# setup-ipsec-vpn vs SimpleX Chat

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

| | setup-ipsec-vpn | SimpleX Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 ✓ | 74/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 56 in VPN | #4 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 28 890 ✓ | 19 614 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +324 ✓ | +141 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 12 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | v7.0.4 · 3 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Shell | Haskell |

## Which one should you pick?

setup-ipsec-vpn scores 78/100 against 74/100 for SimpleX Chat, so it is the safer default.

SimpleX Chat ships more often: 12 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for setup-ipsec-vpn.

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

setup-ipsec-vpn is growing faster right now (+324 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [setup-ipsec-vpn](https://selfhost.directory/project/setup-ipsec-vpn) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/setup-ipsec-vpn.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/setup-ipsec-vpn-vs-simplex-chat