Centrifugo vs Mollysocket
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
Mollysocket
Server for unified push support in Molly chat application
| Feature | Centrifugo | Mollysocket |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0-or-later |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,590 | ★ 375 |
| First released | 2015 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Pusher, Firebase Realtime Database | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Mollysocket if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Centrifugo or Mollysocket better?
Neither is universally better. Centrifugo has the larger community, while Mollysocket is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Centrifugo and Mollysocket free and open-source?
Yes. Centrifugo is licensed under MIT and Mollysocket under AGPL-3.0-or-later. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Centrifugo and Mollysocket with Docker?
Centrifugo: yes. Mollysocket: check the project docs for container support.