ejabberd vs mautrix-signal
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
mautrix-signal
Bridge connecting Signal messaging to Matrix
| Feature | ejabberd | mautrix-signal |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Erlang | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,711 | ★ 666 |
| First released | 2002 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Slack, WhatsApp | Signal |
Why pick each one
Choose mautrix-signal if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is ejabberd or mautrix-signal better?
Neither is universally better. ejabberd has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ejabberd and mautrix-signal free and open-source?
Yes. ejabberd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and mautrix-signal under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ejabberd and mautrix-signal with Docker?
ejabberd: yes. mautrix-signal: yes.