Berty vs Charybdis IRCd
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?
Berty
Peer-to-peer messaging app that works offline
VS
Charybdis IRCd
IRC server daemon for large networks
| Feature | Berty | Charybdis IRCd |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,268 | ★ 230 |
| First released | 2018 | 2008 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | Discord, Slack |
Why pick each one
Choose Berty if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 9.3k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Charybdis IRCd if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Berty or Charybdis IRCd better?
Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while Charybdis IRCd is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Berty and Charybdis IRCd free and open-source?
Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Charybdis IRCd under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Berty and Charybdis IRCd with Docker?
Berty: check the project docs for container support. Charybdis IRCd: check the project docs for container support.