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.
Not the right match-up?
Dendrite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
VS
MongooseIM
Scalable, robust XMPP messaging platform
| Feature | Dendrite | 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, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,632 | ★ 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 or MongooseIM better?
Dendrite is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider MongooseIM 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.