Centrifugo vs FreeScout

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?
FeatureCentrifugoFreeScout
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageGoPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, binarydocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 10,590★ 4,465
First released20152018
ReplacesPusher, Firebase Realtime DatabaseHelp Scout, Zendesk, Front

Why pick each one

Choose Centrifugo if…

  • Handles many connections
  • Easy to integrate
Centrifugo details

Choose FreeScout if…

  • Truly free and self-hosted
  • Low resource needs
FreeScout details

Frequently asked questions

Is Centrifugo or FreeScout 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 FreeScout free and open-source?

Yes. Centrifugo is licensed under MIT and FreeScout under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Centrifugo and FreeScout with Docker?

Centrifugo: yes. FreeScout: yes.

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