Dendrite Lite 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?
Dendrite Lite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
VS
MongooseIM
Scalable, robust XMPP messaging platform
| Feature | Dendrite Lite | MongooseIM |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Erlang |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 955 | ★ 1,748 |
| First released | 2017 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | 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 Dendrite Lite or MongooseIM better?
Neither is universally better. MongooseIM has the larger community, while Dendrite Lite is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dendrite Lite and MongooseIM free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite Lite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and MongooseIM under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite Lite and MongooseIM with Docker?
Dendrite Lite: yes. MongooseIM: yes.