ejabberd vs MongooseIM
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
MongooseIM
Scalable, robust XMPP messaging platform
| Feature | ejabberd | MongooseIM |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Erlang | Erlang |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,711 | ★ 1,748 |
| First released | 2002 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Slack, WhatsApp | Slack, WhatsApp |
Why pick each one
Choose MongooseIM if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Erlang
Frequently asked questions
Is ejabberd or MongooseIM 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 MongooseIM free and open-source?
Yes. ejabberd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and MongooseIM under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ejabberd and MongooseIM with Docker?
ejabberd: yes. MongooseIM: yes.