Ergo 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.
Ergo
Modern IRC server with IRCv3 and bouncer features
VS
ircd-hybrid
Lightweight and stable IRC server daemon
| Feature | Ergo | ircd-hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 69 · Good |
| 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 | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,333 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2016 | 1997 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord |
What are Ergo and ircd-hybrid?
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
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
Ergo vs ircd-hybrid: key differences
Ergo is written in Go, while ircd-hybrid is built with C. Licensing differs — MIT for Ergo versus GPL-2.0 for ircd-hybrid. Ircd-hybrid is the more established project (first released 1997), while Ergo arrived in 2016. Ergo has the considerably larger community, at 3,333 GitHub stars versus 200. Ergo lists first-class Docker deployment; ircd-hybrid does not.
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 ircd-hybrid if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Ergo or ircd-hybrid 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 ircd-hybrid free and open-source?
Yes. Ergo is licensed under MIT and ircd-hybrid under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ergo and ircd-hybrid with Docker?
Ergo: yes. ircd-hybrid: check the project docs for container support.