Mumble vs SimpleX
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?
Mumble
Low-latency, high-quality voice chat application
VS
SimpleX
Messaging platform operating without user identifiers
| Feature | Mumble | SimpleX |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,175 | ★ 838 |
| First released | 2005 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Discord, TeamSpeak, Ventrilo | — |
Why pick each one
Choose SimpleX if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Haskell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Mumble or SimpleX better?
Neither is universally better. Mumble has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Mumble and SimpleX free and open-source?
Yes. Mumble is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and SimpleX under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mumble and SimpleX with Docker?
Mumble: yes. SimpleX: check the project docs for container support.