matrix-commander 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?
matrix-commander
Command-line tool for sending and receiving Matrix messages
VS
Papercups
Open-source live chat and customer messaging
| Feature | matrix-commander | Papercups |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 745 | ★ 6,097 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Slack CLI | Intercom, Drift |
Why pick each one
Choose matrix-commander if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 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 matrix-commander or Papercups better?
Neither is universally better. Papercups has the larger community, while matrix-commander is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are matrix-commander and Papercups free and open-source?
Yes. matrix-commander is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Papercups under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run matrix-commander and Papercups with Docker?
matrix-commander: check the project docs for container support. Papercups: yes.