# ejabberd review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> Erlang messaging server for XMPP, MQTT, SIP and Matrix

Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA.

ejabberd is a messaging server written in Erlang that speaks XMPP, MQTT, SIP and Matrix from one process. The Community Server is free under the GPLv2 license, and ProcessOne sells a Business Edition and a managed cloud service called Fluux. It is infrastructure for building or hosting chat rather than a finished team chat app.

- **Category:** Team Communication
- **Made by:** ProcessOne (since 2002)
- **Website:** https://www.process-one.net/ejabberd/
- **Runs on:** Windows, macOS, Linux
- **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you want a chat app, as it is a server and users need a separate client.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 13, 2026, ejabberd has a free plan, and paid plans start at €200 per month (Fluux managed cloud).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** The Community Server is free and open source under GPLv2, self-hosted.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Community Server | $0 | Open source under GPLv2; you host it yourself. Supports XMPP, MQTT, SIP and Matrix, with community forums and documentation. |
| Fluux Emerging | €200 per month, managed cloud, 1 node on shared servers | Managed by ProcessOne, with a shared-server domain and standard support. Price rises with traffic measured in Jabs: 9,000,000 Jabs at €200, 45,000,000 at €500. |
| Business Edition | €16,000 per year for a 2-node cluster | Commercial license with long-term support releases, push for iOS, Android and Firebase, and direct support from ProcessOne. Sold through sales. |

Read from https://www.process-one.net/compare/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with ejabberd before buying.

## Key features

- **Four protocols in one server:** XMPP, an MQTT broker, a SIP service and Matrix bridging run in the same process.
- **Clustering:** The Community Server has standard active-active clustering; the Business Edition and Fluux add consistent-hash clustering.
- **Mobile and web support:** Push notifications, message archive management, multi-device sync, WebSocket and BOSH are built into the server.
- **REST API and CLI:** A REST API and the ejabberdctl command line cover user and room management.
- **Database backends:** The site lists PostgreSQL, MySQL, LDAP and ODBC backends.
- **Business and managed options:** Long-term support releases, FIPS compliance and direct engineer support come with the Business Edition, and Fluux runs it as a managed service.

## Good for

- Developers building chat or messaging into a product
- Operators who need very large numbers of connected users
- Organizations that want XMPP self-hosted or fully managed

## Worth knowing

- It is a server, not a chat app: users need a separate XMPP client, and you run it yourself unless you pay for Fluux.
- Fluux is priced in euros and by traffic (Jabs) rather than per user; the first step is €200 a month, and the Growing and Established networks start at €1,400 and €6,000 a month.
- The Business Edition price of €16,000 a year is for a 2-node cluster, and its TURN/ICE relay and push features are not in the Community Server.
- Support on the Community Server is community forums and documentation only.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. ejabberd is an Erlang messaging server for XMPP, MQTT, SIP and Matrix, with clustering and a REST API. The Community edition is free to host yourself, but mobile push and relay features sit in a €16,000-a-year Business Edition. Users also need a separate chat app.

- **Value for money: C.** The Community Server is free to self-host. Managed Fluux starts at €200 a month and Business at €16,000 a year, so the paid side is steep.
- **Free plan and trial: B.** The Community Server is free under GPLv2 with no user cap, but you host it and some features are paid.
- **Features: C.** Four protocols, clustering and a REST API. TURN, ICE and mobile push are not in the free edition.
- **Ease of use: D.** No rating on record. It is server software, set up and run by an administrator.
- **Platforms and integrations: C.** Runs on Windows, Mac and Linux servers, with some integrations. It is a server, so users need a separate app.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from ProcessOne's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among team communication apps

- ejabberd's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 0 of the 75 other team communication apps we grade, and level with 8.
- It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 41 of 75) and worst on ease of use (D, above 1).
- Its paid plans start at about $223.44 a month, against a middle price of $6.90 for the category: 50 of the 51 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. 60 tools score higher and cost less.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/team-chat

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** To replace ejabberd you would be making chat that a whole team counts on staying up. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 67 of the 75 other team communication apps grade higher. It costs $2,681.28 a year. ejabberd is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.

- You could not: Chat that a whole team counts on staying up.
- You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows and Linux that stay in step with each other.
- You could not: It plugs into other products, PostgreSQL, MySQL and LDAP among them, and has an API.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

PostgreSQL, MySQL, LDAP, XMPPFramework, Smack

**Tags:** Open source, Self-hostable, Team chat, Public API

## Alternatives

- [Openfire](https://toolgpa.com/tools/openfire): Open-source XMPP chat server you run on your own hardware. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ejabberd-vs-openfire)
- [Matrix](https://toolgpa.com/tools/matrix): Open, decentralized network for chat and calls. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ejabberd-vs-matrix)
- [Mattermost](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mattermost): Self-hosted team messaging with playbooks, calls and boards. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ejabberd-vs-mattermost)
- [Rocket.Chat](https://toolgpa.com/tools/rocket-chat): Open-source, self-managed chat for security-focused teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ejabberd-vs-rocket-chat)
- [Zulip](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zulip): Open-source team chat that organizes channels by topic. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ejabberd-vs-zulip)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026:

- https://www.process-one.net/ejabberd/
- https://www.process-one.net/compare/
- https://www.process-one.net/fluux/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/ejabberd
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).