Papercups vs Wesh Network
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
Wesh Network
P2P encrypted messaging protocol toolkit
| Feature | Papercups | Wesh Network |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Elixir | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,097 | ★ 248 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Intercom, Drift | Signal, WhatsApp |
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 Wesh Network if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Papercups or Wesh Network better?
Papercups is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Wesh Network if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Papercups and Wesh Network free and open-source?
Yes. Papercups is licensed under MIT and Wesh Network under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Papercups and Wesh Network with Docker?
Papercups: yes. Wesh Network: check the project docs for container support.