Nextcloud Talk 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?
FeatureNextcloud TalkSimpleX Chat
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageJavaScriptHaskell
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 2,172★ 19,211
First released20182021
ReplacesSlack, Zoom, Microsoft TeamsSignal, WhatsApp, Telegram

Why pick each one

Choose Nextcloud Talk if…

  • Tight Nextcloud integration
  • End-to-end encrypted calls
Nextcloud Talk details

Choose SimpleX Chat if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Nextcloud Talk or SimpleX Chat better?

Neither is universally better. SimpleX Chat has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Nextcloud Talk and SimpleX Chat free and open-source?

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

Can I run Nextcloud Talk and SimpleX Chat with Docker?

Nextcloud Talk: yes. SimpleX Chat: yes.

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