ejabberd vs Prose
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?
| Feature | ejabberd | Prose |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Erlang | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,711 | ★ 58 |
| First released | 2002 | 2025 |
| Replaces | Slack, WhatsApp | Discord, Facebook Messenger, Signal |
Why pick each one
Choose Prose if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Vue
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is ejabberd or Prose better?
Neither is universally better. ejabberd has the larger community, while Prose is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ejabberd and Prose free and open-source?
Yes. ejabberd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Prose under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ejabberd and Prose with Docker?
ejabberd: yes. Prose: check the project docs for container support.