Dendrite vs The Lounge

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?
FeatureDendriteThe Lounge
CategoryMatrix & XMPPChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageGoTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 5,632★ 6,309
First released20172014
ReplacesSlack, DiscordIRCCloud, Slack

Why pick each one

Choose Dendrite if…

  • Much lighter than Synapse
  • Active development by Matrix.org
Dendrite details

Choose The Lounge if…

  • Great IRC experience in the browser
  • Multi-user support
The Lounge details

Frequently asked questions

Is Dendrite or The Lounge better?

The Lounge is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Dendrite if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Dendrite and The Lounge free and open-source?

Yes. Dendrite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and The Lounge under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Dendrite and The Lounge with Docker?

Dendrite: yes. The Lounge: yes.

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