Centrifugo vs ircd-hybrid
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
ircd-hybrid
Lightweight and stable IRC server daemon
| Feature | Centrifugo | ircd-hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2015 | 1997 |
| Replaces | Pusher, Firebase Realtime Database | Slack, Discord |
Why pick each one
Choose ircd-hybrid if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Centrifugo or ircd-hybrid 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 ircd-hybrid free and open-source?
Yes. Centrifugo is licensed under MIT and ircd-hybrid under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Centrifugo and ircd-hybrid with Docker?
Centrifugo: yes. ircd-hybrid: check the project docs for container support.