Focalboard vs SimpleX Chat

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureFocalboardSimpleX Chat
CategoryProject Management & TasksChat & Communication
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptHaskell
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 26,376★ 19,211
First released20212021
ReplacesTrello, Asana, NotionSignal, WhatsApp, Telegram

Why pick each one

Choose Focalboard if…

  • Clean Trello-like UI
  • Lightweight
  • Mattermost integration
Focalboard details

Choose SimpleX Chat if…

  • Best-in-class metadata privacy
  • Run your own relays
SimpleX Chat details

Frequently asked questions

Is Focalboard or SimpleX Chat better?

Focalboard is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider SimpleX Chat if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Focalboard and SimpleX Chat free and open-source?

Yes. Focalboard is licensed under MIT and SimpleX Chat under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Focalboard and SimpleX Chat with Docker?

Focalboard: yes. SimpleX Chat: yes.

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