head to head · open source
Signal vs Quiet
Signal has 29,352 GitHub stars, 6,888 forks, 498 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Quiet has 2,648 stars, 145 forks, 773 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Signal leads on adoption by 1,008% (29,352 vs 2,648 stars). Signal is written in Kotlin under AGPL-3.0; Quiet is written in C under GPL-3.0. Signal has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, Quiet 5%. Quiet was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Signal | Quiet | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 2.6K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Kotlin | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 145 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Signal if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Quiet if
- You want the Quiet feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and Quiet fits your workflow better
About Signal
Signal Android is a secure messaging application for Android devices that delivers private communication via end to end encryption. Developed by Signal Messenger, LLC, it operates within the broader Signal ecosystem, which includes official iOS and desktop clients. The app uses mobile data or Wi Fi to send and receive encrypted messages, voice calls, and video calls without relying on traditional SMS or telephony infrastructure.
read the full Signal overview →
About Quiet
Quiet is an open source team chat application that aims to provide a private, peer to peer alternative to Slack, Discord, and Element. It is built around Tor and IPFS, and it is designed so that a team can communicate without trusting a central service or operating its own server. The project lives in the privacy and decentralized software ecosystem.
read the full Quiet overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Signal or Quiet more popular?
Signal has 29,352 GitHub stars and Quiet has 2,648. Signal has the larger community by that measure.
Are Signal and Quiet free?
Both are open source. Signal is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Quiet under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Signal and Quiet?
Signal is written in Kotlin and Quiet in C. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Signal or Quiet?
Choose Signal if you want the larger community (29,352 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Quiet if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.