Dino vs irssi
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
| Feature | Dino | irssi |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Vala | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,472 | ★ 3,129 |
| First released | 2017 | 1999 |
| Replaces | Skype, Slack | Slack |
Why pick each one
Choose Dino if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in Vala
Choose irssi if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Dino or irssi better?
Neither is universally better. irssi has the larger community, while Dino is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dino and irssi free and open-source?
Yes. Dino is licensed under GPL-3.0 and irssi under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dino and irssi with Docker?
Dino: check the project docs for container support. irssi: check the project docs for container support.