ejabberd vs Poezio
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
Poezio
Console XMPP client modeled after IRC clients
| Feature | ejabberd | Poezio |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Erlang | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,711 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2002 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Slack, WhatsApp | Slack |
Why pick each one
Choose Poezio if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is ejabberd or Poezio better?
Neither is universally better. ejabberd has the larger community, while Poezio is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ejabberd and Poezio free and open-source?
Yes. ejabberd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Poezio under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ejabberd and Poezio with Docker?
ejabberd: yes. Poezio: check the project docs for container support.