Chatmail Relay vs Mumble

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureChatmail RelayMumble
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseMPL-2.0BSD-3-Clause
LanguagePythonC++
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 476★ 8,175
First released20232005
ReplacesWhatsApp, SignalDiscord, TeamSpeak, Ventrilo

Why pick each one

Choose Chatmail Relay if…

  • Uses open email standards
  • Hard to censor
Chatmail Relay details

Choose Mumble if…

  • Excellent voice quality
  • Tiny resource footprint
Mumble details

Frequently asked questions

Is Chatmail Relay or Mumble better?

Mumble is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Chatmail Relay if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Chatmail Relay and Mumble free and open-source?

Yes. Chatmail Relay is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Mumble under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Chatmail Relay and Mumble with Docker?

Chatmail Relay: yes. Mumble: yes.

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