Dendrite Lite vs Openfire
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
Openfire
Real-time collaboration XMPP server written in Java
| Feature | Dendrite Lite | Openfire |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 955 | ★ 3,052 |
| First released | 2017 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Microsoft Teams |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendrite Lite or Openfire better?
Neither is universally better. Openfire has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dendrite Lite and Openfire free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite Lite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Openfire under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite Lite and Openfire with Docker?
Dendrite Lite: yes. Openfire: yes.