Papercups vs Spectrum 2
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?
Papercups
Open-source live chat and customer messaging
VS
Spectrum 2
Transport and gateway framework for messaging networks
| Feature | Papercups | Spectrum 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Elixir | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,097 | ★ 418 |
| First released | 2020 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Intercom, Drift | Bitlbee |
Why pick each one
Choose Papercups if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Elixir
Choose Spectrum 2 if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Papercups or Spectrum 2 better?
Papercups is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Spectrum 2 if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Papercups and Spectrum 2 free and open-source?
Yes. Papercups is licensed under MIT and Spectrum 2 under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Papercups and Spectrum 2 with Docker?
Papercups: yes. Spectrum 2: yes.