Dendrite vs Nextcloud Talk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Dendrite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
VS
Nextcloud Talk
Chat, video calls and webinars integrated into Nextcloud
| Feature | Dendrite | Nextcloud Talk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,632 | ★ 2,172 |
| First released | 2017 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams |
Why pick each one
Choose Nextcloud Talk if…
- Tight Nextcloud integration
- End-to-end encrypted calls
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendrite or Nextcloud Talk 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 Nextcloud Talk free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Nextcloud Talk under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite and Nextcloud Talk with Docker?
Dendrite: yes. Nextcloud Talk: yes.