Etherpad vs Gamja

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureEtherpadGamja
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB32 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcebare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 18,481★ 400
First released20112020
ReplacesGoogle DocsIRCCloud

Why pick each one

Choose Etherpad if…

  • Very mature and stable
  • Highly extensible
Etherpad details

Choose Gamja if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in JavaScript
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Gamja details

Frequently asked questions

Is Etherpad or Gamja better?

Neither is universally better. Etherpad has the larger community, while Gamja is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Etherpad and Gamja free and open-source?

Yes. Etherpad is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Gamja under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Etherpad and Gamja with Docker?

Etherpad: yes. Gamja: check the project docs for container support.

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