Dendrite vs Monocles Chat
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
Monocles Chat
Privacy-focused XMPP messenger for Android
| Feature | Dendrite | Monocles Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,632 | ★ 100 |
| First released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | WhatsApp, Signal |
Why pick each one
Choose Monocles Chat if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Java
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendrite or Monocles Chat better?
Neither is universally better. Dendrite has the larger community, while Monocles Chat is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dendrite and Monocles Chat free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Monocles Chat under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite and Monocles Chat with Docker?
Dendrite: yes. Monocles Chat: check the project docs for container support.