Converse.js vs The Lounge
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories
— licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one
replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Compare Converse.js with
choose an app… Rocket.Chat Mattermost Zulip Tinode Element Web Let's Chat Matterbridge ejabberd Dendrite Synapse Cinny WeeChat Ergo irssi Openfire FluffyChat Dino Nheko Tuwunel Conduit Nextcloud Talk ZNC Movim mautrix-whatsapp MongooseIM gomuks Profanity Convos IRC Syphon Element Call Dendrite Lite Element X Fractal Maubot JSXC Hydrogen matrix-nio Continuwuity mautrix-signal CoyIM Gajim mautrix-discord SchildiChat Ketesa Synapse Admin jabberd2 Mjolnir Construct Tigase XMPP Server Pantalaimon Sliding Sync Proxy matrix-appservice-slack Coqui Chat Synapse-MAS aioxmpp Poezio Slidge Sygnal Metronome IM matrix-corporal PeerTube Plugin LiveChat Commet go-sendxmpp Simple-Matrix-Bot-Lib Monocles Chat Openfire Pade Plugin Prose conduwuit Prosody
Compare The Lounge with
choose an app… Plane Rocket.Chat Mattermost Chatwoot Focalboard Zulip Super Productivity Wekan SimpleX Chat Etherpad OpenProject Habitica Self-Hosted Tinode Element Web Planka Leantime Centrifugo Screego Typebot git-bug Let's Chat Kanboard Berty Mumble Kaneo Matterbridge ejabberd Papercups Taskwarrior Zammad WorkAdventure Dendrite Soketi Remark42 Isso FreeSWITCH qTox MiroTalk Synapse Ferdium FreeScout Telegram Bot API Server Rustpad Cinny Asterisk WeeChat Ergo irssi Openfire Quicksy Bridge Kamailio Cusdis Tox Stoat Dino Nheko AnyCable Chitchatter Live Helper Chat Conduit Spacebar Nextcloud Talk ZNC Indico Movim RetroShare SIPCAPTURE Homer Peer-calls mautrix-telegram Routr GlobaLeaks openSIPS mautrix Databag Galène InspIRCd Candy Toxic Hyphanet Convos IRC FusionPBX soju KiwiIRC Glowing Bear Bonfire Pretalx Delta Chat Notifo SimpleX Briar Quassel IRC OTS matrix-commander Mumble Web Comentario BitlBee ngIRCd Miaou Session Nextcloud Talk Signaling Server UnrealIRCd MiroTalk C2C matrix-appservice-irc Linphone Chatmail Relay Hookshot Atheme IRC Services Maunium Sticker Picker Spectrum 2 Shhh Gamja Jami Server Bridge Mollysocket Anope PushBits Comm Heisenbridge Slixmpp Ferdium Server Solanum Wesh Network Draupnir baibot matrix-media-repo Charybdis IRCd Zusam Cactus Comments ircd-hybrid Scuttlebutt Room Robust IRC Flexisip SAMA Biboumi Hebbot ircu2 Libervia Jami YunoHost Mail Relay 3CX ARN-Messager Freepbx GNUnet Groupboard MailBag Mailman3 Mailing List Manager Mlmmj Web Peachpub PrivMX WebMail SIP3 TrueConf Wazo Yeti-Switch
Feature Converse.js The Lounge Category Matrix & XMPP Chat & Communication License MPL-2.0 MIT Language JavaScript TypeScript Setup difficulty Easy Easy Min. RAM 64 MB 256 MB Deployment docker, bare-metal, source docker, binary, source GitHub stars ★ 3,285 ★ 6,309 First released 2013 2014 Replaces Slack IRCCloud, Slack
Why pick each one
Choose Converse.js if… Released under the MPL-2.0 license Easy to set up — beginner-friendly First-class Docker support for quick deployment Active community (3.3k GitHub stars) Converse.js details Choose The Lounge if… Great IRC experience in the browser Multi-user support The Lounge details
Frequently asked questions Is Converse.js or The Lounge better? Neither is universally better. The Lounge has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Converse.js and The Lounge free and open-source? Yes. Converse.js is licensed under MPL-2.0 and The Lounge under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Converse.js and The Lounge with Docker? Converse.js: yes. The Lounge: yes.