Indico 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?
Indico
Feature-rich event management system
VS
Papercups
Open-source live chat and customer messaging
| Feature | Indico | Papercups |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 200 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,094 | ★ 6,097 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Zoho Backstage | Intercom, Drift |
Why pick each one
Choose Indico if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
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 Indico or Papercups better?
Neither is universally better. Papercups has the larger community, while Indico is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Indico and Papercups free and open-source?
Yes. Indico is licensed under MIT and Papercups under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Indico and Papercups with Docker?
Indico: check the project docs for container support. Papercups: yes.