Convos vs Dendrite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Convos | Dendrite |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Artistic-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Perl | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,191 | ★ 5,625 |
| First released | 2012 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Slack, IRCCloud | Slack, Discord |
What are Convos and Dendrite?
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
Dendrite
Dendrite is a lightweight, efficient Matrix homeserver written in Go by the Matrix.org team. It is designed to be a more resource-efficient alternative to Synapse while remaining fully compatible with the Matrix protocol.
- Lower memory footprint than Synapse
- Federated Matrix protocol
- End-to-end encryption support
- Polylith and monolith deployment modes
Convos vs Dendrite: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Dendrite's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Convos is actively maintained. Convos is written in Perl, while Dendrite is built with Go. Licensing differs — Artistic-2.0 for Convos versus Apache-2.0 for Dendrite. Convos is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Dendrite. Convos is the more established project (first released 2012), while Dendrite arrived in 2017. Dendrite has the considerably larger community, at 5,625 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 Dendrite if…
- Much lighter than Synapse
- Active development by Matrix.org
Watch out for
- Some Synapse features still missing
- Less battle-tested at large scale
Frequently asked questions
Is Convos or Dendrite better?
Neither is universally better. Dendrite 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 Dendrite free and open-source?
Yes. Convos is licensed under Artistic-2.0 and Dendrite under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Convos and Dendrite with Docker?
Convos: yes. Dendrite: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Convos or Dendrite?
Convos has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Dendrite. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.