Convos IRC vs MongooseIM
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
MongooseIM
Scalable, robust XMPP messaging platform
| Feature | Convos IRC | MongooseIM |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Artistic-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Erlang |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,188 | ★ 1,748 |
| First released | 2012 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Slack, IRCCloud | Slack, WhatsApp |
Why pick each one
Choose MongooseIM if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Erlang
Frequently asked questions
Is Convos IRC or MongooseIM better?
Neither is universally better. MongooseIM 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 MongooseIM free and open-source?
Yes. Convos IRC is licensed under Artistic-2.0 and MongooseIM under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Convos IRC and MongooseIM with Docker?
Convos IRC: yes. MongooseIM: yes.