Centrifugo vs ngIRCd
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
ngIRCd
Lightweight Unix IRC server that is easy to configure
| Feature | Centrifugo | ngIRCd |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,590 | ★ 574 |
| First released | 2015 | 2001 |
| Replaces | Pusher, Firebase Realtime Database | Slack |
Why pick each one
Choose ngIRCd if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Centrifugo or ngIRCd better?
Neither is universally better. Centrifugo has the larger community, while ngIRCd is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Centrifugo and ngIRCd free and open-source?
Yes. Centrifugo is licensed under MIT and ngIRCd under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Centrifugo and ngIRCd with Docker?
Centrifugo: yes. ngIRCd: check the project docs for container support.