Etherpad vs Peer-calls

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?
FeatureEtherpadPeer-calls
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB50 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 18,481★ 1,903
First released20112024
ReplacesGoogle DocsBigBlueButton, Skype, Zoom

Why pick each one

Choose Etherpad if…

  • Very mature and stable
  • Highly extensible
Etherpad details

Choose Peer-calls if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Go
Peer-calls details

Frequently asked questions

Is Etherpad or Peer-calls better?

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

Are Etherpad and Peer-calls free and open-source?

Yes. Etherpad is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Peer-calls under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Etherpad and Peer-calls with Docker?

Etherpad: yes. Peer-calls: check the project docs for container support.

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