Bonfire 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.
| Feature | Bonfire | ircd-hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 69 · Good |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Elixir | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 943 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2020 | 1997 |
| Replaces | Facebook Groups, Discord | Slack, Discord |
What are Bonfire and ircd-hybrid?
Bonfire
Bonfire is a flexible, modular framework for building federated social networks and digital communities. It supports ActivityPub federation and is highly customizable through extensions.
- Modular extension architecture
- ActivityPub federation
- Customizable community flavors
- Privacy-focused design
ircd-hybrid
ircd-hybrid is a long-standing IRC server daemon known for stability and a lightweight footprint. It supports modern IRC features and modular extensions, and can be self-hosted to run an IRC network.
- Stable lightweight IRC daemon
- Modular extensions
- Long-standing project
Bonfire vs ircd-hybrid: key differences
Bonfire is written in Elixir, while ircd-hybrid is built with C. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Bonfire versus GPL-2.0 for ircd-hybrid. Ircd-hybrid is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Bonfire. Ircd-hybrid is the more established project (first released 1997), while Bonfire arrived in 2020. Bonfire has the considerably larger community, at 943 GitHub stars versus 200. Bonfire lists first-class Docker deployment; ircd-hybrid does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Bonfire if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Elixir
Watch out for
- Still maturing
- Complex to configure
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 Bonfire or ircd-hybrid better?
Neither is universally better. Bonfire has the larger community, while ircd-hybrid is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Bonfire and ircd-hybrid free and open-source?
Yes. Bonfire is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ircd-hybrid under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bonfire and ircd-hybrid with Docker?
Bonfire: yes. ircd-hybrid: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Bonfire or ircd-hybrid?
ircd-hybrid has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Bonfire. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.