Atheme IRC Services vs ngIRCd
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Atheme IRC Services | ngIRCd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 59 · Fair | 76 · Good |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | ISC | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 429 | ★ 578 |
| First released | 2005 | 2001 |
| Replaces | Slack | Slack |
What are Atheme IRC Services and ngIRCd?
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
ngIRCd
ngIRCd is a free, portable, and lightweight IRC server for small to mid-sized networks. It focuses on simplicity, low resource use, and a straightforward configuration file.
- Very low resource use
- Simple configuration
- IPv6 and TLS support
- No external dependencies
Atheme IRC Services vs ngIRCd: key differences
Both projects are written in C. Licensing differs — ISC for Atheme IRC Services versus GPL-2.0 for ngIRCd. NgIRCd is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 64 MB for Atheme IRC Services. NgIRCd is the more established project (first released 2001), while Atheme IRC Services arrived in 2005.
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 ngIRCd if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Atheme IRC Services or ngIRCd better?
ngIRCd is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Atheme IRC Services if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Atheme IRC Services and ngIRCd free and open-source?
Yes. Atheme IRC Services is licensed under ISC and ngIRCd under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Atheme IRC Services and ngIRCd with Docker?
Atheme IRC Services: check the project docs for container support. ngIRCd: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Atheme IRC Services or ngIRCd?
ngIRCd has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 64 MB for Atheme IRC Services. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.