Convos IRC vs mautrix-whatsapp
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?
Convos IRC
Always-online web IRC client you can self-host
VS
mautrix-whatsapp
Matrix-WhatsApp puppeting bridge
| Feature | Convos IRC | mautrix-whatsapp |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Artistic-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,188 | ★ 1,855 |
| First released | 2012 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Slack, IRCCloud | WhatsApp official client |
Why pick each one
Choose mautrix-whatsapp if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Convos IRC or mautrix-whatsapp better?
Neither is universally better. mautrix-whatsapp has the larger community, while Convos IRC is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Convos IRC and mautrix-whatsapp free and open-source?
Yes. Convos IRC is licensed under Artistic-2.0 and mautrix-whatsapp under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Convos IRC and mautrix-whatsapp with Docker?
Convos IRC: yes. mautrix-whatsapp: yes.