Dendrite vs MongooseIM
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Dendrite | MongooseIM |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 85 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| 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, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,625 | ★ 1,760 |
| First released | 2017 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, WhatsApp |
What are Dendrite and MongooseIM?
Dendrite
Dendrite is a lightweight, efficient Matrix homeserver written in Go by the Matrix.org team. It is designed to be a more resource-efficient alternative to Synapse while remaining fully compatible with the Matrix protocol.
- Lower memory footprint than Synapse
- Federated Matrix protocol
- End-to-end encryption support
- Polylith and monolith deployment modes
MongooseIM
MongooseIM is an enterprise-grade XMPP server written in Erlang, designed for high scalability and reliability. It supports clustering, REST APIs, and modern messaging extensions.
- Built for massive scale
- Clustering and high availability
- GraphQL and REST admin APIs
- Modern XEP support
Dendrite vs MongooseIM: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Dendrite's repository is archived and no longer developed, while MongooseIM is actively maintained. Dendrite is written in Go, while MongooseIM is built with Erlang. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Dendrite versus GPL-2.0 for MongooseIM. Dendrite is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for MongooseIM. MongooseIM is the more established project (first released 2012), while Dendrite arrived in 2017. Dendrite has the considerably larger community, at 5,625 GitHub stars versus 1,760.
Why pick each one
Choose Dendrite if…
- Much lighter than Synapse
- Active development by Matrix.org
Watch out for
- Some Synapse features still missing
- Less battle-tested at large scale
Choose MongooseIM if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Erlang
Watch out for
- Complex deployment
- Requires Erlang knowledge to extend
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendrite or MongooseIM better?
Dendrite is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Dendrite if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Dendrite and MongooseIM free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite 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 and MongooseIM with Docker?
Dendrite: yes. MongooseIM: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Dendrite or MongooseIM?
Dendrite has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for MongooseIM. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.