Prosody vs Openfire
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Prosody
Modern XMPP communication server
VS
Openfire
Real-time collaboration XMPP server written in Java
| Feature | Prosody | Openfire |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 10 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | — | ★ 3,052 |
| First released | 2023 | 2004 |
| Replaces | — | Slack, Microsoft Teams |
Why pick each one
Choose Prosody if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Tiny footprint — runs in 10 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Prosody or Openfire better?
Neither is universally better. Openfire has the larger community, while Prosody is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Prosody and Openfire free and open-source?
Yes. Prosody is licensed under MIT and Openfire under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Prosody and Openfire with Docker?
Prosody: check the project docs for container support. Openfire: yes.