Berty vs Robust IRC

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?
FeatureBertyRobust IRC
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0BSD-3-Clause
LanguageTypeScriptGo
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 9,268★ 195
First released20182020
ReplacesWhatsApp, Signal

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
Berty details

Choose Robust IRC if…

  • Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
  • Written in Go
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Robust IRC details

Frequently asked questions

Is Berty or Robust IRC better?

Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while Robust IRC is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Berty and Robust IRC free and open-source?

Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Robust IRC under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Berty and Robust IRC with Docker?

Berty: check the project docs for container support. Robust IRC: check the project docs for container support.

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