SHSelfHostIndex

Anope vs ircd-hybrid

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
AN Anope IRC services suite for nickname and channel registration VS IR ircd-hybrid Lightweight and stable IRC server daemon
FeatureAnopeircd-hybrid
Deploy effortRead-the-docs projectRead-the-docs project
Health score77 · Good69 · Good
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-2.0
LanguageC++C
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM64 MB64 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcebare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 365★ 200
First released20031997
ReplacesSlackSlack, Discord

What are Anope and ircd-hybrid?

Anope

Anope is a set of IRC services that provides NickServ, ChanServ, and related registration features for IRC networks. It works with most major IRCd implementations and supports SQL and LDAP backends.

  • NickServ and ChanServ
  • Works with many IRCds
  • SQL and LDAP integration
  • Web panel available

ircd-hybrid

ircd-hybrid is a long-standing IRC server daemon known for stability and a lightweight footprint. It supports modern IRC features and modular extensions, and can be self-hosted to run an IRC network.

  • Stable lightweight IRC daemon
  • Modular extensions
  • Long-standing project

Anope vs ircd-hybrid: key differences

Anope is written in C++, while ircd-hybrid is built with C. Ircd-hybrid is the more established project (first released 1997), while Anope arrived in 2003.

Why pick each one

Choose Anope if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Written in C++
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Anope details

Choose ircd-hybrid if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Written in C
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
ircd-hybrid details

Frequently asked questions

Is Anope or ircd-hybrid better?

Neither is universally better. Anope has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Anope and ircd-hybrid free and open-source?

Yes. Anope is licensed under GPL-2.0 and ircd-hybrid under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Anope and ircd-hybrid with Docker?

Anope: check the project docs for container support. ircd-hybrid: check the project docs for container support.

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