# Arcane vs SimpleX Chat

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Arcane | SimpleX Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 ✓ | 74/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 44 in Container Management | #4 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 8 102 | 19 612 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +533 ✓ | +142 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 31 ✓ | 12 |
| Latest release | v2.17.1 · 25 Oct 2026 ✓ | v7.0.4 · 3 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Haskell |

## Which one should you pick?

Arcane scores 76/100 against 74/100 for SimpleX Chat, so it is the safer default.

Arcane ships more often: 31 stable releases in the past year, against 12 for SimpleX Chat.

If you want the quickest setup, Arcane is easier to run; SimpleX Chat needs more configuration.

Arcane is growing faster right now (+533 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Arcane](https://selfhost.directory/project/arcane) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/arcane.md)
- [SimpleX Chat](https://selfhost.directory/project/simplex-chat) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/simplex-chat.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/arcane-vs-simplex-chat