SHSelfHostIndex

Centrifugo vs Quassel IRC

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?
CE Centrifugo Scalable real-time messaging server for apps and websites VS QU Quassel IRC Distributed IRC client with an always-on core
FeatureCentrifugoQuassel IRC
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguageGoC++
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, binarydocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 10,590★ 789
First released20152008
ReplacesPusher, Firebase Realtime DatabaseSlack

Why pick each one

Choose Centrifugo if…

  • Handles many connections
  • Easy to integrate
Centrifugo details

Choose Quassel IRC if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in C++
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Quassel IRC details

Frequently asked questions

Is Centrifugo or Quassel IRC 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 Quassel IRC free and open-source?

Yes. Centrifugo is licensed under MIT and Quassel IRC under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Centrifugo and Quassel IRC with Docker?

Centrifugo: yes. Quassel IRC: yes.

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