# MeshCore or Meshtastic - which should I choose?

Both are excellent. Choose based primarily on what your local community already uses. Don't pick a protocol solely on technical merits (routing efficiency, encryption) if it means being alone on the mesh - community presence matters more.

## Choose Meshtastic if:

- Your local area already has an active Meshtastic network
- You want the largest app ecosystem and community support
- You want the most beginner-friendly experience with polished apps
- You want the widest hardware compatibility

## Choose MeshCore if:

- Your local community uses MeshCore
- You are building dedicated repeater infrastructure
- You prefer MeshCore's selective routing model for direct messages (both MeshCore and current Meshtastic use public-key encryption for direct messages; neither provides Signal-style forward secrecy)
- You are deploying a large network (50+ nodes) where flooding creates congestion

## Can they interoperate?

No. Different packet formats and routing protocols. A MeshCore node and a Meshtastic node cannot communicate even on the same frequency. Many operators run both on separate devices for different purposes.

## Technical comparison

<table id="bkmrk-featuremeshtasticmes"><thead><tr><th>Feature</th><th>Meshtastic</th><th>MeshCore</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Routing</td><td>Flooding</td><td>Path-based (path discovery)</td></tr><tr><td>Community size</td><td>Larger</td><td>Smaller, more technical</td></tr><tr><td>Hardware support</td><td>Very broad</td><td>Good (915 MHz boards)</td></tr><tr><td>Best for</td><td>Personal use, joining existing mesh</td><td>Infrastructure, large networks</td></tr></tbody></table>