Centrifugo vs FreeSWITCH
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
FreeSWITCH
Scalable software telephony platform
| Feature | Centrifugo | FreeSWITCH |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,590 | ★ 5,069 |
| First released | 2015 | 2006 |
| Replaces | Pusher, Firebase Realtime Database | Twilio, Asterisk |
Why pick each one
Choose FreeSWITCH if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.1k GitHub stars
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is Centrifugo or FreeSWITCH better?
Centrifugo is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider FreeSWITCH if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Centrifugo and FreeSWITCH free and open-source?
Yes. Centrifugo is licensed under MIT and FreeSWITCH under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Centrifugo and FreeSWITCH with Docker?
Centrifugo: yes. FreeSWITCH: yes.