Etherpad vs Screego

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?
FeatureEtherpadScreego
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB50 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 18,481★ 10,478
First released20112024
ReplacesGoogle Docs

Why pick each one

Choose Etherpad if…

  • Very mature and stable
  • Highly extensible
Etherpad details

Choose Screego if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Mature project with 10.5k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
Screego details

Frequently asked questions

Is Etherpad or Screego better?

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

Are Etherpad and Screego free and open-source?

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

Can I run Etherpad and Screego with Docker?

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

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