Linphone 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?
Linphone
Open-source SIP voice, video, and messaging client
VS
Papercups
Open-source live chat and customer messaging
| Feature | Linphone | Papercups |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | C++ | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 500 | ★ 6,097 |
| First released | 2001 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Skype, Zoom | Intercom, Drift |
Why pick each one
Choose Linphone if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
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 Linphone or Papercups better?
Neither is universally better. Papercups has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Linphone and Papercups free and open-source?
Yes. Linphone is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Papercups under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Linphone and Papercups with Docker?
Linphone: check the project docs for container support. Papercups: yes.