
VS
Convos
Always-online web IRC client you can self-host
| Feature | Continuwuity | Convos |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Artistic-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 700 | ★ 1,191 |
| First released | 2024 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, IRCCloud |
What are Continuwuity and Convos?
Continuwuity
Continuwuity is a community continuation of the conduwuit Matrix homeserver, written in Rust. It provides an efficient, federated Matrix server with a focus on stability and ongoing maintenance.
- Drop-in conduwuit replacement
- Active community maintenance
- Efficient single binary
- Full Matrix federation
Convos
Convos is a self-hosted, always-online IRC client with a web interface that keeps you connected and logs conversations while you are away. It supports multiple networks and notifications.
- Always-online IRC
- Web interface
- Multi-network support
- Conversation logging
Continuwuity vs Convos: key differences
Continuwuity is written in Rust, while Convos is built with Perl. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Continuwuity versus Artistic-2.0 for Convos. Convos is the more established project (first released 2012), while Continuwuity arrived in 2024.
Why pick each one
Choose Continuwuity if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Convos if…
- Stays connected for you
- Simple to deploy
Watch out for
- IRC only
- No voice or video
Frequently asked questions
Is Continuwuity or Convos better?
Convos is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Continuwuity if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Continuwuity and Convos free and open-source?
Yes. Continuwuity is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Convos under Artistic-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Continuwuity and Convos with Docker?
Continuwuity: yes. Convos: yes.