ejabberdvsZulip
Two self-hosted Chat projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| ejabberd | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 110 in Chat | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 6 751 | 26 217 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +10 | +194 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 9 |
| Latest release | 26.09 · 29 Sept 2026 | 13.1 · 13 Nov 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Erlang | Python |
Which one should you pick?
Zulip scores 82/100 against 72/100 for ejabberd, so it is the safer default.
Zulip ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for ejabberd.
If you want the quickest setup, Zulip is easier to run; ejabberd needs more configuration.
Zulip is growing faster right now (+194 stars in 30 days).
Key differences
- License: ejabberd is GPL-2.0, Zulip is Apache-2.0.
- Language: ejabberd is written mainly in Erlang, Zulip in Python.
- Platforms only ejabberd lists: Homebrew, Windows.
- Platforms only Zulip lists: Linux.
- Features only ejabberd lists: CLI Administration (ejabberdctl), Flexible Storage Backends, Horizontal Clustering, Live Code Upgrades and 10 more.
- Features only Zulip lists: Channels, Custom Emoji, Desktop App, Direct Messages and 10 more.
- Both offer: REST API.
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