Dendrite Lite vs Tuwunel
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
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Tuwunel
Simple, fast and reliable chat server powered by Matrix based on
| Feature | Dendrite Lite | Tuwunel |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 955 | ★ 2,407 |
| First released | 2017 | 2025 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Conduit, Dendrite, Synapse |
Why pick each one
Choose Tuwunel if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendrite Lite or Tuwunel better?
Neither is universally better. Tuwunel has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dendrite Lite and Tuwunel free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite Lite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Tuwunel under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite Lite and Tuwunel with Docker?
Dendrite Lite: yes. Tuwunel: check the project docs for container support.