Movim vs Zulip
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?
Movim
Social and chat platform built on XMPP
VS
Zulip
Threaded team chat that combines email and chat
| Feature | Movim | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Team Chat |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,038 | ★ 25,619 |
| First released | 2010 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Facebook, Slack | Slack, Microsoft Teams |
Why pick each one
Choose Movim if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Choose Zulip if…
- Excellent conversation organization
- Strong async workflow
- Fully open source
Frequently asked questions
Is Movim or Zulip better?
Neither is universally better. Zulip has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Movim and Zulip free and open-source?
Yes. Movim is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zulip under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Movim and Zulip with Docker?
Movim: yes. Zulip: yes.