Ergo vs ircu2
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
ircu2
IRC server daemon used by the Undernet network
| Feature | Ergo | ircu2 |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 51 · Fair |
| 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 | ★ 64 |
| First released | 2016 | 1996 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Discord, Slack |
What are Ergo and ircu2?
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
ircu2
ircu2 (ircd-undernet) is the IRC server daemon developed for and used by the Undernet IRC network. It can be self-hosted to run an IRC network and supports a feature-rich channel and server model.
- IRC server used by Undernet
- Feature-rich channel model
- Lightweight C daemon
Ergo vs ircu2: key differences
Ergo is written in Go, while ircu2 is built with C. Licensing differs — MIT for Ergo versus GPL-2.0 for ircu2. Ircu2 is the more established project (first released 1996), while Ergo arrived in 2016. Ergo has the considerably larger community, at 3,333 GitHub stars versus 64. Ergo lists first-class Docker deployment; ircu2 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 ircu2 if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Ergo or ircu2 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 ircu2 free and open-source?
Yes. Ergo is licensed under MIT and ircu2 under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ergo and ircu2 with Docker?
Ergo: yes. ircu2: check the project docs for container support.