# ejabberd vs Lemmy

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

| | ejabberd | Lemmy |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 75/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #5 of 110 in Chat | #3 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums |
| GitHub stars | 6 749 | 14 653 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +16 | +44 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | 26.09 · 29 Sept 2026 | 0.19.21 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Erlang | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Lemmy scores 75/100 against 72/100 for ejabberd, so it is the safer default.

ejabberd ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Lemmy.

If you want the quickest setup, Lemmy is easier to run; ejabberd needs more configuration.

Lemmy is growing faster right now (+44 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [ejabberd](https://selfhost.directory/project/ejabberd) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/ejabberd.md)
- [Lemmy](https://selfhost.directory/project/lemmy) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/lemmy.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/ejabberd-vs-lemmy