SHSelfHostIndex

Spark IM vs Peer-calls

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?
SP Spark IM Cross-platform XMPP instant messaging client VS PE Peer-calls Group peer to peer video calls for everyone
FeatureSpark IMPeer-calls
CategoryTeam ChatChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageJavaGo
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM256 MB50 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 601★ 1,903
First released20042024
ReplacesSlack, SkypeBigBlueButton, Skype, Zoom

Why pick each one

Choose Spark IM if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in Java
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Spark IM details

Choose Peer-calls if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Go
Peer-calls details

Frequently asked questions

Is Spark IM or Peer-calls better?

Neither is universally better. Peer-calls has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Spark IM and Peer-calls free and open-source?

Yes. Spark IM is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Peer-calls under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Spark IM and Peer-calls with Docker?

Spark IM: check the project docs for container support. Peer-calls: check the project docs for container support.

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