Convos vs Tinode
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Convos | Tinode |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Artistic-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Perl | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,191 | ★ 13,516 |
| First released | 2012 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Slack, IRCCloud | WhatsApp, Slack |
What are Convos and Tinode?
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
Tinode
Tinode is an open-source instant messaging server with a backend and clients designed as an alternative to closed messengers. It targets developers building chat into products. It is deployed via Docker or binaries.
- Lightweight messaging server
- Web, mobile and CLI clients
- Group and peer-to-peer chats
- Pluggable storage backends
Convos vs Tinode: key differences
Convos is written in Perl, while Tinode is built with Go. Licensing differs — Artistic-2.0 for Convos versus GPL-3.0 for Tinode. Convos is the more established project (first released 2012), while Tinode arrived in 2016. Tinode has the considerably larger community, at 13,516 GitHub stars versus 1,191.
Why pick each one
Choose Convos if…
- Stays connected for you
- Simple to deploy
Watch out for
- IRC only
- No voice or video
Choose Tinode if…
- Good developer foundation
- Multiple clients
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- More toolkit than product
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Convos or Tinode better?
Neither is universally better. Tinode has the larger community, while Convos is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Convos and Tinode free and open-source?
Yes. Convos is licensed under Artistic-2.0 and Tinode under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Convos and Tinode with Docker?
Convos: yes. Tinode: yes.