ejabberd vs Movim
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | ejabberd | Movim |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Erlang | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,732 | ★ 2,055 |
| First released | 2002 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Slack, WhatsApp | Facebook, Slack |
What are ejabberd and Movim?
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
Movim
Movim is a federated social networking and instant messaging platform built on the XMPP protocol. It provides a modern web interface for chat, group conversations, and a publish-subscribe news feed.
- XMPP-based federation
- Modern web chat interface
- Built-in blogging and news feed
- OMEMO end-to-end encryption
ejabberd vs Movim: key differences
Ejabberd is written in Erlang, while Movim is built with PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for ejabberd versus AGPL-3.0 for Movim. Ejabberd is the more established project (first released 2002), while Movim arrived in 2010. Ejabberd has the considerably larger community, at 6,732 GitHub stars versus 2,055.
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 Movim if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Watch out for
- Requires an XMPP server
- Smaller ecosystem
Frequently asked questions
Is ejabberd or Movim better?
Neither is universally better. ejabberd has the larger community, while Movim is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ejabberd and Movim free and open-source?
Yes. ejabberd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Movim under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ejabberd and Movim with Docker?
ejabberd: yes. Movim: yes.