Dendrite vs Movim
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
Movim
Social and chat platform built on XMPP
| Feature | Dendrite | Movim |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,632 | ★ 2,038 |
| First released | 2017 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Facebook, Slack |
Why pick each one
Choose Movim if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendrite or Movim better?
Neither is universally better. Dendrite has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dendrite and Movim free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Movim under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite and Movim with Docker?
Dendrite: yes. Movim: yes.