ejabberd vs Dendrite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
ejabberd
Robust, scalable XMPP messaging server
VS
Dendrite
Archived
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
| Feature | ejabberd | Dendrite |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| 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, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,732 | ★ 5,625 |
| First released | 2002 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Slack, WhatsApp | Slack, Discord |
What are ejabberd and Dendrite?
ejabberd
ejabberd is a robust and scalable XMPP server powering instant messaging, presence, and real-time communication. It targets operators running large messaging deployments. It is deployed via Docker or native packages.
- Highly scalable XMPP server
- Clustering support
- Many extension modules
- MQTT and SIP support
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
ejabberd vs Dendrite: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Dendrite's repository is archived and no longer developed, while ejabberd is actively maintained. Ejabberd is written in Erlang, while Dendrite is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for ejabberd versus Apache-2.0 for Dendrite. Ejabberd is the more established project (first released 2002), while Dendrite arrived in 2017.
Why pick each one
Choose ejabberd if…
- Extremely scalable
- Battle-tested
- Standards-based
Watch out for
- XMPP UX depends on clients
- Advanced config is complex
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 ejabberd or Dendrite better?
Neither is universally better. ejabberd has the larger community, while Dendrite is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ejabberd and Dendrite free and open-source?
Yes. ejabberd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Dendrite under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ejabberd and Dendrite with Docker?
ejabberd: yes. Dendrite: yes.