The Lounge vs Openfire

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?
FeatureThe LoungeOpenfire
CategoryChat & CommunicationMatrix & XMPP
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptJava
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 6,309★ 3,052
First released20142004
ReplacesIRCCloud, SlackSlack, Microsoft Teams

Why pick each one

Choose The Lounge if…

  • Great IRC experience in the browser
  • Multi-user support
The Lounge details

Choose Openfire if…

  • Easy to administer
  • Long track record
Openfire details

Frequently asked questions

Is The Lounge or Openfire better?

The Lounge is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Openfire if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are The Lounge and Openfire free and open-source?

Yes. The Lounge is licensed under MIT and Openfire under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run The Lounge and Openfire with Docker?

The Lounge: yes. Openfire: yes.

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