Tigase Review, Pricing & Features

Tigase is an open-source, Java-based XMPP server for real-time messaging, presence, and IoT. See features, licensing, and pricing options.

Category
Team Chat
Pricing
open-source, from Free (AGPLv3); commercial licensing available on request
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2010
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States
APIOpen SourceSelf-Hosted

What Is Tigase

Tigase is a high-performance XMPP (Jabber) server used to build real-time messaging, presence, and communication systems. Its origins go back to an open-source project started by developer Artur Hefczyc in October 2004, and the commercial company behind it, Tigase, Inc., was formally founded in 2010 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Tigase XMPP Server is written in Java and implements the open XMPP protocol standard, the same decentralized, federated messaging protocol historically used by Jabber-based chat systems. Tigase has also been an active sponsor of the XMPP Standards Foundation, contributing to the evolution of the protocol itself alongside its server products.

The software is dual-licensed, offered as fully free and open source under the AGPLv3 license, with an optional commercial license available for organizations that need to build closed-source or proprietary products without AGPLv3's copyleft requirements.

Key Features

Tigase supports horizontal clustering, allowing deployments to scale across multiple nodes for high availability and larger user bases, along with a pluggable component architecture that lets administrators extend or customize server behavior without modifying the core codebase.

The server implements key XMPP extensions such as multi-user chat (MUC) for group conversations and PubSub for publish-subscribe messaging patterns, and it exposes REST and WebSocket APIs so modern web and mobile clients can integrate without needing native XMPP client libraries.

Tigase also provides its own client libraries for iOS, Android, and desktop platforms, along with support for push notifications and mobile-optimized connection handling, and has positioned its technology for IoT messaging use cases in addition to traditional chat applications.

Pricing

The open-source edition of Tigase XMPP Server is free to use under the AGPLv3 license, with full access to the source code for self-hosted deployment at any scale.

For organizations that cannot comply with AGPLv3's copyleft terms, Tigase offers a commercial license along with separate technical support plans; pricing for both is not publicly published and is provided on a custom basis by contacting Tigase's sales team, with tiers historically differentiated by deployment size, from smaller systems up to large-scale deployments with 100,000 or more users.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Mature, battle-tested XMPP implementation with roots dating back to 2004
  • Free and open source under AGPLv3 for self-hosted deployment
  • Highly scalable through horizontal clustering for large deployments
  • Active involvement in XMPP protocol standards as a Foundation sponsor
  • Flexible commercial licensing available for proprietary, closed-source use

Cons

  • XMPP has a steeper learning curve than many modern REST or WebSocket-based chat APIs
  • Documentation can be dense for developers new to the protocol
  • Smaller community and ecosystem than mainstream hosted chat infrastructure providers
  • Commercial licensing and support pricing are not publicly published and require a sales inquiry

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Tigase

Tigase is an open-source, Java-based XMPP (Jabber) server used to build real-time messaging, presence, and communication systems.

Is Tigase free to use

Yes, Tigase XMPP Server is free and open source under the AGPLv3 license; a separate commercial license is available for proprietary use cases.

Who created Tigase

The Tigase project was started by developer Artur Hefczyc in October 2004, with Tigase, Inc. formally founded in 2010.

What protocol does Tigase use

Tigase implements XMPP, also known as Jabber, an open, federated messaging and presence protocol standard.

Does Tigase support group chat

Yes, Tigase supports multi-user chat (MUC) for group conversations as well as PubSub for publish-subscribe messaging.

Can Tigase scale to large user bases

Yes, Tigase supports horizontal clustering, allowing deployments to scale across multiple nodes for high availability and large user counts.

Is Tigase used for IoT messaging

Yes, Tigase's lightweight presence and messaging capabilities are also positioned for IoT communication use cases.

How much does Tigase's commercial license cost

Commercial licensing and support pricing are not publicly published and require contacting Tigase's sales team for a custom quote.

Related Tools