Rustpad vs SimpleX Chat

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?
FeatureRustpadSimpleX Chat
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageRustHaskell
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 4,070★ 19,211
First released20212021
ReplacesGoogle Docs, EtherpadSignal, WhatsApp, Telegram

Why pick each one

Choose Rustpad if…

  • Extremely lightweight
  • Instant setup
Rustpad details

Choose SimpleX Chat if…

  • Best-in-class metadata privacy
  • Run your own relays
SimpleX Chat details

Frequently asked questions

Is Rustpad or SimpleX Chat better?

Neither is universally better. SimpleX Chat has the larger community, while Rustpad is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Rustpad and SimpleX Chat free and open-source?

Yes. Rustpad is licensed under MIT and SimpleX Chat under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Rustpad and SimpleX Chat with Docker?

Rustpad: yes. SimpleX Chat: yes.

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