Asterisk vs Centrifugo
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?
Asterisk
Open-source framework for building telephony systems
VS
Centrifugo
Scalable real-time messaging server for apps and websites
| Feature | Asterisk | Centrifugo |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,431 | ★ 10,590 |
| First released | 1999 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Avaya, Cisco Unified Communications | Pusher, Firebase Realtime Database |
Why pick each one
Choose Asterisk if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is Asterisk or Centrifugo better?
Centrifugo is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Asterisk if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Asterisk and Centrifugo free and open-source?
Yes. Asterisk is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Centrifugo under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Asterisk and Centrifugo with Docker?
Asterisk: yes. Centrifugo: yes.