Nextcloud Talk vs The Lounge

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 TalkThe Lounge
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseAGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageJavaScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 2,172★ 6,309
First released20182014
ReplacesSlack, Zoom, Microsoft TeamsIRCCloud, Slack

Why pick each one

Choose Nextcloud Talk if…

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

Choose The Lounge if…

  • Great IRC experience in the browser
  • Multi-user support
The Lounge details

Frequently asked questions

Is Nextcloud Talk or The Lounge better?

The Lounge is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Nextcloud Talk if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Nextcloud Talk and The Lounge free and open-source?

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

Can I run Nextcloud Talk and The Lounge with Docker?

Nextcloud Talk: yes. The Lounge: yes.

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