Ergo vs InspIRCd
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Ergo
Modern IRC server with IRCv3 and bouncer features
VS
InspIRCd
Modular C++ Internet Relay Chat daemon
| Feature | Ergo | InspIRCd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,333 | ★ 1,347 |
| First released | 2016 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord |
What are Ergo and InspIRCd?
Ergo
Ergo, formerly known as Oragono, is a modern IRC server written in Go that combines an IRCd with bouncer-like features. It supports IRCv3, has built-in account management, and stores message history.
- Full IRCv3 support
- Built-in account registration
- Persistent message history
- Single binary deployment
InspIRCd
InspIRCd is a modular, high-performance IRC server written in C++. Its plugin-based architecture lets administrators enable only the features they need for their network.
- Modular plugin architecture
- Lightweight and fast
- Supports large IRC networks
- Cross-platform
Ergo vs InspIRCd: key differences
Ergo is written in Go, while InspIRCd is built with C++. Licensing differs — MIT for Ergo versus GPL-2.0 for InspIRCd. InspIRCd is the more established project (first released 2002), while Ergo arrived in 2016. Ergo has the considerably larger community, at 3,333 GitHub stars versus 1,347.
Why pick each one
Choose Ergo if…
- No external services needed
- Easy to run
Watch out for
- IRC protocol limitations
- No web UI included
Choose InspIRCd if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Watch out for
- Configuration is XML-based
- IRC-only
Frequently asked questions
Is Ergo or InspIRCd better?
Neither is universally better. Ergo has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ergo and InspIRCd free and open-source?
Yes. Ergo is licensed under MIT and InspIRCd under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ergo and InspIRCd with Docker?
Ergo: yes. InspIRCd: yes.