Atheme IRC Services vs InspIRCd
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
InspIRCd
Modular C++ Internet Relay Chat daemon
| Feature | Atheme IRC Services | InspIRCd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 59 · Fair | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | ISC | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 429 | ★ 1,347 |
| First released | 2005 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Slack | Slack, Discord |
What are Atheme IRC Services and InspIRCd?
Atheme IRC Services
Atheme is a set of IRC services designed for large and highly scalable IRC networks. It provides account registration, channel management, and a flexible modular architecture.
- Scales to large networks
- Modular service design
- Account and channel management
- Used by historic IRC networks
InspIRCd
InspIRCd is a modular, high-performance IRC server written in C++. Its plugin-based architecture lets administrators enable only the features they need for their network.
- Modular plugin architecture
- Lightweight and fast
- Supports large IRC networks
- Cross-platform
Atheme IRC Services vs InspIRCd: key differences
Atheme IRC Services is written in C, while InspIRCd is built with C++. Licensing differs — ISC for Atheme IRC Services versus GPL-2.0 for InspIRCd. InspIRCd is the more established project (first released 2002), while Atheme IRC Services arrived in 2005. InspIRCd has the considerably larger community, at 1,347 GitHub stars versus 429. InspIRCd lists first-class Docker deployment; Atheme IRC Services does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Atheme IRC Services if…
- Released under the ISC license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose InspIRCd if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Watch out for
- Configuration is XML-based
- IRC-only
Frequently asked questions
Is Atheme IRC Services or InspIRCd better?
InspIRCd is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Atheme IRC Services if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Atheme IRC Services and InspIRCd free and open-source?
Yes. Atheme IRC Services is licensed under ISC and InspIRCd under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Atheme IRC Services and InspIRCd with Docker?
Atheme IRC Services: check the project docs for container support. InspIRCd: yes.