Chatmail Relay vs ejabberd
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?
Chatmail Relay
Minimal email server tuned for Delta Chat messaging
VS
ejabberd
Robust, scalable XMPP messaging server
| Feature | Chatmail Relay | ejabberd |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Erlang |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 476 | ★ 6,711 |
| First released | 2023 | 2002 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | Slack, WhatsApp |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Chatmail Relay or ejabberd better?
Neither is universally better. ejabberd has the larger community, while Chatmail Relay is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Chatmail Relay and ejabberd free and open-source?
Yes. Chatmail Relay is licensed under MPL-2.0 and ejabberd under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Chatmail Relay and ejabberd with Docker?
Chatmail Relay: yes. ejabberd: yes.