Ferdium Server vs Papercups
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?
Ferdium Server
Self-hosted backend for syncing Ferdium settings
VS
Papercups
Open-source live chat and customer messaging
| Feature | Ferdium Server | Papercups |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 288 | ★ 6,097 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Franz Server | Intercom, Drift |
Why pick each one
Choose Ferdium Server if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Papercups if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Elixir
Frequently asked questions
Is Ferdium Server or Papercups better?
Neither is universally better. Papercups has the larger community, while Ferdium Server is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ferdium Server and Papercups free and open-source?
Yes. Ferdium Server is licensed under MIT and Papercups under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ferdium Server and Papercups with Docker?
Ferdium Server: yes. Papercups: yes.