Groupboard vs SimpleX Chat

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?
FeatureGroupboardSimpleX Chat
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
License⊘ ProprietaryAGPL-3.0
LanguageUnknownHaskell
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 19,211
First released20202021
ReplacesSignal, WhatsApp, Telegram

Why pick each one

Choose Groupboard if…

  • Released under the ⊘ Proprietary license
  • Written in Unknown
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Groupboard details

Choose SimpleX Chat if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Groupboard or SimpleX Chat better?

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

Are Groupboard and SimpleX Chat free and open-source?

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

Can I run Groupboard and SimpleX Chat with Docker?

Groupboard: check the project docs for container support. SimpleX Chat: yes.

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