Mollysocket 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?
FeatureMollysocketSimpleX Chat
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseAGPL-3.0-or-laterAGPL-3.0
LanguageRustHaskell
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM50 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 375★ 19,211
First released20242021
ReplacesSignal, WhatsApp, Telegram

Why pick each one

Choose Mollysocket if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in Rust
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Mollysocket details

Choose SimpleX Chat if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Mollysocket or SimpleX Chat better?

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

Are Mollysocket and SimpleX Chat free and open-source?

Yes. Mollysocket is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later and SimpleX Chat under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Mollysocket and SimpleX Chat with Docker?

Mollysocket: check the project docs for container support. SimpleX Chat: yes.

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