Fractal vs Profanity
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?
Fractal
GNOME-native Matrix messaging client
VS
Profanity
Console-based XMPP client inspired by irssi
| Feature | Fractal | Profanity |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 900 | ★ 1,530 |
| First released | 2017 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack |
Why pick each one
Choose Fractal if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Profanity if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Fractal or Profanity better?
Neither is universally better. Profanity has the larger community, while Fractal is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Fractal and Profanity free and open-source?
Yes. Fractal is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Profanity under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fractal and Profanity with Docker?
Fractal: check the project docs for container support. Profanity: check the project docs for container support.