Centrifugo vs Ferdium
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
Ferdium
All-in-one messenger that combines chat services
| Feature | Centrifugo | Ferdium |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,590 | ★ 4,478 |
| First released | 2015 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Pusher, Firebase Realtime Database | Rambox, Station |
Why pick each one
Choose Ferdium if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Centrifugo or Ferdium better?
Neither is universally better. Centrifugo has the larger community, while Ferdium is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Centrifugo and Ferdium free and open-source?
Yes. Centrifugo is licensed under MIT and Ferdium under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Centrifugo and Ferdium with Docker?
Centrifugo: yes. Ferdium: yes.