Ergo vs Dendrite Lite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Ergo
Modern IRC server with IRCv3 and bouncer features
VS
Dendrite Lite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
| Feature | Ergo | Dendrite Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,288 | ★ 955 |
| First released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Ergo or Dendrite Lite better?
Neither is universally better. Ergo has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ergo and Dendrite Lite free and open-source?
Yes. Ergo is licensed under MIT and Dendrite Lite under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ergo and Dendrite Lite with Docker?
Ergo: yes. Dendrite Lite: yes.