FluffyChat vs Dendrite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
FluffyChat
Cute, cross-platform Matrix messenger
VS
Dendrite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
| Feature | FluffyChat | Dendrite |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Dart | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,039 | ★ 5,632 |
| First released | 2019 | 2017 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Telegram | Slack, Discord |
Why pick each one
Choose FluffyChat if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Dart
Frequently asked questions
Is FluffyChat or Dendrite better?
Neither is universally better. Dendrite has the larger community, while FluffyChat is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are FluffyChat and Dendrite free and open-source?
Yes. FluffyChat is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Dendrite under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FluffyChat and Dendrite with Docker?
FluffyChat: check the project docs for container support. Dendrite: yes.