ejabberd vs Dendrite Lite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
ejabberd
Robust, scalable XMPP messaging server
VS
Dendrite Lite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
| Feature | ejabberd | Dendrite Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Erlang | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,711 | ★ 955 |
| First released | 2002 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Slack, WhatsApp | Slack, Discord |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is ejabberd or Dendrite Lite better?
Neither is universally better. ejabberd has the larger community, while Dendrite Lite is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ejabberd and Dendrite Lite free and open-source?
Yes. ejabberd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Dendrite Lite under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ejabberd and Dendrite Lite with Docker?
ejabberd: yes. Dendrite Lite: yes.