Etherpad vs Slixmpp

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?
FeatureEtherpadSlixmpp
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageTypeScriptPython
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcesource
GitHub stars★ 18,481★ 300
First released20112014
ReplacesGoogle DocsSlack apps

Why pick each one

Choose Etherpad if…

  • Very mature and stable
  • Highly extensible
Etherpad details

Choose Slixmpp if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Written in Python
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Slixmpp details

Frequently asked questions

Is Etherpad or Slixmpp better?

Neither is universally better. Etherpad has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Etherpad and Slixmpp free and open-source?

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

Can I run Etherpad and Slixmpp with Docker?

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

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