Mailing List Manager vs SimpleX Chat

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureMailing List ManagerSimpleX Chat
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageHaskell
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM50 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 19,211
First released20242021
ReplacesSignal, WhatsApp, Telegram

Why pick each one

Choose Mailing List Manager if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Mailing List Manager details

Choose SimpleX Chat if…

  • Best-in-class metadata privacy
  • Run your own relays
SimpleX Chat details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mailing List Manager or SimpleX Chat better?

Neither is universally better. SimpleX Chat has the larger community, while Mailing List Manager is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Mailing List Manager and SimpleX Chat free and open-source?

Yes. Mailing List Manager is licensed under MIT and SimpleX Chat under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Mailing List Manager and SimpleX Chat with Docker?

Mailing List Manager: check the project docs for container support. SimpleX Chat: yes.

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