Continuwuity 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 | Continuwuity | 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 | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 700 | ★ 59 |
| First released | 2024 | 2025 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Discord, Facebook Messenger, Signal |
What are Continuwuity and Prose?
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
Prose
Prose Web application. XMPP client for team messaging.
Continuwuity vs Prose: key differences
Continuwuity is written in Rust, while Prose is built with Vue. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Continuwuity versus MPL-2.0 for Prose. Prose is the lighter option, starting around 50 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Continuwuity. Continuwuity has the considerably larger community, at 700 GitHub stars versus 59. Continuwuity lists first-class Docker deployment; Prose does not.
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 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 Continuwuity or Prose better?
Neither is universally better. Continuwuity has the larger community, while Prose is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Continuwuity and Prose free and open-source?
Yes. Continuwuity is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Prose under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Continuwuity and Prose with Docker?
Continuwuity: yes. Prose: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Continuwuity or Prose?
Prose has the smaller minimum footprint at 50 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Continuwuity. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.