Dendrite Lite vs Spacebar
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — 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
Spacebar
Self-hostable, open-source Discord-compatible chat backend
| Feature | Dendrite Lite | Spacebar |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 955 | ★ 2,189 |
| First released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Discord |
Why pick each one
Choose Spacebar if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendrite Lite or Spacebar better?
Neither is universally better. Spacebar 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 Spacebar free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite Lite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Spacebar under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite Lite and Spacebar with Docker?
Dendrite Lite: yes. Spacebar: yes.