Centrifugo 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?
Centrifugo
Scalable real-time messaging server for apps and websites
VS
Charybdis IRCd
IRC server daemon for large networks
| Feature | Centrifugo | Charybdis IRCd |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,590 | ★ 230 |
| First released | 2015 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Pusher, Firebase Realtime Database | Discord, Slack |
Why pick each one
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 Centrifugo or Charybdis IRCd better?
Neither is universally better. Centrifugo has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Centrifugo and Charybdis IRCd free and open-source?
Yes. Centrifugo is licensed under MIT and Charybdis IRCd under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Centrifugo and Charybdis IRCd with Docker?
Centrifugo: yes. Charybdis IRCd: check the project docs for container support.