Charybdis IRCd vs KiwiIRC
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Charybdis IRCd | KiwiIRC |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 7 · At risk | 57 · Fair |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 230 | ★ 989 |
| First released | 2008 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Discord, Slack | Slack, Discord |
What are Charybdis IRCd and KiwiIRC?
Charybdis IRCd
Charybdis is an IRCv3-capable IRC server daemon descended from ratbox, designed to power large IRC networks. It has been used as the basis for several other IRC server projects and is fully self-hostable.
- IRCv3-capable IRC server
- Designed for large networks
- Basis for other IRC daemons
KiwiIRC
KiwiIRC is a fully featured IRC client that runs in the browser and can be embedded into any website. It includes a webircgateway component for self-hosting your own embeddable IRC chat.
- Embeddable web IRC widget
- Themeable interface
- Plugin system
- Works without browser plugins
Charybdis IRCd vs KiwiIRC: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Charybdis IRCd's repository is archived and no longer developed, while KiwiIRC is actively maintained. Charybdis IRCd is written in C, while KiwiIRC is built with Vue. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Charybdis IRCd versus Apache-2.0 for KiwiIRC. Charybdis IRCd is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for KiwiIRC. Charybdis IRCd is the more established project (first released 2008), while KiwiIRC arrived in 2011. KiwiIRC has the considerably larger community, at 989 GitHub stars versus 230. KiwiIRC lists first-class Docker deployment; Charybdis IRCd does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Charybdis IRCd if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose KiwiIRC if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Vue
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- IRC-only
- Needs gateway for direct connections
Frequently asked questions
Is Charybdis IRCd or KiwiIRC better?
Neither is universally better. KiwiIRC has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Charybdis IRCd and KiwiIRC free and open-source?
Yes. Charybdis IRCd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and KiwiIRC under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Charybdis IRCd and KiwiIRC with Docker?
Charybdis IRCd: check the project docs for container support. KiwiIRC: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Charybdis IRCd or KiwiIRC?
Charybdis IRCd has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for KiwiIRC. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.