Maubot vs Openfire
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?
Maubot
Plugin-based bot framework for Matrix chat rooms
VS
Openfire
Real-time collaboration XMPP server written in Java
| Feature | Maubot | Openfire |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 891 | ★ 3,052 |
| First released | 2018 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Slack bots | Slack, Microsoft Teams |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Maubot or Openfire better?
Neither is universally better. Openfire has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Maubot and Openfire free and open-source?
Yes. Maubot is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Openfire under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Maubot and Openfire with Docker?
Maubot: yes. Openfire: yes.