ejabberd vs Openfire Pade Plugin
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
Openfire Pade Plugin
Meetings and messaging plugin for Openfire
| Feature | ejabberd | Openfire Pade Plugin |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Erlang | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,711 | ★ 60 |
| First released | 2002 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Slack, WhatsApp | Zoom, Slack |
Why pick each one
Choose Openfire Pade Plugin if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Written in JavaScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is ejabberd or Openfire Pade Plugin better?
Neither is universally better. ejabberd has the larger community, while Openfire Pade Plugin is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ejabberd and Openfire Pade Plugin free and open-source?
Yes. ejabberd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Openfire Pade Plugin under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ejabberd and Openfire Pade Plugin with Docker?
ejabberd: yes. Openfire Pade Plugin: check the project docs for container support.