Dendrite vs Profanity
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Dendrite | Profanity |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 84 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,625 | ★ 1,542 |
| First released | 2017 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack |
What are Dendrite and Profanity?
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
Profanity
Profanity is a console XMPP client whose interface is inspired by irssi. It supports OMEMO and OTR encryption, group chats, and a fully keyboard-driven workflow for the terminal.
- Terminal interface
- OMEMO and OTR encryption
- Keyboard-driven workflow
- Plugin support
Dendrite vs Profanity: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Dendrite's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Profanity is actively maintained. Dendrite is written in Go, while Profanity is built with C. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Dendrite versus GPL-3.0 for Profanity. Profanity is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Dendrite. Profanity 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 1,542. Dendrite lists first-class Docker deployment; Profanity does not.
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 Profanity if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendrite or Profanity 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 Profanity free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Profanity under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite and Profanity with Docker?
Dendrite: yes. Profanity: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Dendrite or Profanity?
Profanity has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Dendrite. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.