Dendrite Lite 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?
Dendrite Lite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
VS
mautrix-whatsapp
Matrix-WhatsApp puppeting bridge
| Feature | Dendrite Lite | mautrix-whatsapp |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 955 | ★ 1,855 |
| First released | 2017 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | 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 Dendrite Lite or mautrix-whatsapp better?
Neither is universally better. mautrix-whatsapp has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dendrite Lite and mautrix-whatsapp free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite Lite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mautrix-whatsapp under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite Lite and mautrix-whatsapp with Docker?
Dendrite Lite: yes. mautrix-whatsapp: yes.